Camino Day 30: Calle to Santiago de Compostella

I woke up to the sound of rain.  Not a light, autumn drizzle, but a proper downpour.  I had no choice but to get up and go though.  Skin is waterproof and I am not made of sugar.  Once you start walking in the rain it is OK, so long as you position your head torch so that you aren’t looking at silver streaks constantly.  Luckily I had already solved this problem as wearing a head torch on my head with glasses was really annoying, some of the light reflected in the lenses and the frames.  A much better solution was to attach my head torch to the shoulder strap of my rucksack.  

I only had 31km to walk today.  Since when was that a sensible thing to say?  I have discovered that 30 to 32km is a distance that seems to feel comfortable.  I get to my destination feeling that I could go on for a few more kilometres if I had to, but that it is good to stop.  Much less than this distance and I feel that I haven’t really tried, much further and I spend the last few kilometres just hanging on and waiting for it all to be over. 

As normal I had the trail to myself for the first 10(ish)km.  I stopped for breakfast in O Pedrouzo - an amazingly good croissant, coffee and juice for what I assumed would be first breakfast.  As it started to get light the fog became apparent. Remarkably similar to the weather conditions I had on day one when visibility as very limited.  While I’d have loved to see some views it seemed fitting.  After O Pedrouzo I walked for several kilometres with Rod and Jeremy, brothers who were born in Zimbabwe.  One now lives in South Africa and the other in Norwich.  They have completed many Caminos and no doubt will complete more in the future.  Another parallel to day one when I walked with Clayton who lived in Zimbabwe until he was 15 and then moved to Australia.  

The trails were very busy.  Lots of different Caminos merge as they approach Santiago and there also appeared to be school parties walking sections of the route.  As we walked up one short, steep uphill I realised that my Spanish must be improving as I heard them say (of Rod, Jeremy and me) ‘Come on, we can’t let these grannies beat us!’  

For once we had a downhill finish as we came into Santiago.  I am assured that there are excellent glimpses of the cathedral to be seen - but not today!  I did happen to fall into a yarn shop - but constrained myself to some stitch markers made of jet - which is common in Galicia.  Anything I buy has to be really lightweight and easy to carry! 

Soon I was walking past a bagpiper - they are a big thing in this part of Spain, and although they don’t sound quote the same as Scottish bagpipes, and the piper wasn’t wearing a kilt, they are still an evocative sound.  After that it was straight out into the square in front of the cathedral.  I arrived at 12noon and it was HEAVING with people.  I grabbed a quick selfie and then went to find out where my albergue was (answer, hugely conveniently located near the cathedral, pilgrim office and post office) but check in was not until 1.30pm!  

I used the time to go to the pilgrim office to pick up my Compostella and my certificate of distance.  They are in a cardboard tube to keep them safe.  I had expected to wait for AGES, but the process was quick and smooth.  

To be absolutely honest, as a ‘finish’ it was slightly anticlimactic!  I think that Finistera/Muxia, for me, will be a far more satisfying finale.  That will signify walking across a whole country, from the mountains to the ocean.  

Having skipped second breakfast, as I was so close to the end, I went for lunch before showering (and laundry will not happen today as it is still raining).  Lunch was so huge that I left half of it!  Thus fortified I made my way to the cathedral.  It gives Versailles a run for its money in terms of bling!  It had none of the beauty of Leon nor the charm of Astorga and seemed to be all about display.  The rain had driven all the tourists inside so it was also very crowded.  

Back at the Albergue I showered and sorted out my kit.  I need to go out to get supplies - I’m all out of deodorant and could do with some new KT tape (my legs feel fine but I am not risking taking the tape off just yet).  

I am thrilled to have completed this first stage of my adventure.  The next stage is much shorter, and time bound by a flight that is being booked as I type.  My plans to take the train home via Madrid and Paris have fallen foul of a level of complexity and expense that I am not willing to invest. 

Camino Day 29: Pontecampana to Calle

 How can it be day 29 already?  Surely I only got here last week, but then again I sometimes find it hard to imagine a life which involved deciding what to wear in the morning and what to do! 

Last night’s communal dinner started with an excellent soup and went downhill after that!  I sat with a young girl from Romania and three generations of a family from Australia.  The Australians recounted that they had been ‘traumatised’ by a communal meal where they had been asked to share the reason they were on the Camino and where, shock horror, the entire meal had been vegetarian. It took me a while to realise that they were talking about Casa Susi, where Louise, Zora and I had stayed and had an excellent meal.  ‘Sharing’ just enough with no pressure to do anything that made us feel uncomfortable! 

As I set out this morning I was accompanied by a black dog.  An actual black dog, not a metaphorical one.  I’d seen several posters about not allowing dogs to follow you when on the trail = but still can’t work out how to stop a persistent dog from doing this.  This particular dog followed me for nearly 10k = only leaving me when I went into a coffee shop for breakfast.  I hope it got home, but surely the onus is on the owner to make sure dogs are secure?  

As usual, the first part of my walk (to breakfast) was in the dark.  After breakfast in Mellide the sky was lighter although there was a fog that persisted until just before noon.  I tend to listen to an audio book in the dark, the story I am listening to is quite compelling and I am trying to make sure it lasts so I invented a little game.  If I can see people ahead of me I turn off the audio book and can’t listen to it again until I have passed them or decided that they are moving so fast that I can’t catch them.  This means that I can have little chats with people as I pass them.  

In Arzua I bumped into Laura who I have seen several times over the last few weeks.  I gave her Compeed in an Albergue in San Juan de Ortega.  It was good to see her and catch up on Camino news.  We walked together for a few kilometres, which was pleasant, before she and her friend stopped for a drink. 

In Arzua several Caminos merge.  The Camino de Norte and the Primitivo join the Camino Frances (the one I’m on).  Suddenly there seemed to be people everywhere!  I was quite glad of the fog because I couldn’t see how many people I was sharing the trail with. I was considering a late start tomorrow - given that it is the last day of the Camino de Santiago - but I think I will stick with my early start so that I get some time alone.  I suspect that Santiago will be busy, and I will have lots to do - visiting the Pilgrim Office to get my Compostella as well as a new credential for the ‘Ultreia’ section of this mad adventure!

Camino Day 28: Portomarin to Pontecampana

 The albergue I stayed in last night has to be the worst I have stayed in during this trip.  Most of the time I have been impressed with how clean everything is, this one was a wee bit grubby.  The woman who checked us in was not terribly friendly and was VERY reluctant to allow anyone to have a bottom bunk!  I went into town to get supper as there was no community meal on offer, returning at around 8pm ready to settle down for the night.  

Some of my fellow occupants had other ideas.  Two Spanish girls in beds near me carried on a loud conversation, interspersed with ‘phone calls, with the other caller on speaker so we could all hear (if not understand in my case) and watching video clips on ‘phones - again without using earphones.  This carried on until about 8.30pm, when they went out to get dinner, and resumed at 10pm when they returned.  

In the morning I was ready to leave just after 5am, but could not get the door unlocked.  The key was in the lock to the door, but it wouldn’t turn fully in either direction and could not be removed.  I looked around for the fire exit, deciding that I would use that instead.  There was no fire exit.  This locked door was the only way out.  I fiddled with the key some more, trying to ease it out of the lock.  I tried jiggling the handle to see it that helped - but it didn’t.  In the end I kicked the door in frustration and heard a click - now the key turned and the lock opened!  I could get out!  This seems like a disaster waiting to happen - a locked door that is that temperamental on a door that opens inwards would turn the albergue into a death trap if there was a fire.  

Still, I was on my way!  It was a short walk out of Portomarin and back into countryside.  Most of today’s route was along pretty woodland trails.  There is a definite autumnal feel now, from the misty mornings to the leaves just starting to turn.  It occurred to me that I left home in summer and will return in the autumn.  First breakfast happened in Gonzar - but was so disappointing that even my iPhone refused to record the photo!  Sliced white bread that had just about been scared by the grill but not properly toasted.  The coffee was OK.  I picked up my bag and walked on, chatting with various people as I made my way.   I stopped a little later at a cafe attached to an albergue - sadly the food on offer didn’t look too appealing (pre packed croissants and pain au chocolat) so I had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice instead before heading off.  

I plodded merrily on, through tiny picturesque villages, dodging cows being hearded down the main road through towns and past numerous granary stores until suddenly I was at Pontecampana and my albergue was in sight!  Of course I arrived an hour before it opened - but I was happy to sit in the courtyard enjoying the gentle sunshine while I waited for 1pm (probably closer to 1.15pm by the time the door opened) and check in time!  

It is most definitely laundry day today.  The albergue in Sarria had nowhere outdoors to dry washing and it was raining yesterday afternoon, so I spent much of today keeping my fingers crossed for dry weather this afternoon.  As I had quite a bit of laundry to do I opted for the luxury of paying to use a washing machine.  I asked the lady who checked in at the same time as me if she wanted to put her stuff in with mine - it feels wrong to run a washing machine with so few clothes - so now our clothes are all drying in the sunshine.  

This albergue feels much better than the last two I have stayed in.  Pontecampana is one of those teeny tiny places that mean you don’t feel obliged to spend the afternoon sightseeing - so after I finish my beer I will go for a snooze before dinner! 

Camino day 27: Sarria to Portomarin

 

The alarm went off this morning - and I exited my coffin like sleeping space as quietly as possible!  I love the idea of being able to draw the curtain but, at some point last night it was way too hot in the ‘box’ so I had to open it a little.

I walked out of Sarria with two ladies from ‘up state New York’ who were just starting out and were full of horror stories that they’d heard.  Apparently one woman, walking early in the morning, had passed a naked man lying by the side of the path masturbating.  She was terrified, according to the story, that he would attack her.  I think that he was probably too preoccupied with the task in hand (so to speak) to pay her much attention - if it even happened at all!  Still it was interesting to chat to people just starting out.  They’d set off early to get ahead of the rain - it was slightly drizzly which meant I was wearing a supposedly breathable waterproof.  I felt like I was walking in a crisp packet!

Breakfast didn’t happen until 12km into my walk - which was pushing it in terms of my hangry levels!  I had a pleasant meal, chatting with some Australian ladies who were just about to set off for their day’s walk. Soon after breakfast I passed a marker stating that we only had 100km to go.  That is 20 parkruns!  

The heavy rain held off, but it was misty with poor visibility and some cool cloud inversions.  It was mostly easy walking on trail paths or brief stretches of tarmac mad, with a short sharp descent on a rocky section of path that required nifty foot work to negotiate.  Then there was the terrifyingly high bridge into Portomarin - and just as I was sighing with relief at having survived that there were steps!  Bumping into an :old friend’ (Jay from S.Korea) meant I could pause for a selfie and a catch up!

Portomarin had not been my chosen end point for today, I’d wanted to go further but couldn’t get any accommodation elsewhere.  I arrived before 11am so left my back pack in the albergue and went into town  to grab a coffee.  On my way in I saw Tom = who I’d walked to Burgos with all those days ago!  It was nice to catch up.  Apparently someone had asked him only yesterday if he’d seen me - but he couldn’t remember who!

This albergue is pretty basic, and for the second night in a row there is no community meal available, which is a shame.  They also seem very reluctant to allocate bottom bunks.  I was first here and they tried to give me a top bunk - I pointed to my strapped legs and pleaded until they relented.  I’ve sat and watched the same thing happen to lots of new arrivals.  Portomarin is full apparently.  People without bookings are being turned away.  The dorms today (and yesterday in Sarria) is noisier than previously.  Maybe the dorm rooms were noisy way back when we were all babies on day one and two but, if they were, I don’t remember people laughing and joking across the bunk beds.  More recently they have become almost silent in the afternoons, with people snoozing or quietly sorting their kit.  I have retreated to the relative peace and quiet of a restaurant in town to sit in the garden and eat some lunch while writing this blog.