onwards to Muxia (by car)

Tuesday again dawned bright sunny and warm. This was the the beginning of the end of our wonderful journey. Having the benefit of a car the youngest son drove his father up to Monte Gozo whilst 2 of us walked. The day the 3 amigas and the newbies had walked there as part of our Camino had been very rainy and overcast so we decided to go back and visit in the sunshine and also to give the husband a chance to go there as health issues prevented him from walking all but very short flat spells.

The views were indeed beautiful and we spent quite a while before departing for the city once again as the time had come for the first of us to go home. Grainne departed back to Ireland sharing her flight with many of those we had met on our Camino.

So the remaining 5 of us decided to make our journey to the "end of the earth" and although it is Finsterre that actually claims this title, our time was limited, so we decided to go to Muxia as we had fell in love with this place when we had seen it in the film "The Way". Muxia reminded us so much of the beauty of Donegal in Ireland.

This was another very special place which gave me a sense of completeness. We wandered over the rocks for ages, viewed the chapel, walked to the monument and deposited our pebbles from Ireland that I had carried all the way on our Camino for our close family and friends and their special intentions. Some very special memories were made at Muxia, I would love to go back there some day.

I love living so close to the ocean and I felt so at home in Muxia.

"Take 5 minutes and sit quietly and reflect on all the blessings in your life."
Catherine Pulsifer

after the walking!

We awoke on monday morning after a great sleep and a relatively late breakfast to brilliant sunshine and blue skies. We decided to venture a little further afield and visit Coruna on the north coast for the day. So off we went on the local bus into the city where we changed onto a direct bus to our destination.
Our host at the Xan Xordo gave us guidance about times, distances and the ultimo (last ) bus back to our hotel.
We had a minor confusion at the main bus station when we nearly got on to the indirect bus but with the help of the bus driver and a local gentleman who spoke perfect english with a south london accent (sounding like all my cousins! ) all was rapidly sorted and off we went.
It was a very pleasant journey and we arrived in Coruna just beside El corte ingles and also spotted a

Church  en route to the beach

the water was cold but great on the feet!

C & A - Happy days! We had promised ourselves the beach so after taking a photo of the street map near the bus station we wandered along until we found the main beach and ventured to dip our still tender feet into the Atlantic ocean.

After a lovely stroll along the water's edge we worked our way back to get a snack before finally wending our way back through the city by way of the opera house.

fab ice creams!

acting their shoe size instead of their age!

  

outside the opera house in Coruna



Waterfall beside the opera house

Our final port of call was a visit to the shops before getting our bus back to Santiago. I so miss having C&A in the UK and love getting a chance to shop in it when visiting Holland or Spain.
Laden with our purchases we went to get the bus for our return.

The bus journey back was something akin to a ride at Alton towers with the driver being just a little over enthusiastic on the speed and the brakes but we all arrived safely back in Santiago in time to venture back to the beautiful Cathedral which was now much less crowded.

It was lovely to be able to  take our time going round and visiting the crypt and where the portico is being restored. We had a browse around the shops in the ancient city centre and looked at the array of other lovely buildings nearby. We finished off our evening in a delightful little restaurant nearby before catching the bus again back to Xan Xordo.

lovely reataurant close to the Cathedral

back at xan xordo

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

Lavacolla to Santiago de Compostela - day 6

We woke up early on Sunday morning to grey skies and pouring rain. The plan was to try to make our final walk to the Cathedral to arrive at 11am. The youngest son and his lovely girlfriend were determined to keep us company and walk the final 10 K with us even though they were somewhat less well attired than us for the journey. My husband was also keen to witness our arrival and despite not having a single word of Spanish said he would get the local bus and be there waiting for us. I confess to having some doubts about this and felt a little sad at leaving him to his own devices.

Chapel at Pazo Xan Xordo

Our host at the Pazo Xan Xordo kindly gave us a small map showing how we could link back into the "Way" from where we had finished the previous day.It looked as if it was only about 200 yards to rejoin the path. So after slogging up the long hill we began to get a little worried that we had not seen any other walkers but eventually we were on track again and were walking with many others all of whom like us were hoping the reach the Catherdal for the midday Pilgrims Mass for the completion of the journey.

Monte Gozo

On reaching Monte Gozo we were now half way on our final stage, the heavy rain and mist meant that the view was some what obscured. We said a brief prayer in the little church here in thanks for our safe arrival to this point before heading off once more. From here it was only a very short walk to the edges of the city which was much larger than we had expected it to be.

arriving in Santiago-el Templario Peregrino

unusual door knocker in Santiago

Just 3k more to reach the Praza Obradoiro, we eventually reach the famous Gate of the Way- the Porta do Camino where you enter the ancient city. The square was packed with crowds of people and a Galician piper was playing a lament as we entered, the rain was still pouring.

Cathedral Spires in the sunshine a few days later

 

The Cathedral of St James is a magnificent site and our joy of arriving was completed for me at the sight of my husband standing on the steps. To be surrounded by my family and friends, having completed this amazing journey to this special place was one of my life's greatest moments. Thankyou  God for keeping us safe and giving us the mental and physical strength to make this journey, thankyou to all our family and friends who participated, helped and encouraged us when we had doubts, to those who shared our pre walk training, thanks to all the people we met along the way who were also making their own journey.

We now entered the Cathedral, it was 11:15, not a seat to be found. It was Pentecost Sunday and many people like ourselves were arriving in a steady flow. We removed our very wet outerwear and moved up the left aisle to try and get a standing place. We got a little space and soon realised that we were stood right beside the ropes the tiraboleiros use to swing the giant Botafumeiro (incense burner). Before the start of Mass announcements were made as to what countries  all the pilgrims had arrived from the previous day and everyone was welcomed in a range of languages.

view of the altar from the left  aisle

Next was the swinging of the Botafumeiro, this was an amazing spectacle requiring 6 men to pull the ropes. Following this the Mass began, mainly in Spanish but with the Gloria, Kyrie, Credo and Pater Noster sung in Latin. As a child I had grown up with the Latin Mass but as an adult I had only ever been at a Latin Mass once, back  in 1976. I found myself singing along and surprised myself that I remembered all the words.

Botafumeiro almost touching the roof!

Afterwards our final stop that day was to be the Pilgrim's office to obtain our Compostela which together with our completed Pilgrim's Passport would be a permanent reminder of our very special achievment. When we exited the Cathedral the rain had become torrential so we made a dash for the nearest cafe to grab a snack and some hot drinks in the hope it would eventually ease off.

We joined the queue at the office where we met some of the peple we had met in the earlier days who had also arrived on Sunday. We decided we would come back to the Cathedral on Monday evening when it was less crowded and   have a proper look at the beautiful interior.

After a brief tour of the ancient city we returned to the Pazo Xan Xordo to relax and remove our very wet clothes before going for a superb evening meal at the San Paio at Lavacolla followed by an early night.

A truly wonderful experience, tough at times but very worthwhile.
Day 1- full of anticipation
Day 2- beautiful scenery and Portomarin has a stunning location
Day 3- this was the hardest day of all
Day 4-definitely the longest day
Day 5-the least physically demanding day, almost all within my comfort zone!
Day 6-a very special day-great sense of achievment and joy

Would we do it again? I would love to think so.

Relaxing at Xan Xordo

Our next post will describe some of the other things we did and places we visited in our few remaining days in Santiago.


"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
Desmond Tutu


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Arzua to Lavacolla - day 5

Once we were ready to go this morning we were very glad that we had decided to do the extra bit of distance the previous day as we were starting from the western edge of the town. We're loving the traditional breakfasts of freshly squeezed orange juice and giant croissants and got the bag transport organised to our next stop which was prebooked. This was a very special day for me as my husband would be flying in to Santiago later in the day and my youngest son and his girlfriend had driven all the way from England so we could all meet up at Lavacolla prior to our final day of walking to Santiago.

lovely wildflowers at the roadside

towards Lavacolla

Shells on the walls of the road tunnel

It felt very strange not having the big backpacks ( felt a bit guilty!) as we had got so used to carrying our gear by this stage but when the rain started it was definitely good to be a little lighter. When I say rain I mean, torrential rain, it turned parts of the path into raging torrents! The plastic capes were totally suited for the rain and kept us mainly dry.

Strange way marker looks a bit like an inukshuk used by eskimos

Our plan was to stop at Salceda for a break but at that stage the rain was so heavy we decided to press on. Grainne met up with our fellow travelers from the previous evening and had a stop at Santa Irene and we stopped for some drinks at a little place called Brea. Unbeknown to us we actually missed one of the route markers just before the little cafe which caused a bit of confusion when we came out so it was quite fortuitous we stopped here for a short break.

We were enjoying a cool drink and as had previously happened the owner appeared with a small dish of food for us as it usual in Spain. I think I may have eaten Octopus! The lovely little mixed salad type of dished contained some things I did not recognise but after carefully checking that there were no heads ,tails, eyes, fins, scales  or suckers I ate  it and it was quite delicious but I am still unsure what it was.We managed to find our way back to the path after crossing over and back the main road  a few times.

Soon we were all together again and walked for a while as a big group with people we had met previously and continued together as far as Arco.






walking with friends at Arco

As we approached Amenal we saw plane from Ireland coming in to land, passing over the tree tops just a few kilometers away. At this time also I knew my youngest would be close by to collect his father at the airport. We were also very hungry at this stage, the lovely warm sunshine was back and we decided to stop at Amenal where we had queso bocadillos with the famous Arzua cheese before going again for the last bit to Lavacolla and Xan Xordo which would be our base for the next few nights.

Yummy Arzua cheese sandwiches at Amenal

From Amenal we circuited the airport and at one stage saw an Iberia jet directly above our heads. I was getting progressively more excited about seeing the rest of the family as I knew once they had checked in that they would come out to meet us. We reached the village of Lavacolla where traditionally pilgrims washed themselves prior to the final stage into Santiago. At this point we had to ask directions as we were unsure of the exact location of the Pazo Xan Xordo where we were staying. Eventually we found ourselves on the airport road with a Camino guide post directing us off road again to Villa maior-time for a phone call- within just a few minutes we were all together, what an amazing moment for us all ! I will never forget this very special meeting as we strolled together for the few minutes to Xan Xordo. What a fabulous place to stay.

We were all able to chat about our journeys to this point over an excellent meal and plan for the final stage- our arrival at the Catherdral of St James planned for the next morning-Sunday.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present."
Babatunde Olatunji

Palas de Rei to Arzua - day 4

Setting out from Palas de Rei

Shells and crosses on the pavement near Palas de Rei

marker post with flowers and stones on top

Temptation! I might have succumbed to this on day 3- but didn't

Church of Santa Maria

We weren't quite sure what this was at the church entrance?

After another great breakfast we set off early to get going in the cooler morning air. This section was to be the longest distance we would walk in a day. The terrain today consisted of several up and downhills crossing river valleys and much of the paths was through lovely wooded areas providing some shade. We decided on a lunch stop at Melide which is about half way along this stage. The temperatures were not just quite as hot as the previous 2 days. The sky had even got quite cloudy by the time we were eating our lunch! - another little blessing to be thankful for. Grainne arrived ahead of myself and Linda and rested close by the little chapel  at Furelos until we caught up and then we walked into Melide together to find a place to eat.

bridge coming into Furelos

Despite the fact that Melide is reknowned as the place to try Pulpo Gallega (octopus Galician style) we decided to settle for the safe option of cheese and ham toasties just oozing with the fabulous local cheese- deliciosos!








Off we went again through more lovely woodland paths with slightly less challenging hills than the previous day but considerably more significant than the contour map would have you believe! The countryside was really pretty and during a long section through woodlands we came on this little stall offering fresh water and an array of fruit and a box to put in a little donation for the fruit. This was really thoughtful, considerate and  very welcome indeed.

Wildflowers

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We continued on with another short stop at Boente where we had some cool drinks as the sun had come out again and a brief visit to the Igrexa Santiago and passing the delightful picnic areas en route. Eventually we reached Ribadiso a very beautiful setting on the river Iso. People staying there were out enjoying the grassy river bank and bathing their feet in the river, it looked a most inviting place. At this point Grainne texted to say she had reached Arzua and was trying to get us a room for the night but everywhere was full! Once again, momentarily  we considered the possibility of having to sleep under the stars. The extra 4-5 Km into Arzua was all up hill but we made it up to the town by which time we heard that we now had a triple room for the night and Grainne met up with us in the centre of town and we all safely arrived. Coincidentally I have a step counter on my mobile phone and that day we walked 49989 steps!!. It was so good to get lying down for a few minutes before having a lovely long shower and pampering of the feet before going out to get a meal.

Why we were getting ready there was a bit of rain and we were surprised to look out of our window to see a man walking up the street with 2 large cows on a lead which made us all smile.

I am still amazed that even after walking so far how well you feel in a short while. We met up with some people from Aberdeen, Sweden, Buckinghamshire and from our home town (Derry) and had a lovely evening chatting with them all and skyping our families before heading back to our room at the end of the town for a good nights sleep.

Before going to sleep we made the decision to try and get our backpacks transferred to Lavacolla as we had carried sleeping bags etc and had not used them and just carry essentials the next day.

"Every day is important, what are you doing today, think about it, you are exchanging a day of your life for today."
Catherine Pulsifer

Portomarin to Palas de Rei - day 3

Todays journey consisted of a very long uphill to a maximum height of approx 2400 feet folllowed by a series of ups and downs before the final descent to Palas.

leaving Portomarin

milestone

It wasn't long before I was trailing behind as usual,  finding the long uphill walk a struggle and everyone was overtaking me. The majority of walkers continued to walk but slowed their pace going uphill, however I had to make frequent short stops to catch my breath before continuing. My walking companions reached Gonzar ahead of me but had the drinks and cake ready for my arrival and this renewed my energy. We planned a lunch stop in Eirexe which was after the highest point. We each decided to make our own pace and this was definitely one of the hardest parts of the Camino for me. The almost constant climbing combined with the scorching sun and the  total lack of any shade meant I had to make extra stops to get drinks and rest. My companions texted when they arrived at our next meeting place and I was well behind at that stage. I was relieved to get to Ligonde as I knew I was getting close.


Road signs to beware of walkers crossing the road 

the only clouds were those from the planes passing overhead

It was at this point I met one of my worst fears while crossing through a very narrow path between walls with a very uneven surface underfoot. I was picking my way cautiously over the cobbles as my feet were getting very sore and then in front of me I saw a snake! I was rooted to the spot for a few moments before plucking up the courage to take a big step over it and hope it wouldn't chase me. After negotiating this hurdle and rejoining the main path I was so happy to see Grainne walking towards me, obviously a bit concerned that I was so behind. We soon arrived at Eirexe and Linda immediately applied cloths with cool water from the spring beside the cafe to my back and shoulders, such a relief from the 30+ temperatures.




I sat for a long time before I felt I could set off again for the remaining 9K or so to get to Palas de Rei. At this point I could nearly  have given up.I must have looked a mess because a lovely young American lady called Nicole came after me as I started to leave the Conde del Waldemar cafe to as me if I was OK because she thought I looked " a bit wobbly" when I finally got up to go. We chatted for a few minutes about lots of things which was really nice. This happened often along the journey and we spoke to many different people.

I got going again and took 2 more stops at Portos and Brea for ice lollies and drinks before the final climb through the woodlands past Rosario.
My companions had gone ahead and found our rooms for the night and then walked back to meet me with a fresh bottle of cold water for the last Kilometer.I will truly never again underestimate the value of water both for drinking and for cooling you down by pouring on your clothes.



At last-Palas de Rei!

At the Britania bar in Palas de Rei

Our room in the Pension Palas was lovely and after a long shower, change of clothes and shoes and plastering the feet I was amazed to find that I could muster up enough energy to walk to the town centre to visit the Britania bar. Friends of Grainne's had been there about 2 weeks previous and had recommended it to us. They had also asked us to deliver a small token from Ireland to "Miriam" who worked there. When we arrived she was not there but by the time we had eaten Miriam came in specially to meet us. Again food and service was excellent as was our breakfast next moring at our hotel.

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.
Ralph Waldo Emerson