Backpacking Bill

The end is nearly at hand. We have a comparatively short walk today, 9 miles. It occurs to me this morning that those who have been following this blog are probably as anxious for our Camino to end as we are. After all, quaint Spanish villages, stone bridges and medieval chapels all start looking the same by this time in our journey.

I believe I am entering the mental state of the end of the Camino. I believe it to be a time for reflection as well as celebration.

This was a cold gray day – didn’t take many photos.

This morning we had a better look at our lodging.

I understand that our lodging facility was originally a religious community.

I can’t believe this is our 40th day walking.

This was an average day of about 12 miles. Not much new in the countryside.

The group of boys wanted to speak English with a native. At every place that gave out pilgrim stamps, the boys swarmed the place to get their stamps. One of the chaperones has a friend who played Soccer for Clemson. They were full of energy but very respectful.

Today Tina I walked separately. This was a long day and she wanted a shorter day after yesterday’s trek. Also, part of the Camino is gathering personal thoughts; walking alone facilitates that experience. So, Tina cabbed with her Australian friend, Helen, for the first part.

We are staying in a place called Rectoral de Lestedo, a delightful place. We sat with a French couple beside a roaring fire in the fireplace and shared a glass of Vino Tento. We asked a gal from Australia to join us for dinner. The place is run by a very nice couple who has a newborn baby. The father is the cook and the wife is the hostess/waitress/bartender. Had such a good evening that I forgot to take photos.

Today is going to be a long slog we have 16.5 miles.

And, it was a long slog, indeed. We first went through Sarria. Sarria is the place where pilgrims can start the Camino and complete it by doing the minimum distance. A lot of people start here. You can tell a new pilgrim by the new shoes and clean clothes. The sunny demeanor is also a dead giveaway. They also take lots of pictures. There were so many people that it was like walking down a busy city street.  It was fun to watch Tina breeze past pilgrims that were struggling with the hills.

Not many comments today as it was a long tough one for both of us.

The Galician countryside is beautiful and even at the end of a long hike day, it did not go unnoticed,

Although chilly, in the morning we made it in good shape to our lodging in Aguiada. Due to a family issue with the owners of our lodging we are the only guests. The place is really great – a big bed, great views from the sun porch and beautifully furnished. We are a couple miles from Sarria but, because the lodging owner is away and can’t supply breakfast, they are providing transport to Sarria in the morning.

Lodging tonight is delightful but a bit odd. The owner is tending to her husband who is in ICU in A Carunia. She sent her daughter to let us in. We are the only residents tonight in a large modern home with lots of frills.

First, happy birthday to Jim. We are celebrating Jim’s birthday long distance.

We first went for breakfast this morning where we ran into our friend Helen from Australia. She was going to take a taxi for the first part of the Camino today. We started in the rain but quickly took up Helen’s invitation to join her in the taxi. We got to Triacastela early and did laundry.

We took it easy today, back on the trail tomorrow

This day is famous for being one of the longest uphill climbs. And, it lived up to it’s reputation.

When we arrived in O Cebriero we sat at a restaurant with Abby and Eric we met who live in Maine. Helen joined us, then a second Australian gal then our friends from Pennsylvania, Helen and John. Others dropped in briefly from time to time.This was a true Camino experience, a pop up forum.

Today is a 12 mile day. We have to choose from three routes: the crazy high one that’s poorly marked, the moderately crazy one with views or the sane person’s route. I think we will miss a couple views.

The path today was almost all on a path next to a busy highway. There was not much to photograph.

The Camino Provides

We left Tina’s walking sticks at a stop 3.5 miles from our lodging. We were in a state because it seemed the alternatives were to A) take a taxi back to pick them up or B) buy new ones for the big uphill tomorrow. The gal who runs our lodging is having her cousin pick them up for us and we will have them here at 4:30 this afternoon,  Tina was relieved and thankful!

When we got the sticks we offered to pay her for her trouble. She refused; only asked that we say a prayer for her when we get to Santiago.

Last evening was probably the best meal we had on the Camino. To revisit it one more time, this was one of the starters we had shrimp and octopus wrapped in cod

Tomorrow  we are walking 5 miles to one of the highest points of the Camino.  The good news is, the steep walk is a short and early day!

This is a  comparatively short walk today. Looking out our lodging window, it looks like we are coming into another wine region.

Doing a little (very little) reading, the Bierzo region is an up and coming wine region centered around the Mencia grape.

Other than being a stop on the Camino de Santiago since medieval times, I don’t think there’s much history. We shall see what we encounter.

We were up much later than we had wanted. We had a lovely dinner with our Camino from Pennsylvania, Helen and John. We met them weeks ago while still walking the Masette.

We are taking it easy today in Ponferrada. We have lodging, the weather is clear and we had a great breakfast. We decidedp to take transport to Cacabelos after the trial by fire that we had yesterday. It will also give us a chance to do laundry when we get to Cacabelos.

We have very nice lodging in Cacabelos. We have a large modern room with a Queen bed (most are two singles pushed together).

Not many photos today.

In the morning we are planning to continue walking. The next stop is Villafranca del Bierzo