Blog

The walk to Santiago de Compostela this morning began in a dense fog. Not my brain…the weather.

As you get closer to town the trinket shops begin appearing.

Several people now walking without shoes (a custom). At this shrine, pilgrims leave excess gear. Shoes, shirts, hats, bandanas, bras, etc.

The mist eventually turned to rain. Not a hard rain but enough to be a nuisance.

The “Hola” smile of the day goes to this gentleman. He stopped me and was trying to tell me something. I eventually figured out he was conveying that I was really close to the chapel.

What exactly is a pilgrimage? I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit the last few days. You can find many definitions. I am going with “a long journey to a place that is considered special”.

I’d originally considered a pilgrimage to be solely a religious journey. If that were truly the case, I’d estimate that fewer than 10% of people I’ve met would be considered pilgrims.

The cathedral at Santiago is special because, for many people, it signifies the accomplishment of a goal. For some, it is a huge accomplishment.

You can sense the excitement level rise when you first glimpse the spires of the cathedral.

The cathedral was built in the 12th century. It is currently undergoing a major restoration and the majority of it is closed. There is normally a daily mass for pilgrims. This has been moved to other churches about town.

The cathedral is huge and has a very large plaza in front.

The plaza was significantly less crowded than I expected. Probably due to the rain.

My “pilgrimage” does not end here but I did take some time to reflect. I made 3 resolutions to myself so far on this journey:

1. Say hi to as many people as I can each day. Especially those who are by themselves. It’s easy to do and you never know who needs to feel as though someone cares about them.

2. Help the immobile be more mobile. I am planning to go to senior citizen centers near our home and volunteer to take those in wheelchairs out for walks. I’ve seen lots of people being wheeled in Spain. Many of them smiling. Plus, I’m a pretty good walker.

3. Do my part to make our environment clean. I plan to keep trash bags in my car. When I see an area with a bunch of trash, I will stop and clean it up. I’ve always been disgusted by the sight of litter. Why not do something about it.

Those are my goals. I’ll keep you posted!

Now, on to the end of the world. Santiago is in the rear view mirror.

Leaving Santiago takes us back up into the hills.

Somebody painted some really nice murals on these buildings.

I fly out of Porto, Portugal 4 weeks from today. I plan to walk about 300 more miles. Doing the math it appears I’ll have plenty of time to sit in different coastal towns drinking beer. I’m pretty good at that, too!!

I love the look of these old stone streets but they really hurt my feet.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

I didn’t get rousted from my tenting spot but it was a pretty damp and chilly night. Not sure what the temp was but guessing low 50’s. 

A bit over 7 miles to town of Boimorto and another decision point. 

It was a pretty sunny day. Quite a bit of road walking and not very many people doing their part to avoid the overcrowding. I felt pretty alone out here. 

Still passing lots of small farms and tiny hamlets through here. Not quite as many orchards as in Austurias but there are a few.

I keep seeing this tall, leafy garden crop. No clue what it is but virtually everyone with a garden grows it. 

After a while I am really ready for a chair with a back. They weren’t joking about services being limited. Saw a bar early on but really nothing since. 

Stayed in a very inexpensive room last night. Small bed that was slanted. Surprised I was able to stay on all night and get a good sleep. Amazed that my back felt totally fine this AM.

Knew that today had to be a long walk. In my head there were services at 13 miles and then not until 25 miles.

Morning was spent walking through some nice forest areas.

I’ve seen sheep, horses, and cows being herded down the road.

Followed this guy and his herd for a couple hundred yards. Seemed to have a lead cow that listened to him. If any of the others got out of place, his dogs got them right back in line.

I had everything I could do to keep El Jeffe from doing a live broadcast here. I was afraid he’d say something stupido and start a stampedo!!

This is typical of the small hamlets we’ve been walking through past couple of days.

The “Hola” smile of the day (really more of a grin) goes to this artisan. His studio was a small shack in the hamlet. He had music blaring loudly which caught my attention. I have no clue what he makes!

This little lamb thinks he’s a mountain goat.

At about 8 mile mark I passed an alburque and cafe. 2 ladies there that I had talked to last night. Strange because we had discussed no services until 13 miles. I blew past because I could easily make 5 more miles before I stop.

Went through a stretch of randomly different terrain. Very rocky and hilly for a couple miles.

As I’m nearing the 13 mile mark I am really ready for a break. Been walking nonstop for nearly 4 hours.

Just slightly passed mile 13 I caught up with Greta and Danny, a nice couple from Ireland I’d met a couple days ago. When they asked how I was I told them I couldn’t wait to get to the town up ahead. “Pete, the next town is nearly 20 km (12 miles)”. NOT good!

Danny thought there may be a cafe in 15 km (9 miles). Really no options. I’ve got some 2 day old bread, a Kit Kat bar, a coke, and a half liter of water. No problem I lie to myself.

Walked with Danny and Greta for almost an hour until they took a break. This had turned into a challenge for me. How far can I go without taking a break? My only pauses had been to take pics and pee. No sitting or taking pack off.

Decided I needed some ground rules. Had to stop if I started staggering down the road or if I started hallucinating.

One foot in front of the other. Final 3 miles was on side of a road with nowhere to sit if I wanted and definitely not a good place to be staggering. Focusing is kind of difficult after 6 straight hours of walking.

There was a cafe where Danny thought. Hallelujah! I had gone about 21 miles in 6.5 hours with no stops. You should not even try that on your treadmill at home. Where are you going to pee?

Danny and Greta caught up with me as I was savoring my second Coke. This is Danny boy.

The last 4 miles to town was a relative piece of cake. Made it only to find no hotel rooms! I think I’ll just sit down and cry. Give me a minute, please.

Well, I do have a tent. Got something to eat and found a park on outskirts of town where I pitched my tent.

I’ll sleep well unless this is illegal and I get rousted.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

Was a bit tough getting going this AM. Been having some spasms in my lower back when getting out of bed. Slightly worse every day. Today had to assume the fetal position for about 10 minutes. That helped. Once I get up and moving, no problem.

We seem to be walking through smaller hills now. Today was a very fast hike. 25 miles in 7.5 hrs with a 1/2 hr lunch break in there.

Seeing more pilgrims each day. Today was kind of like a reunion day. Saw the 19 year young German girl I walked with for quite a bit 7-10 days ago. Saw the Italian lady I had lunch with a few days ago. Saw the Korean couple I had dinner with a couple nights ago. I am pretty bad at remembering names. Part of the problem is I assume I won’t see them again and don’t want to waste what little brain space I have available.

The shape of the horreos has changed from basically square in Austurias to rectangular in Galicia. Not sure of the reason for the shape change but it is readily apparent.

I’m fairly certain this “Hola” smile of the day will get some “Aww, cute” thoughts.

I had lunch in that city, Vilalba, 30 minutes before this picture. Sometimes it’s good to take a few seconds and look back at where you’ve been.

One odd thing to me is that the closer we get to Santiago, the more distance between services like food and lodging. Today it was 13 miles to Vilalba and then 12 more to Baamonde. Between there…nothing. There were a couple “towns” but they were really just a couple houses and some abandoned buildings. No services. Tomorrow is similar.

I am now about 60 miles from Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrims have a book that you get stamped along the way and show that in Santiago to get a certificate.

I haven’t been very diligent about getting stamps. Primarily because with the number of pilgrims arriving in Santiago each day there can be a wait of 3 hours to get that certificate. There is 0% chance I will wait around for that. I got a 2,000 mile certificate from Appalachian Trail Society…not sure where that is. Heck, I made my first hole in one in 30 years of golf 4 months ago and lost the golf ball 3 holes later.

I, and you, know how far I walked. That’s all that matters. Plus I’ll be walking another 300 miles past there.

Not really sure what this is. It’s an old farm building that sits by itself but looks as though someone uses it. Nice sitting area.

Going to have to do another 20+ miles tomorrow. Just not seeing any good stopping points between 15 and 20 miles. Not sure how many 20+ mile days I can do in a row but guess we’ll find out if I can do at least 4.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

Today was full of ups and downs. Not the emotional kind…just physically going up and then down. 

Villamartin Grande is situated on top of a hill so began the morning with a fairly steep descent into the valley. 

Small farm houses and farms pretty much everywhere you look. On the hills. In the valleys. More dairy cows in this area. Nothing beats the aroma of a good silage pile in the morning. 

Once you get to the valley… back up the hill. 

Spain must have pretty lax burning laws. See people burning debris in their yards fairly frequently. That is not fog in the valley. 

Today’s “Hola” smile comes from this lady who had just been doing some harvesting in her garden. 

What a good feeling to reach the top. The scenery is good. Love the horses. Not sure it was worth 2 fewer miles, though. 

What a good feeling to reach the top.

As we leave the ocean heading to Santiago de Compostela, we have to cross some mountain (big hills) ranges. After that I’m guessing we’ll get to the plains where the rain in Spain mainly falls. 

The “Hola” smile of the day comes from a lady who actually flagged me down. She was at a small church and encouraged me to stop and go inside. 

I put some clothes on, took my hat off, and went in. Amazing!

The mountain walking was really quite pleasant. I enjoy the exertion of the hills and you can see for miles. 

Lots of agricultural. Virtually all corn. Apparently they haven’t heard of soy beans. 

Only 2 rooms rented tonight. A Korean couple and Just Pete. Included in the lodging is a home cooked dinner and breakfast. The dinner was very good. Salad, some noodly type soup and Spanish tortilla. A Spanish tortilla is of no relation to a Mexican tortilla. In Spain it’s really more like an omelette. Tonight’s was eggs and potatoes. Really good. 

Today began with a steady mist. Forecast called for rain so I’ll take the mist!

Not as many people out and about when the weather is a bit crappy. Thought I may have a difficult time with my “Hola” smile until I ran into this lady.

Got back near the ocean later in the morning. Just in time for mist to change to rain.

Got to walk along the edge of the cliffs for several miles. I veered off the path of the Camino to peer over the edge. Fun but really got my shoes quite wet which is no good!

The cliffs are pretty steep…as in straight down 50 feet. It would be a very painful fall if you slipped. If you miraculously survived the fall, you’d probably be there for a while. At least until the tide came in. Bottom line…there is no way a fall here has a good ending.

Tomorrow we will be taking a big left turn and heading inland. It’s 124 miles from here to Santiago de Compostela, which is the destination for pilgrims on all the different Camino’s.

There are about as many pilgrims arriving in Santiago each day at this time of year as through hike the Appalachian Trail in a year. I must confess that arriving in Santiago doesn’t really excite me. Some pilgrims will think that is total blasphemy so I only tell you.

I prefer this solitude. Saw no one else for a good 2 hours today. The fact that it was raining pretty good may have been a factor.

It was a wee bit scary getting this picture!

We’ll be away from the coast for about 170 miles. My plan is to do some big mile days through this stretch so I can take my time once I get back to the coast.

‘

When it’s raining, operating my phone becomes quite a challenge. The screen gets wet. My hands are wet. None of the “buttons” want to work. Thankfully the Camino was easy to follow through here as getting my navigation app open wasn’t going to happen. Missed a few good photo ops.

Did get dry enough to get this casa on the hill. Nice!

Stopped in a small beach bar to escape the rain. The bar would be incredible on a nice day. It was just outside a really small town (Porcia) with a view similar to this.

I rolled into Tapia de Casariego about 1:30. Cool town built on the cliffs and down to the ocean.

Spent 2 or 3 hours at a bar/restaurant where I had dinner and a beer…well maybe more than one. When I was leaving, bartender gave me a couple of tee shirts. Not really sure how to take that?!

Almost forgot to mention that my tomorrow (your today) is Naked Hiking Day. As you’re reading this, there’s a good chance I’m sauntering down the Camino in my birthday suit.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

Our intrepid weather reporter braved the elements again today. The Weather Channel should hire this dude…just sayin!

I really want to party with him some day.

It was supposed to rain today. One good thing about “rain” here is there is moisture falling from the sky. Where we live in FL, when it rains…it rains. It may only last 15 minutes, but I definitely have a do it yourself ark kit ready to go.

Today was lots of crop land views and walking. I like that because that’s what my people in South Dakota do. May be different crops and WAY smaller fields here but it’s farming.

We were up on the ridge again today. Sometimes I go a long way without looking to my left.

I really wish that I could let you inside my brain for some of these long stretches of time. Yeah, scratch that. Not a good idea!

It really does amaze me how similar the economies of these small towns are to the economies of so many small towns near where I grew up in South Dakota. There are no longer schools in most of them but they have a church (or 2), a bar (or 2), and lots of friendly people.

This dude totally looked like a stuffed animal. I was ready to shoot baskets on an impossible hoop at the fair to take him home.

If we were on the AT, I know we’d be going straight up this hill.

Fortunately we’re not on the AT and we’re heading here instead.

This asparagus spear could feed a village.

It’s actually some cactus flower…just FYI!

The “Hola” smile. This “thing” is getting bigger than a “thing”!

This is just a tease as to a Just Pete Challenge we’ll get going after I’m home. I’ve warned you that I have too much time to think!

Interesting dinner. First lesson…eat just before kitchen closes at 4. Had really good soup of the day (chickpea and ham). As much as I could eat. Plus wine. As much as I could drink.

After I had finished eating, a beer salesman came in. The sales call took place right around me with him and 5 people from restaurant.

I try to pay attention to my surroundings and already knew who owner/manager was. Sharply dressed. White long sleeve dress shirt. Employees well dressed in black golf-type shirts. Salesman not so much. Wrinkled yellow golf-type shirt with burn hole in center.

I had 0 business getting involved, but couldn’t stop myself. Already knew owner didn’t speak English but he was standing next to me so I typed “If he was a good sales person, he would be dressed better than that” into Google Translate. The app types out the Spanish translation.

These translations don’t always work but I handed my phone to him. This translation must have come across because he lit up with a huge grin, gave me a thumbs up, and high 5’d me! Trifecta!!

If you are in sales, please take heed. As for me, I got a free shot of Austurian cider. This region of Spain is famous for that. They also do some really trick pouring of it!

Happy trails and buen Camino!

Overcast and cloudy this morning. Rain was in forecast for afternoon so I decided my destination for the day would be Luarca.

The morning hiking was through pasturelands and a small bit of forest. I knew the ocean was only a couple miles away but too foggy to see.

I really need to cut back on my daily/weekly mileage. I’ve got opposite problem of most people I meet. Plenty of time and not enough miles.

Fly home in 36 days so 35 potential days to walk. 475 or so miles to go on my route. That’s about 14 miles per day. That’s like a part-time job! Sure I’ll figure something out.

Got rained on a bit mid-day. Just enough to make you damp and chilly.

Walked a bit, really more like avoided the rain, with 2 ladies. One is a cardiologist in Hungary. The other a former product manager in the fashion industry from Italy. The Hungarian got bed bugs in an alburque last night. I keep saying that I’m going to stay more in alburques but now, probably not!

Sun was out by the time I got to Luarca.

Luarca is a quaint fishing village nestled between a mountain and the sea.

Ran into the 2 ladies I met earlier. We went out to eat together at a nice seaside restaurant. It’s funny how you can meet someone along the AT or Camino for 15 minutes and then you’re friends. I don’t even remember their names!

The meal was great. I had seafood paella. Total bill for 3 with a bottle of wine was $34. What a deal?

Met the “Hola” smile of the day near there. She was more than willing to pose for me!

Overall a pretty quiet day.

Happy trails and buen Camino!