carmelob's posterous

Far Surpassed My Expectations .....

Yesterday was my last day walking ....

I walked 30km into Muchia on the wild west coast of Northern Spain

 

Far surpassed my expectations...

Scenery - beaches cliffs green

wildflowers animals houses villages

colour smell

people so friendly

helpul and curious

Spanish homes welcome you...

Fellow Pilgrims..

some weirdos and conservative religious types and drunks and hard core

...Mostly soulful and common understanding collective unspoken solidarity

So quickly cut through the layers and get to the core

Refreshing no age barrier or discrimination

 

Focus on the now

feet food bed and packs poles and smelly socks

Need to wash today..

Tractor snorers and puffers and calling out while asleep and falling off bunks and some sleeping under plastic ???

Yogi Nan Hari San

Drinks by the river

Finesterre sunsets

Camino love. Deep Connections

Swap email and stay connected

 

3 days of rain in 40

How many days walking ?

 

35 days of walking nearly 1000km

 

Rested for 5 .

Averaged 28 per day

Can believe it only rained 3 times

 

Old Spanish men and young Spanish men

Strong men and women and not so strong men and women

Tears flow easily

Your English is great !

 

Australia ! Youve come a long way!

Interactions with people from ...

France Germany Spain Belgium Sweitzerland Hungary Poland Italy Chile USA Ireland  Canada Austria....

 

I now know...

I hate communal sleeping

I definitely am not alone in snoreville

I love being fit

I can walk forever

My pack was too full

You dont need mirrors soap or shampoo

You survive without most things

I love being quiet

Humans are all the same

Never say never

No going back

 

Bliss is a cervesa grande at the end of 30km !

 

I will never be the same again !

 

Buen Camino !

 

Do it ...

89 to go to Santiago !!!!

As you are all aware I haven uploaded any photos for ages !!!

My lap top man has raced ahead and the internet cafes here won allow me to upload !

Youĺl have to be happy with words .......

 

The sun continues to shine and I am fit and enjoying this journey.

I have only 89 km to go to Santiago and will be arriving at the Cathedral on Friday to receive my Compostella !

As I have plenty of time left I am continuing on to Finnestere another 100km to the west coast of Spain.

I fly to Madrid on Saturday 28th May and spend four days there taking in the Art galleries before I begin the long journey home.

 

Today I was accompanied by a couple of Spaniards keen to practise their English.

The first one Jesus told me all about the symbolism of the Way to Santiago and was full to the brim of history ! The trouble was he walked too fast for me so I had to let him go....Buen Camino !

I was then walking with Jose from Valencia who is an official tourist guide in the South of Spain.

He also felt he needed to tell me hours of facts about the Spanish lifestyle.

Interesting companions but way too much information for one day....Buen Camino !


Now Iḿ ready to chill in my private room....treated myself again tonight !

 

Walked 18km today.....definitely the best day so far. Climbed to the highest point on the Camino- Cruz de Ferre (1500m)

Walked 18km today.....definitely the best day so far. Climbed to the
highest point on the Camino- Cruz de Ferre (1500m)
The weather was perfect. Sunshine and not a breath of wind. The
turbines were still .
I have never seen such abundant flora . Purple yellow white pink and
orange. Snow is visible on the mountain tops and it is so peaceful up
here.
I have chosen to stay in Acebo and soak up this scenery before heading
to Ponferrada .. Looks like a pretty ugly industrial town - stark
contrast to here.
Buen Camino!


Carmel O'Beirne

An Irish Account....

I like the way Paul has summed it up ............

The Camino is a walk across the north of Spain to the grave of St James in Santiago. Walkers stay in refugios for 4 to 6 euro per night sleeping in a room with up to 100 other people. A 3 course meal, with wine, can be added for 9 euro. Germans and Australians are the most common nationalities. Maybe because a popular German comedian wrote a book about the Camino and Aussies making the most out of their long term service leave. The day starts early in the refugios, usually around 5am, with, usually Germans, rustling plastic bags. Most others get up at about 6 when the lights and or music, from hymns to Bob Marley, is turned on loud.

 

Breakfast is usually coffee and some bread. People hit the road before 7 with the sunrise at your back. Scallop shells or yellow arrows pointing the way and rarely leave you in little doubt of the route. Daily distances vary between 20km and 32km. On average there are refugios every 7km along the route so you can just keep on going until you decide you have had enough. Similarly there are lots of restaurants along the route. The quality of the food varies. I've had some of the best tapas but also felt my gut lurch at the thought of another fried meal. I walked with some vegetarians who had lentil soup coming out of their ears.

 

The scenery is the consistent highlight. Actually, the range of scenery is the highlight. Your day could take you through forests, over mountains, through desolate flat plains, wheat fields, vineyards and over half a dozen roman built bridges. Most of the route is through farm land so you can see for miles in each direction on a clear day.

 

There are hundreds of water fountains throughout the route where water bottles can be filled up. This is really helpful as it cuts down on the amount of water you need to carry. One fountain dispensed red wine. We spent a week there.

 

Upon arriving at a refugio, you get your pilgrim passport stamped and dated. Each refugio's stamp is different. Just joking about the week at the wine fountain.

 

After a shower and some stetches, it's time to hand wash your clothes. The last of the daily duties is to examine, complain and compare your war wounds with other wounded. Blisters are the most common with a black market opening up for plasters and cream. With all of this done it's time to mull over today's sights with a beer in the sun or plan tomorrows route with your companeiroes.

 

After 7 days walking you feel your body change as it adapts to the daily rigour. A bit of camino madness crept in with some. A lady had her first cigarette and a man fell off the wagon with his first drink in years.

 

My only complaint was my right groin. An adjustment to my left insole to tilt my heal fixed it. One day it bucketed rain but generally we had excellent weather. The weather changes so quickly you could get sunburn and soaked within the same hour.

 

After dinner, where the vino floweth, you head to bed about 9. It's easy to get to sleep but most people wake up several times during the night. There is usually a tracter snorer somewhere nearby, but tiredness wins out in the end.

 

A random Spanish farmer beckoned us into his farm one day and showed us his horse he has rode the camino with three times.

 

Spaniards are proud of their history and their religion. Statues and plaques at the entrance of each town, village, hamlet with church in the most prominent position. Their religion is displayed with a much more grandiose and flamboyant expression than it is in Ireland. Good Friday celebrations saw hundreds of people dressed completely in black, yellow or blue gowns with cone hats and only eye holes cut out in a procession. It was almost sinister looking.

 

The camino is not commercialised at all thankfully. Only at the top of one mountain was a man in a van selling coke-a-cola. Refugios are run mostly by volunteers on a non-profit basis. The only sign of competition between refugios was a poster by one selling their wears with not only accommodation but washed clothes and a foot massage for ten euro.

 

 

LEON

Arrived in Leon yesterday after walking over 480 km. We have just over 300 to go to Santiago !

We've farewelled a few friends this week and caught up with a new bunch as is the way of the Camino. 

The Spring has been a beautiful time to walk as the wildflowers are abundant and the fields lush.

Spotted a few underground houses along the way...and solar power Spanish style !

Leon is a gorgeous city. The walled older section is a wonder to explore. I have found many interesting shops and cafes as you will see in the photos.

Careful vegetarians ...there are a few interesting delights !

The Cathedral is massive and on entering you are overwhelmed with stained glass windows reaching to the sky.

As I type in my cosy hotel room the rain is pelting down and we are experiencing our first electrical storm .We are heading into mountains again tomorrow and the rainiest part of Spain. Lucky I now have rain pants , jacket , pack cover and a poncho.....

Time to slow down a bit for me now as I have plenty of time up my sleeve and have booked 3 days in Madrid before I fly home.

Looking forward to walking again tomorrow after a 2 night rest !

Meseta

Carrion De Los Condes

The last few days we have walked 85 kms from Burgos to Carrion. We are now walking through the Meseta. Which is a section of Spain flatter than the rest and kilometre after kilometre of wheat fields , terracotta coloured soil and white rock which is probably limestone. It looks sensational. I have found a rhythm and seem to be managing 30km each day without too much pain.

The 5 of us are all walking our own rhythm now and we sometimes meet up in the evenings for dinner or happy hour.

They say the first third of the Camino is all about the physical challenge and the middle third which we are in now is the mental challenge. The final third is a hoot ....fit and sorted ....we'll breeze it in !

 

The photos attached are showing the journey over the last few days. Hasta Luego !

 

 

Burgos

Burgos......rest time ! Staying in a lovely hotel right next to the 13th C Gothic cathedral. Wandered around the old town today soaking up the history and architecture. Burgos was founded in 884. By the 15th C it had at least 32 pilgrim hostels. 

The Cathedral is amazing ! Beautiful Gothic architecture. Spent some time inside it today soaking up the art.