Santiago de Compostela - Day 25

Padrón - Santiago (17.0 miles) 

This is it! The last day on the Caminho Português to Santiago de Compostela! We all slept in until 8 am, despite the sun being up. I don't know if it is tiredness or knowing that this journey is about to end, which kept us in our beds. Probably a mix of both. We tracked down what seemed to be the only breakfast café open in Padrón this morning. It was busy and the staff appeared rushed with so many orders. Dirty dishes were piling up on the counter. This sight foreshadowed the Caminho today as there were far more pilgrims walking today than I have seen at any point so far. I decided to start off fast today. I was walking at a 16:30 minute/mile pace. Only stopping to collect a stamp at the Igrexa de Santa María de Iria or to peer at the occasional bird with my binoculars.

After about 8.5 miles I needed to stop and have a lunch break. I found the Casa Rural Parada de Francos and had some eggs, bacon and french fries. It was, as per usual, a ton of food for one person. I shared my location in the group chat and Yeji soon arrived. I was done eating by that time and shortly before Yeji's food arrived, so did Xenia.

After a long break for me, we set off once again down the trail together. I didn't have it in me to continue walking at the pace I had been. Yeji was also starting to have pain in her shins and slowed down. Xenia and I pushed on ahead.

I had my first view of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela with about 4.5 miles to go. It was exciting to know that I was so close to the finish. I started noticing more and more stone markers indicating the remaining distance. I also started to question the accuracy of those markers because the physical distance between two of them didn't appear to be the same as the numerical distance indicated.

As we came into the city, the yellow arrows seemed to be less noticeable. Continuing forward, we found the busy streets and souvenir shops below the cathedral. It was wild navigating through the crowds and into the Plaza del Obradoiro. I was not overcome with strong emotions once I was inside the plaza, standing before the steps of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Perhaps I felt a small sense of relief for having accomplished such a long journey.

The weather was perfect this afternoon for our arrival. Xenia and I dropped our packs and sat on the ground, with the sun at our backs. We watched others arrive and joyfully reunite with those they had met on their individual journeys. Before long, I spotted Yeji coming into view of the plaza. She was emotional upon her arrival, but Xenia and Ilaria, who appeared out of nowhere, were there to comfort her. It was a beautiful experience being all together at the end. I have shared many wonderful days on the road with these strong women!

There are others from my journey I wish to have met here as well, but each has their own way to go on the Caminho de Santiago. I had also arrived two days ahead of my original plan. After a few photographs, we headed to the Pilgrims Reception Office to receive our final stamps and official certificate of completion. We also received a certificate of distance confirming how far we walked. This was almost as questionable as the stone markers because we each had a different number. Mine says 675 kilometers from Lisbon to Santiago, but I think it was less. I'll have to do some calculations to confirm. We found our hostel for the next couple of nights, but before I could shower and rest, I had one more goal to accomplish this day. In January I decided to run 5 kilometers at least once a month. With today being Halloween and the last day of October, I needed to do this or I would not maintain my running goal for the year. Putting my shoes back on, I left the hostel and ran around the streets and parks of Santiago. I passed by the cathedral two times and watched the sunset from the Parque da Alameda, a nice park on a hill. It was spectacular, but I might be a little crazy for doing this after such a long walk! After my run I showered and we went to meet Ilaria for dinner. It was difficult finding a place, but once we did, the food was delicious and the dessert was even better.

I can't believe I have arrived. This past month has flown by like a flash. Then I start to think back on each day, each hostel, café, and restaurant, the cities and villages I passed, the friends I made along the way, the many kilometers walked, the birds I identified, stone paths and busy streets traversed, the foggy mornings and early starts, views of the ocean and valleys, wide rivers and flowing streams, old fortresses and historic buildings, the numerous churches, and finally my Credencial full of stamps. Each stamp is a memory in itself of my month-long journey. To others it is just some colors on a page, but to me it tells a story for me alone to know and remember. This blog as well can only tell so much of my journey through Portugal and Spain. I am grateful that I took the time each day to record my experiences. It is honestly more valuable to me, yet I wanted to share it with all of you. I appreciate the many comments and the support I have received through it. Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. 

I may have arrived in Santiago de Compostela, but my journey doesn't end here! I will continue walking this week to Fisterra, the end of the Earth. I'll start on Wednesday and should arrive there on Saturday morning. My return flight to the U.S. doesn't leave until Monday morning.

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Cogumelos e Bicicletas de Montanha - Day 24

Mushrooms and Mountain Bikes

O Cruceiro - Padrón (15.9 miles) 

Today is Sunday morning in Spain. It was also daylight savings time and the clocks moved back an hour! I was a little confused when a little before 8 am I could see daylight peaking in around the edges of the window curtains. It felt like a long night and I had trouble sleeping after 2:30 am. I woke up every hour or so. It seemed warm and then cold. The fog was thick around our albergue and neighboring farms. We had already burned an hour of daylight by sleeping in and decided to get on the road before stopping for breakfast. Yeji, Xenia, and I found a nice café in Caldas de Reis. It was decorated for Halloween and had delicious looking pastries. I ordered a small one with strawberry jelly spread on top as well as a large doughnut with chocolate frosting. The waitresses take your order and then you wait at a table for them to bring it out on a plate. While I was waiting, I saw a man working there who was bringing out more pastries from a back room to stock the glass display cases. He was re-arranging the trays in the display case and took my doughnut off the plate and switched it with another chocolate covered doughnut that had chopped nuts sprinkled on top. The waitress then brought it out to me. It wasn't the one I ordered and I wasn't sure about the nuts. Showing the waitress a picture of pecan nuts, she said yes they were that kind. I told them I am allergic and they kindly switched the doughnuts back to the plain chocolate one I had asked for. We continued walking and passed the Igrexa de Santa Mariña in Carracedo. There were farm fields with horses and grape vines throughout this area. 

A couple of things I noticed about the way today was there were many mushrooms and mountain bikes. I passed by the mushrooms and the bikers passed by me. The trails were wet and muddy from all the rain that has happened in the last couple of weeks, however there was no rain today! It was a dry and sunny day. The rain has probably helped the mushrooms to grow and has made the mountain bikes look hard core all covered in mud.

At lunchtime, I ate a lentil stew with Spanish chorizo at the Buen Camino Bar and Cafeteria. It was really great food. Yeji helped translate for a Korean couple who then bought us all treats. So I had another doughnut today, this one with Halloween sprinkles, waiting for me when I came back from the restroom.

We finally arrived in Padrón and found our hostel. There were only two other women staying here. One from Brazil and I don't know about the other woman. Once again, I was the lone man in the group. The WiFi did not work upstairs in the dormitory, just downstairs in the café that was closed for the night. We looked around for dinner and ended up at the church on a hill above the Rio Sar. While looking around at the ornate carvings and depictions of religious figures in the Catholic church, I noticed a man walk past me to the corner of the building and started ringing the church bell. More people were gathering at the church and we decided to sit and watch the Catholic Mass that was about to take place. It was my first time ever attending and although it was in Spanish, I could still understand most of what was being said. It was an unusual experience for me seeing the priest up front address the congregation and the woman at his side quoting scriptures from the bible. Members of the congregation, who I assume were Catholic, knew when to stand and when to sit, what verses to recite, and when to express praises and gratitude to God. As an outsider, it all felt strange to me. I also find it strange that you must pay £1 to light a candle. I assume it is meant to go with a  prayer for someone and their health or success in some endeavor. I have been asked to light a candle for a person I met in Coimbra when I reach Santiago. We do something similar in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but you just write their name down to be included on the prayer roll in the temple. There is no cost to do this.

After attending Mass, we struggled to find a restaurant for dinner. You would think a cafeteria would serve food, but the ones here in Spain only have drinks at 8 pm. Another restaurant took us in and had us sit down before letting us see their menu. The five meals they had on the menu looked strange and very expensive. I had no regrets walking out of that place although the server appeared disappointed. We settled on an Italian place that seemed to be the popular go to take-out place this Sunday night. So many people were getting orders to go, but we stayed and enjoyed our food there. I ordered a normal calzone with ham and cheese and it was gigantic. Every meal here, except for breakfasts, seem to come in such large portions. I thought the USA was known for their large portions, but Spain seems to have us beat. While we were eating the power went out in the city. A restaurant worker assured us this was no problem and the lights came back on a few minutes later. However, they were still off in our neighborhood when we returned to the hostel. It took another hour or so to come back on and I was able to charge my phone and watch over night. Tomorrow is the big day when I arrive in Santiago! I am getting more and more excited the closer I get. It won't be long now!

Check out Cogumelos e Bicicletas de Montanha - Day 24 on Relive! https://www.relive.cc/view/vMv8BJDGgP6

Um Dia Ensolarado - Day 23

A Sunny Day

Arcade - O Cruceiro (18.7 miles) 

Today was very simple. We left the hostel around 9 am after a quick breakfast at the restaurant down the street. I had the scrambled eggs with toast. I haven't had many eggs on this trip, so this breakfast was special.

We walked together out of Arcade and through vineyards and forests to Pontevedra. It is pleasant walking through vineyards again. Although, I tried a few grapes and they were very sour.

We passed through Pontevedra without stopping and saw a few familiar faces from the trail as we went. Yeji and I were almost attacked by a pigeon in the plaza. This city was far better than Vigo and the narrow streets with shops and cafés reminded me more of Coimbra than any other city we walked through on this journey.

On our way out of town, we passed a man riding a tall white horse and leading a pack horse. Later on another younger looking man came riding by on another tall white horse. He was playing traditional Galician music on his phone as he rode past. I enjoyed listening to the sound of horse shoes striking the cobblestone street. There were several new faces on the road today and several familiar ones from previous stages. Overall, it was a sunny day after the rain showers this morning. My face got a little sun, but it was not too bad.

We found the albergue not far from the route. Most people we had seen stopped prior to it or continued to walk past. It had been a long day of walking and my feet were tired. Once again, I had the mens restroom all to myself, while there were four other women not including Yeji and Xenia using the women's restroom. This albergue also had an adjoining restaurant. I ate chicken noodle soup and carbonara pasta. It was alright, but the soup and pasta I had in Souto Redondo, before Porto, was the best. There is only 50 kilometers left to walk to Santiago de Compostela. That means only two more days and I will be there!

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Encontrando Peixes - Day 22

Finding Fishes

Vigo - Arcade (15.0 miles) 

After yesterday, I really just wanted to sleep in. I woke up around 8:30 am but didn't start walking until closer to 10 am. My itinerary had a short 9 mile stage today from Vigo to Redondelo, so I wasn't concerned about arriving late. For as much as I wanted to get out of the city, I started by walking really slowly. I didn't have the same level of energy or excitement as I have had most days. It was a drag trying to get out of Vigo and it wasn't until a little ways into the Senda da Auga trail that I started feeling better. This trail started on paved roads with painted green waves and then turned into a lush forested dirt path. It remained fairly level until the final descent into Redondelo. There were nice views of the estuary and Ponte de Rande along this route.

I also passed several fountains and waterfalls running through this forested section which were pleasant sites after the noisy urban section. This is where I found my first fish of the day! Painted on the wall with bright colors, this salmonid art helped lift my spirits.

It also started raining around this time and I would pause under the trees when it got really intense. I played leapfrog with a few other pilgrims. One of them was a woman from Israel or Italy. Her English was not the best and I had a difficult time understanding her. She stopped for a 5-minute break and I continued walking. That was the last time I saw her. I was close to Redondelo, and my knee was feeling much better today, so I wanted to keep walking. I messaged Xenia and Yeji when I arrived in Redondelo near the albergues and shared my location with them through our WhatsApp group chat. I knew they were ahead of me because of my late start. Turns out they were right around the corner just sitting down to eat at a restaurant for lunch. I went to meet them and on my way, I found a second fish for the day! This one was made of scrap metal and old tires. This salmonid artwork was positioned on a small path below the bridge and next to a raging stream.

Our lunch break was relaxing and a reprieve from the rain. We stamped our own Credencials and kept walking to Arcade together. The girls convinced me to call and make a reservation at the same albergue as them. The Hostel Albergue O Mesón was on the northside of the Verdugo River. To get across we walked over the medieval Ponte Sampaio. There were some fishermen on this bridge who had already caught a few Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) before we arrived. I hung around for a while to see them catch another fish and made small talk with one fisherman. He reminded me of a guy I went bass fishing with in Idaho on the 4th of July. I didn't have to wait very long until he was reeling one in. It was a smaller sized fish, so he dropped it back in the river. It was my third fish of the day and I was satisfied. I have mostly been looking for birds, but finding fishes was a good change.

The girls had gone ahead to the albergue without me. They didn't seem as interested in the fish as I was. We had dinner at the adjoining restaurant and finished the day by sharing travel stories. I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday and am excited to be so close to Santiago! The stone markers today showed less than 100 kilometers to go!

Check out Encontrando Peixes - Day 22 on Relive! https://www.relive.cc/view/vevW8QZwmyO