Day 36 - Monte del Gozo to Santiago de Compostela

Day 36 - Tuesday, 27th May, 2014 - 4.7 km

[Michael, Eila and Rupert outside the Cathedral, Santiago]

And so to our final day of walking.  We only had 4.8 km to do to get into Santiago.  The plan was to try to get a place to stay at San Martino Pinario, the Semenario.  So we followed the last of the yellow arrows into the old part of the city and dropped down beside the Cathedral.  We decided that we might drop or packs off so tried our luck at the plush hotel that allowed some space for pilgrims.  We asked at reception and they apologised that they were fully booked.  This would have meant that they allowed pilgrims to book place by phone and ring ahead, which was not much consolation for us who had deliberately adjusted our journey to get into Santiago at a good time.  There was nothing for it and we decided to immediately go and stand in front of the Cathedral and just acknowledge our feat - 760 Km's about 500 miles.  It was still early in the morning and having watched some jubilant Spanish cyclists arrive and pose for photos of this event, we headed around to the side of the Cathedral where we might get our Compostela, our certificate from the church authorities recognising our pilgrimage.  The queue was large and we ended up meeting Franz and Leile from Eindhoven in Holand.  We had all been at Orisson together at the very start of the Camino and Franz had mistakenly carried a tent with him because of the rather out of date advice he had found on the internet (about 23 years out of date).  They were both looking well and there were no signs of scars on Franz' face from his previous fall wearing his backpack.

[Leile and Franz outside the Compostela Office Santiago]

As we were still wondering about accommodation, Jules a lady from Scotland appeared and greeted us; we had kept on bumping into her during our evening stops and we had been having frequent conversations.  She said that she was staying at a new Albergue called "The Last Stamp" just up the hill from where I had stayed before.  She recommended it, so we immediately made our way there and booked into the aptly named "Last Stamp" .  

Michael had a brilliant idea that we should have dinner in the Parador, the sumptuous hotel in old monastic buildings at the side and looking on to the main square beside the Cathedral.  It would certainly make a wonderful end to our travels and Jules asked if she could join us.  We all went to the Pilgrims Mass at the Cathedral at midday and although the Botafumerio (the chunky incense burner) was hanging above the main altar, they had decided that it should have a rest until the Ascension Day Mass a couple of days later.  So sadly we were not treated to the strange, now purely historical act of sending an over large incense burner into the lofty heights of the Cathedral to fumigate stinky pilgrims, but what a wonderful toy!

Whever I have been in Santiago I have been treated to wonderful weather, but we were to experience Santiago's normally weather which is fairly rainy.  We retreated for a rest before our end of walk, end of term dinner at the Parador.  Although we were not patrons of the hotel we certainly made the most of our stay being the last to leave at quarter to midnight.  We had opted for a glass of Orujo (Orutho) to end the evening and a much more powerful and larger quantity of the liqueur arrived ensuring that our walk back to the "Last Stamp" was not as straight as it might have been.  It had been a fantastic evening, which had started with Michael treating us to a bottle of champagne in an establishment where you would normally felt a bit underdressed if you had gone in your climbing boots and slightly holy Marino wool jersey! (My mother would have said - "no darlings you are not going like that are you!") 

Buen Camino

Enjoying the Parador Santiago, Jules, Michael and Eila]

Day 35 - Santa Irene to Monte del Gozo

Day 35 - Monday, 26th May, 2014 - 18.1 km

[Galician Eucalyptus forests on the outskirts of Santiago]

[Galician Eucalyptus forests on the outskirts of Santiago]

[Galician Eucalyptus forests on the outskirts of Santiago]

[Michael and Eila on the final straight stretch of road to Monte del Gozo]

So we really do have an end of term feeling.  We are making for the outskirts of Santiago, to an Alberguue that seems to be based on a Soviet style holiday camp.  The idea is that because it is near Santiago we can set off for our destination from the Soviet holiday camp and be there after just an hour of walking.  This is working on the principle that arriving in Santiago late in the day and trying to work out affordable and comfortable accommodation is not always possible.  We were also hoping to be one of the first groups of pilgrims in line to get a place at the Semenario San Martin Pinario.  This is a multi star hotel that gives over their top floor to pilgrims and allows them as much breakfast material as they want (and they have a very varied breakfast menu).

So although we could make Santiago today, we were just going to stop short and visit the two great pilgrim statues that look out from the hill there over to Santiago where you can just glimpse the Cathedral in the distance.  Once again we were the last to leave the Albergue and we walked in threatening rain that never came.  Very soon we passed the end of the runway of the Santiago Aiprort, just as a plane landed, this would be a bus ride from Santiago of 20 odd minutes.  We reached Monte del Gozo in the afternoon and went over the ridge of the hill to pose by the pilgrim monument before walking back to the route and booking ourselves into the strange Soviet style holiday camp hostel.

Buen Camino.

[The happy pilgrim sculpture at Monte del Gozo overlooking Santiago]

[Monte del Gozo - the Soviet style hostel for 500 if necessary]

Day 34 - Boente to Santa Irene

Day 34 - Sunday, 25th May, 2014 - 24.7 km

[Typical Galacian farmyard]

[Leaving Boente Albergue]

[Galecian Eucalyptus forests]

[Eila, Ribadiso Bridge]

[Ribadiso]

[Eila finally succombing to an omelette in a roll type diet]

[New Camino motorway bridge...]

[...but Motorway shelved]

[Camino marker]

[Eila and Michael - hippy bar, Salceda]

Today was the last full walking day.  Our destination Sante Irene was in striking distance of Santiago.  I had stayed at the Albergue a couple of times before and knew it would be a good spot to be one of our final Albergues.

We seemed to be getting tireder and tireder as the the days went on and although we were reducing our daily mileage, the second half of the day's walking always seemed as hard.

We stopped off at Salceda on the way which is an unusual Hippy type cafe where they encourage you to graffiti and leave T-shirts which they hang from the ceiling.

We reached Sante Irene Albergue and took the last three places there. Maybe Eila was right to have Albergue Anxiety.

Buen Camino.

[Hippy bar, Salceda]

[Hippy bar, Salceda]

[Santa Irene Albergue]

[Santa Irene Albergue]

Day 33 - Ligonde to Boente

Day 33 - Saturday, 24th May, 2014 - 28.8 km

[Setting off towards Palas de Rei]

[On the way to Palas de Rei]

[On the way to Palas de Rei]

[Eila, leaving Palas de Rei]

Today was overshadowed by the European Football Chamionships Final between Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid.  There has been so much run up to this game it seemed that the whole of Madrid had taken a coach to Lisbon to be there on the neutral territory for the final.  Eila and Michael were also keen to get to a place where we might catch sight of the game.

We had decided to walk past Melide, where many pilgrims would stop, but we were also aware that getting in late might mean all the places in the Albergue we had chosen, might be taken.

We arrived at the new Albergue at Boente to find that we had just been pipped at the post by a couple leaving only one spare bed.  If we had beaten them to it, there would have been three spare beds.  There was nothing for it, but to go on.  It was a shame because the new Albergue was equipped with a large bar and television screen and the pre match programmes were already underway.

We left to go onwards and found that there was an older Albergue just round the corner.  W asked whether there were any places and there were.  We had a dormitory to ourselves and were still able to pop next door to watch the big match!  We seemed to have fallen on the perfect solution because the previous popular Albergue was crowded out.

The big match for me was not very interesting and I returned to our dormitory early and immediately fell asleep (with the lights on).  I was awoken by Eila and Michael returning late to find the hostel locked up and they rang me on my mobile to see whether I could unlock a fire exit to let them in.  The match, which had been a 1- 0 score throughout, had been changed by Real Madrid scoring a goal to draw the match in the last minute.  They then went on to score three more goals in extra time - a very thrilling match by all accounts.

Buen Camino.

[On route to Melide]

[Bridge on the way to Melide]

[Furelos]

Day 32 - Morgade to Ligonde

Day 32 - Friday, 23rd May, 2014 - 26.9 km

[Leaving the Albergue at Morgade]

Today I woke up in the early hours of the morning itching like hell and realised that I was being bitten.  I turned on my iPhone torch and realised that my pillow was covered in all manner of creepy crawlies.  I had finally succumbed to what most Caminoers fear - bedbugs.  The interesting thing was that we had stayed in a private room that night and two night previous.  I previously thought I had been bitten by mosquitoes, but those must have been bedbugs as well.  It appears that they normally bite your arms, shoulders and face and can be sorted out by cleaning all your clothes and using some sort of anti itching creme.  For the rest of the night I shoved my pillow up as far as it would go against the bed head and moved as far as I could down the bed to be away from the offending circus of activity.

It is interesting to note that we never had this problem at Albergues, which were always spotless, but in private rooms, where sheets and towels were provided.

[On the route to Portomarin]

[Portomarin Bridge]

[Portomarin Bridge]

[Portomarin old pedestrian bridge]

[Eila walking to Ligonde]

The next day was spent for me trying to find an Albergue with a washing machine that would put an end to any of the creatures that remained on my clothing.  I then experimented with different kinds of treatment to deal with the itching caused by the bites.  On our travels we went over the bridge into Portomarin and received extremely helpful advice from the pharmacist there.

The afternoon was spent walking the long upward climb out of Portomarin and we eventually found a Hostal in Ligonde.  It was a new basic Hostal with washing machine and dryer.  I was able to shower and wait in my towel and anorak afterwards until the whole contents of my pack had been cleaned.  Michael even brought me a beer to have in the dormitory while I waited!

Buen Camino.

[Rupert (Waiting for my clothes to wash and dry) in the dormitory - Ligonde]

[Albergue Ligonde]

Day 31 - Samos to Morgade

Day 31 - Sunday, 22nd May, 2014 - 26.8 km

[Eila, early morning Albergue anxiety - Samos]

[Leaving Samos]

[Spanish cyclist, who we had spoken to, making her way from Samos to Melide]

[Rural route to rejoin the Camino from Samos]

[Rural route to rejoin the Camino from Samos]

We had never discussed what we should do if one of us got lost, which might have been useful today.

We set off from Samos and made our way following the road to Sarria.  This was to rejoin the main Camino route, as the route to the Benedictine Monastery at Samos was a short detour off the main route.  You can carry on along the main road the whole way into Sarria, but there was a countrified route that cut off Right and North, off the main road and this is the route we followed.  It was a very rural route and Eila, who was behind me stopped to take some pictures and in doing so Michael and I got slightly ahead of her.  After a picturesque bridge there was a fork in the road with the Camino route going Left; it had a small arrow marked on the road surface to indicate the way.  As I continued on I overtook a couple of pilgrims and soon after checked behind me whether Eila had overtaken them too.  She was not to be seen.  Michael, who was ahead of me, just passed round a bend out of sight so I stopped to wait for Eila.  First the set of pilgrims I had overtaken came by, then more, who I had not previously seen, so I asked whether they had seen a lady with blonde hair, a grey backpack with pink straps; they had not.  It was now too late for me to attract Michael's attention, but I started to walk back.  I eventually came to a straight section where I could see for a couple of hundred meters, but still no Eila.  I decided to walk back to the previous junction just after the picturesque bridge and tried phoning her on her mobile.  This failed, so I sent a text, saying that I was going back to look for her.  Once I reached the junction I waited.  We had had quite a wet morning with intermittent rain and it was cold standing around.  I thought what would Ray Mears do, (the survival expert on the telly).  He would normally suggest drinking water and keeping warm.  I put my pack on the ground, zipped up my waterproof and opened a bag of peanuts I had in my pack and started eating and walking around while waiting.  I suddenly got a text from Eila saying that she was at a T junction and did not know which way to go, where were we?  I texted her back asking her whether she had been up a steep hill and if so to retrace her steps back towards the junction by the bridge, where I was waiting for her.  As I sent the message, my iPhone went into its shutdown mode, indicating that the text was the final straw for my phones weak battery.  There was to be no more communication from my phone.  I felt a bit useless because if Eila had been advised by locals to continue off course to rejoin the Camino route then there was no way that she could let me know that she had resolved her wrong turn. I thought that I just had to keep calm and remain at that junction.  Ten minutes passed, a quarter of an hour and then I suddenly heard her voice as she came down the hill, simultaneously I heard Michael shouting at me as he returned along the Camino route from his forward position - crisis resolved, we all met up!

[Eila, Rural route to rejoin the Camino from Samos]

[Stopping at useful outdoor shop at Sarria]

[Galician Stew!]

We continued together to Sarria where we had decided that we needed to eat in order to have energy to continue; we had hoped to do a bit of a longer day.  Having called at the Outdoor Shop for a new towel for Michael, which he had accidentally left behind at an Albergue, we continued up the hill to a small cafe restaurant and asked for their menu.  People should be familiar that I am not a fussy eater and rarely turn my nose up at food.  We had decided that we had had enough of omelettes and Pilgrim's menu type food, that we decided to go for a single item on the menu and as it was a cold day the item marked 'Galician Stew' looked a good bet, ideal for a cold day.  First of all they said that they would need twenty minutes to cook the potatoes, so we waited.  The 'Galician Stew', when it eventually came in, took us by surprise.  It was not a broth with potatoes floating in the juice, but strange cuts, or rather off-cuts of meat that a butcher would usually chuck away.   The boiled potatoes were surrounded by a kind of 'road-kill' of meat that would insult animals run over by cars!  Michael, who had presumed that I knew what I was ordering, had ordered the same so that the double dish was his as well as mine, unfortunately for him.  The only redeeming feature seemed to be that we had both been allocated a chorizo sausage amongst pig's ear and tripe and goodness knows what else.  The reactions of the other customers in the restaurant was a picture.  There were expressions of horror and disgust.  It was if they wanted to know what we had ordered to make sure they did not accidentally make the same mistake.  It was just surprising that something so completely revolting could be offered to restaurant customers; that anyone could possibly believe that such grim food could even appear vaguely appetising.  Even Baldrick on Blackadder could not have challenged this production!

We left to continue our journey fighting the effects of feeling slightly sick.  The afternoon weather was very windy, but the rain stayed away until we were safely at the night's Alburgue.  The evening menu there started with Galician Soup.  "Is there any meat in the soup?" We asked.  We were told it was vegetable soup, but with some stock for flavour, we decided to give it a go, it was delicious, not a hint of strange meaty off cuts!

Buen Camino.

[Leaving Sarria]

[On route to Morgade]

[On route to Morgade]

[On route to Morgade]

[On route to Morgade]

[Rupert by '100km to go' marker stone, On route to Morgade]