And So There We Are

And that's it and it's over and done with and we are on our way back home after an adventure that already seems to have happened long ago. And here we are at the airport waiting to go back to the good ol' US of A. 

Joyce and I reminisce about our favorite parts of the journey and we agree that oddly enough we actually like the first part the best, and that was the hardest part. But we were the freshest then and it was the most rewarding and inspiring and interesting. And it was the part where we proved ourselves by meeting the challenges. 

We somewhat recovered in the Parador. The Parador in Santiago de Compostela was originally a hostel/hospital (like the one in León) founded and paid for from their own funds by Isabella and Fernando in the late 1400s after they discovered there was no where that sick pilgrims could recover and that many actually died on the floor of the Cathedral after their journey. 

When we get back home, we'll be telling stories about how it went and what happened and the whole experience will become part of our greater story.  But the refrain remains: "Buen Camino" everyone!!!

The End of the World got Canceled

Apparently they decided that the rain would spoil the trip out to the coast, or something, and canceled the excursion so we are stuck in the Parador. Disappointing because it would have put the frosting on the cake. On the other hand, it is indeed a torrential downpour that only lets up for a little and then starts again. Their drainage system is truly impressive....

Seriously? CLIF Bar has been copying us ... (Today's snack)

More pilgrims arrive every minute - these riders left all their bicycles in a big pile to have their picture taken. If you do the Camino by bicycle, you have to ride 200K, not just 100K, to get the Compostela. 

We took advantage of a brief respite in weather to walk, hahahaha, to a park

 overlooking the old sector and the cathedral, where I left my rock. On a ledge with a view of the cathedral, guarded by an important citizen of Santiago.

It's the last thing we needed to do before the return home. Very symbolic and I had to find just the right place since it wasn't going out to Finisterre.   Tomorrow the plane to Madrid and then home. 😀

The Religious Road

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 11:10 a.m. Joyce and I walked into Obradoiro square and looked up at the cathedral. We had done it! Our goal was accomplished and we were both glad and amazed that we had. 

Then it hit us. Ok, now what - and then we looked around to see that the square was somewhat smaller than we had thought it would be, and the cathedral facade was under wraps for renovation, and yes, there were pilgrims in the square but also lots of groups of tourists and day trippers and no one was delirious with religious exaltation - oh, and it was gray and rainy and windy.  In short, kind of anticlimactic. Maybe that's how it also is for marathoners and other people who put out lots of effort for a project and then it's over... 

Well even though no pilgrims prostrated themselves before the gates or walked in on their knees, there were plenty of religious/spiritual examples that we saw on the way, big and small. 

And we had our own spiritual moments

And we saw that people had tried to commemorate important things

This was an awful monument, but it was dedicated to the visit of Pope Benedict on the Camino. 

And stands in sharp contrast to these humble crosses intertwined into the fencing along a roadway

And we went to the evening mass, even though neither of us is Catholic, to participate. Because that's what a pilgrim does. The altar area was beautiful and we did experience the swinging of the huge incense burner, the botafumeiro. 

We also got our "Compostela" the official paper acknowledging your pilgrimage, that is, after a two hour wait in line in the rain... 

And tomorrow: to the end of the world - we are taking the bus to Finisterre, right on the Atlantic and once considered to be exactly that, the end of the world. 

For Joyce's Family

Remembrances of 19 Ferry Street - just like the rock they spent so many happy hours playing on. 

Santa Irene

Our dear friend Irene lost her husband to Parkinson's very recently. They had spent many years living in Spain while he worked. She wanted us to leave a lock of his hair on the Camino so he could return to Spain and when we discovered the tiny chapel of Santa Irene en route, we decided it was the perfect place. Joyce placed the lock at the cornerstone of the chapel and put her wishing rock on top. 

 We almost didn't find it because it was on a detour route. This was graffiti put to good use... 

Walk Walk Walk

Another day on the Camino - one foot in front of the other - we don't remember the word "impossible" (thanks to Mickie Price) 

We are doing great but after 14K two days in a row, we are tired. The younger hikers can do 30 but we have learned that 30 would not be age-appropriate. We have actually learned a lot of things on the Camino: 

1.  A lot of short uphills and downhills is just as bad as a long uphill and therefore a long downhill

2.  Take the whole roll of TP, you never know....

But don't leave it in the woods or along the way - the litter is horrific - and so is the graffiti 

3.  You can distinguish the presence of different barnyard animals by their noise or what they leave behind on the paths

And, also, you could get along with much less stuff in your luggage... 

To be cont.

We Are Not Alone

For starters, check out this link - watch them play but the lyrics are the key. (You may have to cut and paste the link) Almost looks like they are on the Camino too

http://www.metaspoon.com/patty-cake-epic-music-video/ 

We started out from Ventas de Naron after having stayed at the country house 

Now that we have come to the last part of the Camino, there are many more people on the road. We have learned that having a Compostela (the certificate that verifies you have made the pilgrimage) helps Spaniards get a job

We met two Spaniards from Galicia who were serving as volunteers at a rest stop/albergue. 

They were serving free coffee and tea and cookies and Bible verses. The place belonged to an American who had done the Camino and wanted to help other pilgrims. 

We met a couple from South Africa snacking by the wayside and when they heard us speaking English, they asked us to take their picture. 

This young man from the Netherlands struck up a conversation with us while we were having a soda at a bar along the way. He was walking the Camino in order to get his thoughts together and decide whether he should ask his girlfriend to marry him ... 

He decided yes. 

Two Brazilians speaking Portuguese and laughing - we could hear them from waaay back 

And many other random people - sometimes we didn't get a picture of those we talked to 

This fellow walking along with his friend had a prosthetic foot....

And these bunnies were the cause of an almost serious mishap 

Joyce tripped on a dip in the sidewalk while coming over to see the bunnies and both of us almost ended up in the ditch had we not held on to each other to keep from falling - we do not walk alone. 

Reality Bites

We made the best time ever on today's walk/hike. Early start + easy paths + moderate climbs + appropriate refueling + shorter distance. Our lodging is out in the country, another "Casa Rural". It's quaint, picturesque and comfortably furnished. (Can't get the video to upload on this blog)

Joyce says it could be in Napa for that matter - or in Tuscany. The roof style is similar, not sure how many places in Napa have stone walls two feet thick. 

The building dates from the 1400s

 and has been renovated to include modern amenities. 

Can't have a place without a bar - I think it looks old English. 

It's pretty unreal that we are here in Spain enjoying this.  The people who run this casa rural are renting it from someone who lives elsewhere and are making their living in "hostelries". The young girl who transported us to their place graduated from high school, her sister is living in Madrid to finish her studies, she has a six year old brother, her mother does the cooking, they all run the Casa and her uncle just came from Germany to help out and she didn't mention her dad. The reality is that people have to work very hard to make a go of it here in Spain while we are traipsing around the countryside in the latest wicking shirts and shorts.  

Australian Jeff (who himself owns cattle and horses) commented that the folks out here are most likely subsistence farmers - real dairy farms would probably have about 1000 head of cattle, not just 20-30. And most likely the poverty we've seen is because people don't have the money and have gone off to the city to work, besides taking care of their farms. 

Harvesting potatoes 

Last night, our lodgings were a bit more austere, adequate but plain, right in the middle of a busy plaza filled with pilgrims all looking for a place to spend a quick night and get an inexpensive meal. The staff was a family of three generations.  They cooked, cleaned, served, and tried to get a bite in themselves all the while tending to whoever walked in. 

Some of the more basic pilgrim albergues have problems with bed bugs - in fact we saw a woman putting out a sign in front of one declaring it to be closed due to "chinches" - bed bugs!!!  

Bites from bed bugs is a reality Joyce and I don't need. 

Whew!! None....