Melide to Arzua 14.1 kms Day 6

What a joy to get to the alberque today at Arzua. A short day with only 14.1 Kms but much of it up hill! Beautiful green countryside, and some excellent rest stops. I thought I had tended my feet carefully today, stopping whenever I felt a hot spot, slamming Compeed on little toe but no blisters in sight. When I took my socks off tonight I was horrified to see two blister bubbles on the end of my toes. One on each foot! How did that happen? There were quite a few steep downhill stretches so maybe my toes rubbed too much on my boots though I never felt any problems. Anyway, I have slammed some more Compeed on each one so hope they hold out. Two more days of walking to go!

The Municiple alberque with 48 beds here is very pleasant tonight and only E5. It was full by 5 pm! They have arranged the dormitory with bunk beds pushed together to make doubles. I find I am sleeping alongside a lovely elderly Dutch gentleman who is now very concerned about his snoring!! What was the girl at the desk thinking! Oh well it all adds to the colour of the journey! I reassured him I have some well tested ear plugs!! I just hope I don't have another nightmare yelling out in the night. I couldn't bare it! There's 32 pilgrims in this dorm!

So, today was a good day of walking. My energy levels seem to be back to normal. I bought another energy drink and coffee this morning. Red Bull, full of good things!
Saw my first stork's nest but no storkies around. May be too early in the season! It pays to keep looking up or I would have missed it.

The hour approaches to go out and find a restaurant. Though I enjoy the solitude of the journey each day it would be so nice to share the evening with a close companion and share the highlights of the day with a glass of vino tinto. It is interesting that there are not too many people traveling solo or maybe they have linked into other groups. Maybe I just feel a little alone!

Palas de Rei to Melide 15.3 Kms Day 5

A good stay at Palas de Rei at the Buen Camino Alberque. Doesnt look much from the outside but was very clean with good facilities. A bar and restaurant downstairs. My Spanish room companions, Carlos and Francisco, were cycling today to Santiago and had already biked 600 Kms in seven days. My other male companion was from Seattle and had walked from St Jean Pied de Pont . With only the last 50 Kms to go to Santiago he said he was feeling bitter sweet about finishing it. They say the worst thing about the Camino is going home!

So, today was a strange day. It started off all muddled. I had walked about 300 meters down hill on the way out of town when I realized I had left my walking pole behind! Walking back up that hill was not a good way to start the day!! I felt exhausted before I had even started. In fact my energy level was at zero all morning. I think perhaps my body salt levels may be depleted as I have perspired buckets over the past few days!

The track this morning was a real adventure crossing streams, balancing on stepping stones and sliding in the mud. Lots of uphill climbing too! Everyone passes me along the way. I am so slow! But everyone is so friendly and cheer you along! I stop often to let people past. I don't mind being the lambs tail at all as I enjoy the solitude of having no-one in front of me or behind me.

Quite a number of Irish pilgrims today. Stopped at a popular cafe and had a desperately needed coffee and energy drink. Felt so much better after that!

I have started buying my breakfast and lunch the night before as you don't always know how far you have to walk to the next cafe. A large bread roll and a packet of cheese slices seems to work, with an apple and banana. Lasts all day. A pilgrim meal is usually about E10 and quite good value except the main course is always served with potato chips and can be a bit greasy. Galicia soup is my favorite so far.

Met one odd person today walking in the opposite direction (maybe doing the Camino in reverse) very bedraggled with long hair and a poor Labrador following meekly behind with shoes on! Looked really weired! Probably to protect his paws from blisters! Don't be surprised about anything on the Camino!

I have been blessed with blankets at the last two Alberque but none tonight. Staying at the Melide Municiple alberque. Only E5 with good facilities but no blankets. I think it is mainly the private alberques that provide them but you pay more. So hoping I will be warm enough. It is still quite cool through the night.

Gonza to Palas de Rei 16.5 Kms Day 4

Enjoyed the company of Bradford Ruth last night and shared the evening meal together. Stayed at a private hostel and was very comfortable (Casa Garcia) with a good restaurant attached. Was exhausted when I arrived. Thought I'd never get there! Surprisingly it was three quarters full by the end of the evening considering it is only April. I think it pays to arrive at destination by about 3 pm to ensure a bed and not end up with a top bunk!!

Made very good timing today with a couple of pit stops and a foot check. Slammed a second compede plaster on a toe. My boots are very comfortable but I have learned to take action the minute I feel a hot spot on my feet.

Walked part way with Bradford Ruth but she has gone to a different alberque tonight so may not meet again. Such is the Camino.

I am particularly drawn to the ancient miles stones and crucifixes along the Way. It reminds me of the millions of pilgrims over the centuries who have walked this same path many seeking some sense of salvation and answers to life's ultimate questions. Will this lost Christian also find the answers she seeks?

Am presently staying at an alberque in town and am on the third floor. I am sharing a four bed room with two macho Spanish cyclists. An interesting experience!

Beautiful scenery looking across green valleys and walking through more forest and woodland. Really cold first thing in morning but warms up by about 11 am.

Some pasta for tea tonight and bed by 9 pm!!

Ferreiros to Gonzar 17.5 Kms Day 3

What an eventful day though it started off on an interesting note. I was in the ladies brushing my teeth and the German lady who was in the next bunk said to me with a concerned voice " last night you had a bad dream and were shouting 'Somebody help me, please help me'"! I imagine I woke up the whole dormitory. The poor German lady thought I was being murdered in my bed! How embarrassing! It is a recurring dream I have had for years. I couldn't remember a thing about it thus morning! Maybe I should go see a psychiatrist lol!

So, had a lonesome walk on my own for the next part of the journey. Very misty, a bit eerie when walking alone. I had walked about 4 Kms when out of the mist appeared this little elderly man with a walking cane. He asked me where I came from and seemed very impressed when I told him Australia. I was trying to figure out what he was doing there in the middle of nowhere. He asked if I wanted coffee and of course I said yes immediately regretting my eagerness! He told me to follow him to coffee. Now I m thinking I am being abducted never to be seen again. The upshot was he was trying to direct pilgrims to his alberque for breakfast. So I ended up having coffee and toast with an English lady from Bradford who was sitting at the bar practicing her Spanish to the batman! It's really weird how you get caught up in these obscure scenarios!

I was headed for Portomarin and then Gonzar. The first part was easy and downhill. Not far before Portomarin was a little hamlet with a sign up on the wall. Casa Susana ( Ausie Sheila)! So I knocked on her door to say hallo from Aus! She was pleased to see me and told the story of doing the Camino a few years ago and ended up buying this little run down house which she has been restoring ever since the Bradford pilgrim showed up by then and she showed us around. Very quaint and ancient downstairs but beautiful and bright upstairs! What an inspiration!! So Ausie future pilgrims call by and say hallo to Susana! You will be welcome!

The sun finally came out round about lunch time and grabbing a bottle of shampoo at the supermarket and enjoying a Skype phone call from my sister in Aus I
Hit the track again. This time it was all up hill and another 9 Kms which sounds reasonable but was quite grueling! I barely made it to the alberque at Gonza.

So, all in all, a good day walking through some lovely woodland and forests.

Sarria to Ferreiros 14 Kms Day 2

What a spectacular day! Fourteen Kms doesn't sound like much but it was enough for me today and I reached my intended destination for day one. My ankle is faring very well.

I shared a meal with two German ladies at the hotel last night and once again good to have company though their English was as good as my German but even so we managed to have some conversation about the Camino.

It was only 5 C when I left Sarria but the climb out of the town was enough to get the old bod warmed up.

The scenery was just awesome today and the track a great challenge in some places . Everywhere is beautifully green and the streams overflowed often across the track. I have to will myself to take in the senses of the moment: the spectacular scenery rolled out before my eyes: the spring flowers in the hedge rows: the distant call of a cookoo: the local roosters cockadoodling: the buzz of bees among the wild flowers: the twittering of the birds: breathing in the smell of fresh cow splat. I am noticing all these wonderful displays of nature and it feels good to be alive.

I was surprised how busy it is with pilgrims . I was rarely not too far away from fellow sojourners. Lots of cyclists too. Quite a few Americans this year!

I had two pit stops with great coffee and food. Barbadelo and Morgade are both very popular. That first cup of coffee was like liquid gold pouring down my throat. I love Spanish coffee.

I arrived here at Ferreiros at 2 pm. I was the first one in the alberque. Only E5 for the night. Good value. Good facilities. A meal tonight at the nearby restaurant then into my sleeping bag.

Santiago de Compostela to Sarria Day 1

So, finally, here I am in Sarria the starting point for my journey to Santiago. My day started at 4 am and I arrived here around 3 pm. A few minor dramas like forgetting the power converter for my phone. I packed the European bit but forgot the UK bit and had to go buy another one at the airport. Also forgot my European Health Card but being positive I won't need it, bung foot or not! It's still a bit swollen and quite bruised but pain free!

For those who would appreciate details of the journey to assist with personal planning ( for those of us who like to plan :)) I flew with Ryan Air with no luggage problems except I checked my pack pack in at extra cost when I realized my Leki walking pole was classed as a dangerous item! I stayed overnight at a local B&B, Stanstead Lodge, very reasonably priced with pick up from airport and return in morning. Cost 12 GBPs for transfers. The Polish driver asked If I had just arrived from Australia which I thought curious cause I couldn't remember saying I was Australian on the booking system. I asked her how she knew and she surprised me by saying with equal surprise ' by my accent'. Thought this cute considering that most who know me think I am still very northern.

Met a fellow pilgrim, also on the way to Sarria, in the airport lounge and to wile away the time waiting for the bus to Lugo we reminisced on adventures and experiences on our previous Camino in 2010. It was good to have a companion to Sarria.

The bus terminal at Santiago is directly outside the main entrance of the airport so my well rehearsed Spanish to ask for directions were not needed!
The first part of the journey is to Lugo, an ancient walled city but I didn't have any time to explore. Changed to another bus at Sarria after buying a ticket inside the terminal. It was pay the driver for the Lugo bus. Total cost of bus tickets was E12.50.

The scenery on the bus trip was lush and green. The bus route wove in and out of the Camino which gave me a hint of the days to come.

I am staying tonight at the Hotel Mar De Plata which is very modern and priced well. E43 for a double room and ensuite. As it turned out the hotel is very close to the bus station but I had to walk across town and back again didn't I to find it!! I went into a pharmacia to ask for help and was given a map which was very helpful. Not sure if it's useful to know a few words in Spanish cause you get a blast of Spanish back and haven't a clue what they said. Just nod, say 'gracias' and move on!

So dinner tonight in the hotel and tomorrow it all begins again!

On The Way again....with a wonky ankle!

As I write I am on the train heading back to London and it looks like to sunshine again.  My head is all in a muddle about the plan to finish this Camino and after falling over and damaging my ankle I was on the brink of cancelling the whole show.

However, my foot seems to be recovering though still swollen and my ribs are very bruised.  It will be a case of  'easy does it' though that was going to be my philosophy any way.  I have never felt less prepared for a journey, either physically, mentally or spiritually.  It is going to be an interesting time.

My pack back is packed and repacked for the hundredth time and I have learned about half dozen Spanish words to get me through.

I fly out from Stansted Airport at 06.30 on Friday 19th April to Santiago airport and catch a bus (hopefully, if I can find it) to Lugo and then a bus to Sarria.  I have booked into a hotel at Sarria for Friday night and hopefully it will give me another rest day for my foot before I hit the trail.

Unfortunately I am unable to complete the Camino from Leon but I look forward to doing my best with the final 118 kms or so to reach Santiago. 

I hope you will join me in my adventures on The Way.