Camino Out Takes

There are a number of things that  I did not include in my previous blog entries but are worth writing about.  So in no particular order here's a bit about some of the  people ,silly things, and observations that you may enjoy reading about.  I'm going to save my favourite for the last.

The way markers on the Camino are yellow arrows painted on sidewalks, curbs, buildings, light posts, rocks, middle of the road, anywhere with a reasonably flat surface in locations that always seemed to be perfectly placed to help the pilgrim stay on the Way.  Now that I'm no longer on the Way I still look for yellow arrows- how easily we become dependent.

Also along with the yellow arrows there are kilometre markers, but they are not nearly as reliable as the arrows.  The numbers seem to be randomly chosen with no reference to the last one; for example the distance from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago is supposed to be 800k, from S-J-P-d-P to Roncesvalles is approximately 27k but when you leave Roncesvalles the sign says 798k to Santiago!  There are numerous examples of this bad math!  The kilometres also seem to be much longer here, we'd see a sign saying 5k and think that's nothing, at home I can walk that in under an hour, well not so here, an hour and half later we'd still be walking!  Don't get it….  

The kilometre markers were little concrete pillars about 1/2 a metre tall, with a tile that has a blue background and a yellow shell on it.  Each of these markers had a small pile of stone on top.  I got in the habit of picking up a stone and carrying it while thinking about a loved one and putting a wish in it for that person and then leaving it on one of the markers.  For example I picked up a pretty little stone for Cadence and wished her the peace of the Camino.

It was interesting to see what pilgrims would discard along the Way to lighten their packs.  We saw jeans, sweaters, shirts and toiletries on the trail as well as in Albergues.  I picked up a tube of SPF100 that will come in handy on the Algarve.  

We came up with a rating system for the toilets:  if there was seat, running water, soap, towel or air dryer, and toilet paper it received top marks.  Unfortunately few received top marks.  Also, the lights in Spain are on timers and many are motion sensitive, so if you go in a cubicle and are not finished your business in a short period of time the lights go out and you need fumble around trying to get them back on!  

There were a number of people cycling the Camino but very few had bells or any warning devise at all.  It can be a bit alarming to have a number of bikes suddenly show up and whiz past you.  There are many sections along the Way that I cannot imagine riding a bike over and yet many people do.  Quite a few groups cycled from other parts of Europe and then rode the Camino - good on them!  But they should have bells!

As we walked down from the Iron Cross we came upon an unusual sight, an odd settlement with  Knights Templar crosses, a few scruffy looking men dressed-up in odd costumes and a sign post indicating distances to places all around the world.  Megan was just reading about it as we approached and just as she read that a bell is rung to welcome pilgrims the bell rang!  It was a rather broken down place with too many semi-neglected looking dogs.  Kind of a Knights Templar/Hippy enclave.   

There were a number of places where we came across trays of food - cookies, nuts, fruit for example, and water for pilgrims.  Sometimes there was a box for donations and sometimes it was there for the taking from kind souls who take care of pilgrims.  One day we were walking through a number of farm yards when we came upon a little old lady who offered us a homemade crepe.  She was so pleased to have us stop and talk to her and her crepes were delicious.  On her apron she had a Canadian pin so we told her that we were from Canada.  I had a little white teddy bear with me that had red maple leaves on it so I gave that to her and a couple of euros donation.  We left a very happy lady and with pleasant memories of the encounter.

Birds played a role in our enjoyment of the Way.  While walking through forested areas we were serenaded by their lovely songs.  They were very elusive and we seldom actually saw the singers.  We did see many storks mainly from Leon on, although never at high altitudes.  They build huge nest on high surfaces and seem to particularly love church bell towers.  In some cases there were 5 nests on one church tower.  Storks are very amusing to watch when the greet each other - they throw their heads back and clatter their bills in a joyful welcome to their partner returning to the nest.  The strangest bird sighting we saw was a pilgrim with a small brightly coloured parrot like bird in a cage at the top of his pack.  When we were in front of the cathedral in Santiago we saw a little bird very much like the pilgrim's flying around the square.  Hopefully, if it was a lost bird it has been safely found.  Poor little thing could not compete with all the pigeons!

I mentioned many people that we met but somehow missed telling you about a couple from Germany who completed the Camino with us and who became very special friends.  They are Berndt from Munster and Irene from Berlin.  A mature couple with a blended family of grown children and one new grandson.  It was a pleasure to witness their dedication and love for each other.  Their Camino was not an individual journey, it was for the two of them.  We saw them quite a bit the last few days in Santiago, seemed like wherever we went they were there too.  Robert and I took the bus to Finisterre on Monday to complete our Camino by going to the "end of the earth".  We spent some time in town and then walked the 3k to the lighthouse that marks 0.00k of the Camino.  On our way up the hill we stopped to photograph a statue of a windblown pilgrim overlooking the bay, when sure enough coming up the road behind us it was Berndt and Irene.  We took pictures of each other and as a group and just as we were leaving to finish our walk to the lighthouse I stepped over the guardrail, caught my toe and fell in an ungraceful heap on the side of the road.  Berndt rushed over to me and made sure nothing was broken before he would let me get up.  The only thing injured was my dignity.  I managed to walk across Spain over some very extreme terrain and end up throwing myself on the ground on a perfectly flat surface!  Back to Berndt and Irene - we had a coffee with them at the lighthouse and then rode the same bus back to Santiago and said our good-byes with hugs and promises to stay in touch and to visit each other someday.  Later that evening after a bit of shopping we stopped into a little bar for tapas and of course there were Berndt and Irene!  They were the last of our Camino friends that we saw and we said goodbye to them many times.  

I did mention in a blog entry that we had eaten octopus (Pulpo) but I did not tell you about a phrase that we coined in association with Pulpo.  Not mentioning any names (must protect the innocent), but somebody from our group informed us that after eating pulpo that had been covered in olive oil and sprinkled with chill pepper the night before, they had gotten up in the middle of the night and had to rush to the toilet and the result was a "Pulpo-Pow!"  The term came in handy to describe a variety of afflictions.

The funniest thing I heard along the way was from an Irish man, Sean, who I sat next to in the cathedral in Santiago for the pilgrim's mass.  He and his wife, both I'd say in their late 60's, she seemed a bit more capable than him as he wore supports on both knees.  They had walked from Samos which is about one of the last places you can walk from and still receive a Compostella - Mrs. Sean (never did get her name) said that he was too slow and she just had to leave him to walk on his own.  She was the chatty one, but Sean did get to tell me about his experience in the confessional.  He said that it was apparent that he hadn't been to confession in a very long time because when the priest raised his hands to bless him, Sean thought he was doing a "high-five" so he gave the priest a high-five!  

So on that note, I'd like to give all my fellow pilgrims a high-five!  

To any of you who are considering walking the Way I say go for it, you will have all your own experiences that will be totally different than mine.  Just remember that it is harder than you think, but with training and a sensible approach you can do it.  High-five!

We are now in Portugal and I will continue to write about the rest of trip, but for now I'm going to walk on the beach and rest!

Santiago

This is a very difficult blog entry to write.  How do I tell you of the many and varied emotions that one feels after having planned something for many years, spends 34 days realizing the dream and then in a few moments have it all come together?  As it had from the very beginning, the Camino presented the ending to me in unexpected ways.

We started out on Saturday morning about 20k from Santiago; a relatively easy day considering..... The morning was spectacular, light mist on the trees with sunlight streaming through as we walked past one small village after another.  There were a few more hills - of course, the final one Monte Gozo seemed to be considerably further away than the way markers indicated.  At one point we walked so far on a long straight road with no camino signs that we thought we were on the wrong road.  Finally we could see the odd modern sculpture that marked the first place that we could see the city of Santiago and the spires of the cathedral from.  Traditionally, the first person in your group to spot the spires from this hilltop and to call out "Mount Joy" becomes the King.  The spires are now almost hidden behind a stand of trees, but Robert spotted them and just as he was pointing to them the sun shone on them and we all shouted "Mount Joy" at once!

We still had about 5k to cover before we got to the Cathedral so we started out, watching the black clouds gather over the city.  Andre was carrying a litre of wine and a picnic lunch so at the first park we came to we toasted our accomplishment and enjoyed our last meal on the road.  As we finally entered the old part of the city the rain clouds were more threatening.  We thought we heard thunder as we approached the Cathedral and the rain started with a vengeance!  It rained just like it had when we left St. Jean-Pied-de-Port - absolute buckets!  The thunder on the other hand was not thunder at all, it was the noise from a huge stage set up behind the cathedral.  There was a BMX bike race with the course set up around the square and a couple of Rap artists on the stage!  It jarred my senses completely - I had expected a peaceful arrival at this special place, what we got was a shock to the system.  There could not have been a worse arrival for me, it was too much, I burst into tears.  It seemed so wrong, so sacrilegious, so surreal.   We escaped the rain through the side door of the cathedral and were overwhelmed by the grandeur.  It is too much to take in all at once so we just wandered in complete awe for a few moments before deciding that we needed to get our Compostella and find our hotels.  At last we found our way to the pilgrim office so we could receive our Compostella; the piece of paper that we walked the better part of 800k to receive.  Of course the office was upstairs; and as we waited in the queue we recognized many pilgrims we had befriended or greeted along the Way.  More tears, this time of joy and relief!

Our hotel was a converted monastery just across a small square from the cathedral.  The room was an updated cell, very pretty but also quite small.  The outer walls were a meter thick, and there was a lovely garden where the cloister would have been.  It was a perfect place to stay at the end of our pilgrimage.

The next morning we had arranged to meet Tony in front of the cathedral to attend the pilgrim's mass.  There was a bit of confusion about the time for the mass so we actually attended two, the first one being a regular mass and the second one the pilgrim's.  As usual, my expectations were different than reality.  Crowds of people continuously moved through the cathedral; tour groups, pilgrims, people confessing their sins in the booths along the side aisles.  Not a quiet reverent place at all, it was a bustling centre of activity.  As the first mass was drawing to a close there was a mad rush of pilgrims pushing their way to the prime seats for the next "show".  Out of the speakers came the most amazing woman's voice asking for silence in the cathedral.  The noise settled and all of a sudden there was the "voice of an angel" that I had heard about, the nun singing so sweetly it made me weep.  None of the annoyances mattered any more, I just wanted to hear her sing.  The peace and serenity I sought was there in her voice, the entire trip was worth it, just to sit in that incredible cathedral and hear her sing.  And finally the icing on the cake!  The botafumeiro was lifted into the air and swung through the cathedral with such drama.  More tears!

As we left the mass Megan reminded me that through out the ages there has been entertainment and activity around the cathedral and that the pilgrims have always behaved badly by pushing and shoving their way to the altar, apparently at one point the cathedral had to be re-sanctified because of pilgrims misdeeds.  So I spent some time rethinking my reaction to the Rap music and the BMX bike race; it is a modern day type of entertainment, the equivalent of a medieval travelling entertainment circus.  If you are familiar with the old movie Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead  you will understand the type of show I'm referring to.

Megan and Andre had to catch the train to Madrid so we spent our last bit of time together quickly scouring the many souvenir shops before our tearful good-byes.  We were so happy that they joined us on our journey.  Their arrival could not have been better timed as we had become a bit disheartened and having their youth and energy to encourage us was exactly what we needed.  They were fun to spend time with and we all respected each others need to have time to walk and contemplate alone at times.  Perfect travelling friends.

Sunday evening Robert and I finally toured the cathedral with the audio translator.  The building itself is a marvel and the artwork amazing.  The sense of peace that I was seeking turned out to be behind the altar where a statue of Santiago (St. James) is available for embracing.  Not being Catholic and so having limited exposure to saints I did not expect to be moved by the simple act of hugging a silver statue.  I have to say that James and I had a moment!  I was carrying a little gift for him from a young woman in Calgary who had prayed to Santiago during a difficult pregnancy promising that she would send him something if her baby had a safe arrival.  Her little girl is a healthy little 4-year old and the Saint has his gift.  My job was done.

I have accepted that our arrival in Santiago was not what I expected, but it was certainly unique.  No one can say that our Camino experience was not interesting!  In retrospect I would not change it for anything!

The Night Before Santiago

I'm not sure if I have ever been this tired, or in this much discomfort, or filled with so much anticipation before - certainly not all of the above at once!  Today I felt like Job in the Old Testament where he is tested by God with many hardships.  I seem to be developing a new blister daily, my feet are very sore, I have Robert's cold, I have a cold sore and I think I'm allergic to the room we are in! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Not a good way to start my blog entry - really our experience has been more positive than negative.  We are so fortunate that we are able to make this pilgrimage and to arrive relatively unscathed. The completion marks a big entry on my bucket list and I have learned so much from this journey.  I have spent a lot of time contemplating why this was so important to me and also why it is important to so many people.   The thing that keeps coming back to me is the thought that the majority of people on the Way have relatively easy lives.  I know that many use the time to work through personal issues or major decisions in their lives, but I believe that we, in most of the countries represented here, have not really suffered in our lives.  The Camino is a way for us to come to a realization of what it is like to live with very little, to make do with what we have, to feel some physical discomfort and to remove ourselves from our easy lives

I have walked through areas where people are still living very close to the earth.  They work hard, they do without - they suffer.  I wonder what they think as we pilgrims walk past them with our hundreds of dollars worth of gear, our designer outdoor wear and expensive shoes.  We are mostly just doing this for a whim, really.  My purpose is still not 100% clear to me.  I have seen amazingly beautiful places, met great people from many countries and have tested my physical ability.  But why am I here?

The other day we were walking through a village and we saw a little old lady coming up a lane, we greeted her and carried on our way.  A little way down the road I stopped to take my jacket off, I looked around and saw her walking towards us.  She came up to me, stared talking and looked very confused.  I thought for a moment that she was going to fall down so I went to her and put my hand on her back to steady her.  She took my arm and walked with me to a cemetery just down the road - all the time talking and crying.  The cemetery was behind a big wall and gate; there were many crypts along the wall.  I'm not really sure what she was saying but it appeared that she was telling me about her family who were in the cemetery.  She showed me a family crypt with the names an old man, and middle age woman and a young man, there was an empty spot which I assume is for her.  She then lead me down the road a bit further to another cemetery where she spent time explaining it to me.   There was also a very old church that she lead me into.  I had to look at all the saints and hear her description of what everything was in the church.  We finally were able to leave her, she really did not want to let go of me!  As she spoke to an old man in the church we quickly said Adios and rushed away.

I can't help but feel that somewhere in that encounter there was a Camino message for me.  Maybe it is that I really do have such a good life and so much to be thankful for.  This poor dear soul is all alone and has to kidnap pilgrims for company.  She was probably in her 90's but I can attest that she is very physically strong, she had quite a grip on me!  I wish I could have understood what she was saying to me.

The villages we have been to here in Galicia are not as interesting as some we have seen in other parts of Spain, but the countryside is beautiful.  The Way has taken us through many lush forests.  I was thrilled a couple of days ago when we arrived at our destination and I look at the horizon and there were no more mountain ranges!  There's still been ups and downs but no more mountain passes!

We have tired a bit of pilgrims menus, not the most healthy food so we try to make other choices when possible.  Yesterday we got to sample a real Galician delicacy, Pulpo, (octopus).  The guide book recommended a place in a town we were walking through so we had decided to give it a try.  This place was amazing, an absolutely huge restaurant with a stand-up bar at the front and multiple rows of long tables with benches filled the back.  The pulpo was being prepared at the front counter, it's piled on small wooden plates then sprinkled with course salt, hot chilli pepper and doused in olive oil.  This is served with a big bowl of crusty bread and a traditional regional white wine poured into small pottery bowls.   First thing we saw as we entered were 3 nuns eating pulpo and drinking the wine so we knew it was a place that locals enjoyed as well as pilgrims.  We all agreed that we enjoyed the experience of eating octopus but probably wouldn't seek it out again anytime soon.

One of the most interesting people we have had the privilege of meeting and spending time with is Juan who is walking the Way with his girlfriend, Eva.  He lives in the southern part of Galicia and is a baggage handler at the Vigo airport.  It's hard to describe this highly intelligent, philosophical young man.  In his calm gentle manner he shares his thoughts, ideas and his love for Galicia.  There is no cell phone or computer in his life, his best friend at work is a crazy Irishman who doesn't speak Spanish and Juan does not understand his accented Engllish.  Here is a person who loves his life and his country,  Robert says that is a fairer world Juan would be paid to be an ambassador for his region.

It's very late.  We want to make an early start for our last 20.5k tomorrow so I will say Good Night and I'll fill you in on our arrival in Santiago.

Ultreia!

Oh, the places we've been and the things we've seen!

There is so much to tell.  We left Leon 7 incredible, long, hard days ago.  It was great to have had the time in Leon to discover the city and surrounding area as well as recover a bit from our efforts.  The highlights from Leon are many: the cathedral is so beautiful with over 1800 square metres of stained glass, it is a lovely jewel amongst the cathedrals we have seen.  The old town with the many narrow streets and little plazas is wonderful to stroll through.  I did feel a bit tortured the day we wandered in to the main plaza during a street market on Wednesday afternoon- the food was amazing!  I wanted to buy everything but unfortunately we didn't have anywhere to cook!  I did buy a giant red pepper, a couple of oranges and lemons and got change back from 1 euro!  We happened upon a wine festival on Friday afternoon.  For very little money we bought a wine glass for each and 8 tokens for tastings - the tastings were full servings!  Each of the booths had tapas as well as the wine they were promoting.  At the Peregrino (Spanish for pilgrim) Wine booth we met a couple of crazy Spanish people who were enjoying their wine and food as much as we were and we spent a couple of hours drinking and laughing with them.  We left with a few tokens still in our pockets so had to plan a second visit later in the weekend.  

Thursday we took a bus up to the city of Astorga.  It is on the pilgrim trail, but we knew that we would not have time for a proper visit when we were walking through and there is just so much to see.  Of course it was raining that day, but after a good soaking the rain stopped and we were able to proceed with our plan.  First on our agenda was a visit to Gaudi's Bishop Palace.  The Bishop never did live in it because it was considered too extravagant so this whimsical building is now a pilgrim museum and in my opinion it could have served as the inspiration for the Disney Land castle!  We enjoyed a real cup of tea in a shop across the street from the palace as we waited out yet another cloud burst and then walked to a restored medieval village, Castillo de Polvazares, that is just off the Camino.  In our guide book it says that this village lacks the authenticity of the "crumbling" villages we are used to seeing, but we enjoyed seeing the village as it would have been centuries ago.  

On Saturday we met our new friends Eileen and Gunther for a Chinese Buffet lunch.  Odd I know, but it was actually quite good.  After lunch they drove us out of town to visit a very old monastery with Moorish influence.  We returned to the city just in time to catch up with Tony who had walked 38k that day.  He was hungry and tired, we were just tired, so we watched him eat his dinner and agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning.  

Sunday was a day of anticipation, we had a number hours to kill before Megan and Andre arrived on the 5:30 train from Madrid.  We saw Tony, toured the cathedral and bumped into a number of pilgrims whom we had met along the way.  There was a market along the river so we went to check it out, this one was all merchandise rather than food and produce.  We've never seen anything like it!  It must have been close to 500 metres of clothing, shoes, handbags, jewellery, sewing notions, watches, everything!  As we were heading into another mountain range we were looking for one more warm top and we found just what we needed for a very reasonable price.  Finally, it was time to meet our new walking buddies and give them the whirlwind tour of Leon.  They were pretty tired as they emerged from the train but after a shower they were ready to go!  First it was drinks with Tony, a walk around the old town, the cathedral, the wine festival - a hit with everyone - a late dinner at the German bar across the street from our Pension and at last bed and a well deserved rest for everyone!

We were on the road again on Monday morning and yes, it did rain - but not immediately.  Our destination was St. Martin del Camino which involved a long stretch of walking beside a busy highway; not the most pleasant but it meant a shorter day plus it put us closer to Astorga the next day.   The albergue we arrived at offered small rooms which has become our preference over bunk beds and dormitories.  We paid for the pilgrim's dinner, settled into our rooms and went for showers.  Let me set the scene - 4 cold, wet, tired, hungry and dirty people, 2 rooms with no heat, showers down the hall and 4 hours until dinner.  I quickly headed down for a shower - so looking forward to nice hot water and clean clothes.  I undressed and turned the shower on and waited for the hot water, I waited, and waited, and waited…… finally it went from arctic cold to something slightly less cold so I bravely stepped in and quickly stepped out.  Now I was really cold!  I dried myself with my tiny micro fibre towel, dressed and rushed back to the bedroom where I crawled into my sleeping bag and pulled a blanket over me until the shivering quit.  Apparently I should have waited longer because eventually there was hot water for late night showers.  We were all pretty hungry so we decided to see what we could find to tide us over until dinner.  A bar down the road that was filled with little old Spanish men, and was thankfully steamy hot, served us beer but only had potato chips as food.  Further searching turned up a bakery that had closed an hour before but the lady saw us from her home next door and came over to sell us some cookies.  Finally it was dinner  time and the first course arrived, it was a steaming pot of soup!  Just what I needed to warm me up and sooth my soul.  Except this turned out to be the worst thing I had ever been served!  It was tasteless, greasy broth with noodles and something slimy floating in it. Yuck!  Second plate was not much better, mystery meat - either chicken or pork, with green bits on it and french fries.  Not a great day on the Camino!

The next day turned out to be quite wonderful.  Our walk took us off of the main roads and through some lovely villages.  One of our favourites was Puenta de Orbigo with one of the longest and oldest medieval bridges in Spain, it dates from the 13th century and was built over an earlier Roman bridge which formed one of the great historical landmarks on the camino.  The bridge carries you across the Rio Orbigo via a passage of honour Paso Honroso so called because of the famous jousting tournament that took place in 1434.  A knight from Leon was scorned by a beautiful lady and he threw down the gauntlet to any knight who dared to pass as he undertook to defend the bridge against all comers.  Knights from all over Europe took up the challenge,  He successfully defended the bridge for a month until the required 300 lances had been broken.  After that he proceeded to Santiago to offer thanks for his freedom from the bongs of love and for his honour, now restored.  The bridge and village have seen many other conflicts and events over the years but this isn't a history lesson so I won't go into any more detail.  I will just say that the bridge is lovely as is the village and surrounding area.  The people we met there were also very pleasant, they seemed to be very happy in their beautiful village.  Although our walk was considerably longer than the day before it was much more pleasant because so much of it was away from the busy highway.  We walked through fields, forests, farms - literally through a farm yard - and finally we saw Astorga's cathedral in the distance.  We arrived to find that the hostel we had hoped to stay in was full so we were forced to stay in a very nice hotel in the main plaza - such a treat after the night before.   We had a nice dinner and fell into bed, exhausted but very happy pilgrims.  

The hotel provided us with a very substantial breakfast that served us well on our walk which took us back through the medieval village that Robert and I had seen the week before and then a gentle climb towards the mountains.  We had a couple of cafe con leches along the way and stopped for a nice picnic lunch beside the trail.  This day signalled a big change in the weather, finally, finally the sun came out!  So we slathered on the SPF55 and enjoyed our walk.  Our destination was the village of Rabanal where there is a centuries old tradition of caring for the pilgrims before the next day's climb to the highest point of the Camino.  There is a 12th century Romanesque church that was probably built by the Knights Templar.  We attended Wednesday vespers there - Gregorian chanting of the entire service.They actually provided an English translation so we could follow the service as it was sung in latin.  The only beds available in the albergue, other than top bunks in the dormitory, were mattresses on the floor in a huge barn like room that held a large selection of beautiful antiques.  We were happy to accept these beds and actually slept very well in the cool, relatively quiet space.   The people who run this albergue continue the tradition of caring for pilgrims, it was clean, the food was good and plentiful and the beer was cold!  There were hugs all around when we left the next morning.

Thursday's stage took us up to the highest and one of the most anticipated spots on the Camino - Cruz de Ferro.  A simple iron cross stands on top of a pole where pilgrims leave rocks that they have carried from home, along with the rocks you can leave a prayer or a good wish for yourself or someone you care about.  I left rocks for my family, friends and myself.  It was a very emotional time as I stood on top of the pile of rocks and thought of all those who are important to me and sent them all love - did you feel it?  The day was wonderful in so many ways, the change in the weather seems to be permanent - we went from extreme lows to higher than normal temperatures in a day, the scenery was amazing and I even managed to fly my kite when all the conditions were perfect!  The only downside to the day was literally the "down" part.  The last 8 or so kilometres were over very rocky steep paths.  By the time we arrived in our next village, Molinaseca, , my knees were very sore.   It was a long stage of over 26k so we were ready for our beds after dinner on the riverfront with our pilgrim friends.

On Friday we were facing a very hot day and a 30k walk, starting with a walk through the city of Ponferrada.  I had decided a while ago that I did not want to walk through the kilometres of concrete required to get us through cities so Robert and I took a bus into the city but still had to walk a few kilometres to get to the outskirts where we met Megan and Andre.  Our walk took us through many vineyards and nice villages.  I started off feeling refreshed and ready to go but as time went on my knee started to give me major grief.  Whenever we would stop for a coffee I would get a bag of ice for my knee.  It was really slow going for me and I started to feel very sorry for myself; worried that I'd done major harm to my knee and I worried about being able to finish my Camino.  Megan stayed with me and kept encouraging me to take a taxi to the next village on our agenda.  We caught up with Robert and Andre who were sitting in a square waiting for our arrival, I went into a bar to ask for a bag of ice.  There was a gentleman sitting at the bar who asked me about my knee and then went outside to his car to get a first aid kit.  This very kind man, Michele,  is from Paris, he has had knee surgery so he is driving while his wife and her friend walk the Camino.  He kindly offered to drive me to the lovely village of Villafrance and even wanted to make sure that I found a place to stay - which was my assignment from my walking partners.  I assured him that I would be fine and after a kiss on each cheek he drove off and I hobbled in to town to try and find accommodation for our group.  It was very hot, I was probably a bit dehydrated, my knee was very sore and I felt a bit lost.  The albergues were not what I was looking for so I started into town looking for a reasonably priced pension or hostile with private rooms.  The first place I stopped in seemed more than I thought we wanted to pay so I continued my search.  I managed to get myself completely lost and still had not found a place to stay.  The more I walked the more upset I got because I knew that everyone would arrive hot and tired and I wanted to make sure I found a good place for us.  I finally settled on the first place I had looked at and was received by one of the nicest men I have every met.  He could tell that I was in very bad shape so he pulled a big ice cold bottle of water and out of the fridge for me and  helped me carry my stuff up to the room.  And what a lovely room it was.  The building is overt 400-years old, he and his wife have done a great job of renovating it and making it a very comfortable and welcoming.  So on one day I met two incredibly kind men who took care of this weary pilgrim.   

Saturday's stage was yet another 30-kilometre walk involving a very steep climb to O'Cebreiro which is a tiny village of 20 houses.  Robert has been battling a nasty cold so we decided that neither of us needed such a strenuous effort so we took a bus and then a cab to this beautiful place in the sky.  The village is virtually perched on top of a mountain so on one side of the village there was a view down over a huge valley that was shrouded in clouds when we arrived, but later in the distance past farms and villages we could see a highway with huge bridges.  On the other side of the village the view was over a vast valley of green farm fields. The typical Galician thatched buildings are of Celtic origin and are arranged higly pigly throughout the small village.  At one point in the early afternoon a small band of drummers and bag pipers appeared and played a couple of rather Celtic sounding tunes that got people dancing in the street.  I managed to video tape the second one and then they all just walked away - kind of like a flash mob Galician style!  It was a great day and we did manage to get a bit of rest.  

Sunday we set out to walk to the village of Triacastela, a trek that  started out along the highway but involved incredible views that continued once we turned on to paths that took us through the farm country.   About 15k in we reached a village that was the start of a severe downhill stretch so Megan and I decided to take a taxi and save our knees and our feet as we both have a number of blisters.  We were a bit disappointed with the town and with the meal we had in the evening - it was a pilgrim dinner served as if we were a real bother to the server.  Oh well, you can't win them all.  

This morning we had the option of two different routes that would take us to Sarria.  Robert and Andre decided to take the longer route that involved a visit to a monastery, they apparently didn't sign up while there ;-)  Megan and I took the shorter route that was billed as the more scenic route.  Our walk was really amazing with lovely scenery and very little road walking.  We walked through Oak forests, farm yards, ancient paths with spring water running down the path and past quaint villages.  R & A enjoyed their walk as well, they said that it was very scenic and they enjoyed seeing the monastery although they did not wait around for the 3:30 tour.  

It has been very hot for the last 5 days and we are doing our best to take care of our skin.  We've seen some really bad sunburns.  A couple from Brazil had all the right clothing on as well as fingerless gloves with a high UVPF that I coveted.  I use SPF lotion on my hands but it washes off so I have to reapply and then my walking sticks get all gooey….. whine, whine.  If you have not yet visited the Save Your Skin Foundation website I invite you to do so www.saveyourskin.ca.  Remember to take care of your skin!

If you have actually read this whole entry I must thank you.  We are now within striking distance of Santiago just 120k to go; we will arrive Saturday afternoon.  That's only 5 more days so my next blog entry may not be as long. 

Burgos and Leon

We are in Leon.  As planned we are staying in a pension for the week and will try to do walks from here.  The bus schedule is a very elusive beast here in Spain and we have yet to figure out if there is any way that we can possibly cover some of the missed Meseta by busing to villages along the route that we skipped over yesterday.  That plan may not work, but we had a chance meeting in a grocery store that provided us with an opportunity to have a nice long walk today.  As we were contemplating the wine selection in the grocery store a lady came up to me and asked if we were walking the Camino.  She was very friendly and said that we should come out and visit her and her husband.  It seemed a bit odd to receive such an invitation after just meeting a person but she appeared to be genuine so we continued our conversation with her.   As it turned out her daughter and Spanish husband run a language school very close to our Pension so we went with her to meet the daughter and have a cup of tea at the school.  The lady, Eileen and her husband Gunther, are from New York originally but lived in Germany for many years and now live here to be close to their 3 granddaughters.  After tea we agreed that we would walk to their village, about 17k north of where we are, for lunch today.  It was a great walk, although a bit odd to not be following yellow arrows.  It was about 3 degrees when we started out and the black clouds threatened us all the way but it didn't rain until after we arrived at their home.  We caught the 6:00 pm bus back into town after a really nice lunch a great visit.

Our time in Burgos was really very special.  Once we got over being so tired and a bit depressed about the weather we set out to enjoy the city.  The cathedral is amazing!  It is a World Heritage site with many chapels, the oldest one from the early 1200's.  We spent a very chilly afternoon wandering through the grandeur and opulence of this cathedral.

The next day we decided to take in the Museum of Human Evolution just across the river from our hotel.  The building is shaped like a prism and has a total floor area of 15,000 square metres.  Half of this area is for the permanent exhibition.  The focus of the main exhibit area is the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological sites.  This is an area just outside of Burgos where the remains of the oldest human being in Europe (1.3 million years old) were found.  The exhibits were very informative as well as interactive.  There was also a section given to Darwin and Ramon y Cajal, two of the most eminent scientists in history. We should all know about Darwin - but  you may not know that Ramon y Cajal demonstrated the workings of the nervous system and cellular and neural connections.  There was a exhibition that showed the evolution of hominids over the last seven million years. We saw it on Sunday afternoon and the museum was filled with families enjoying this great place.

After leaving the museum Robert and I walked across town and climbed up to the castle that overlooks the city.  It was closed, which was okay we mostly wanted to see the view from on the hill.  The castle sits behind the cathedral so we were able to view it from a different angle.  Of course while we were up there it rained a bit so our photos may not be what we had hoped.

That evening we reconnected with Isabella, Renee and John who were staying at the same hotel we were in.  We all agreed to meet Tony for dinner at 7:00 in front of the Cathedral.   There was a pilgrim's mass at 7:30 so we decided to go there before dinner.  Not being Catholic and not speaking Spanish was not an issue as the priest enthralled us with his devotion and the way he spoke his message.  I didn't need to know what he said - it was the way he said it.  At the end of the mass he called all the pilgrims to the altar and gave us a blessing that was very touching and brought tears to my eyes.  I walked out feeling that my Camino once again has purpose and I am eager to continue.

After leaving the Cathedral we walked across the square to a restaurant that came highly recommended as a place that serves cordero (lamb).  This was a much more high class place than we've been dining in lately and of course the prices reflected that.  I have to tell you though without a doubt, it was the best lamb I have ever eaten.  Robert and I shared a salad and appie of grilled chorizo and then shared the main - roast baby lamb with patatas fritas (french fries).  We shared a couple of bottles of local Crianza wine with the rest of the group.  There was much moaning and slurping going on at the table as everyone enjoyed their meals immensely.  I was happy that we had a few blocks to walk back to our hotel (if you get my meaning Lori ;-)  This night will remain a high point of the Camino for us. Unfortunately, it will be the last time we are all together as John left the next morning to return home with his injured leg.

Tomorrow we will spend the day walking around Leon; there's a market in Plaza Mayor (Main Plaza) so we'll take that in.  There is also a building by Gaudi that we need to see.  We have already seen the parador that was featured in the movie The Way as well as the Cathedral.  There's lots to do and see!

Thanks for the comments and encouragement, it means a lot.