Month: June 2018

Another gorgeous walk through the lush Galician countryside. Today’s path was short and easy, mainly downhill, and very quiet with few other pilgrims in sight. We got to Portomarín so early that the albergue would not be open for a couple of hours allowing for plenty of time to check out Iglesia San Pedro (closed) and Iglesia San Nicholás (open). I had a wonderful opportunity to meditate and offer thanksgiving in this ancient and still living church. 

(I have poor WiFi again tonight. I will  add more info and photos later.)

Day #22

Portomarín 

Population 2,000 / Elevation 330 meters

Albergue Portomarín

Distance walked today 8.8 km 

Weather mostly cloudy and mild (humid)

Compared to walking in the meseta, walking in Galicia is like being in a hilly rainforest. High humidity and lush flora. Today’s path took us up about 250 km in altitude, but the climb was generally easy and gradual. My foot is doing quite well with not much pain, actually surprisingly little discomfort. Vast flat fields of grain have given way to farmsteads with livestock and a variety of row crops. Tile roofs have been replaced with slate roofs. We registered at our albergue and I took a wonderful 2-hour nap. After showers and laundry, we took a short walk to the village church and nearby bar. The small Romanesque church is especially unusual in that it is actually surrounded by the village cemetery. The bar is a tiny out of the way family-run place complete with a beautiful chubby 10-month old baby girl playing outside in a kiddy pool under the watchful eye of her grandmother. Our waitress, the baby’s mother, told us that she really likes to eat, especially pan (bread). We had the usual pilgrim menu, only the pasta with cheese was the best we’ve had so far, the bread was amazing, and for the first time, we had cheesecake for dessert. We were almost too full to make it back up the hill to our albergue. What a delightful ending to a great day.

Day #21

Ferreiros 

Population ? / Elevation 650 meters

Albergue Casa Cruceiro 

Distance walked today 13.7 km 

Weather sunny and mild (humid)

One of my goals for my visit to Sarria was to find, Jose Luis García Moreira, the woodcarver who did the sculpture of St. Matthew that is on display at church. I met the woman that runs the albergue that is located with the wood shop and she does not speak any English to amount to anything, and I don’t speak any Spanish to amount to anything. In a few minutes we were able to communicate the fact that she is the wife of the woodcarver, and that he had created a large sculpture of St. Matthew that was sent to the United States, and that it is our church in the United States. You would have thought that we were old friends when we compared notes, it was so exciting. She and I had the best time doing the selfie that you see below. I bought a small carving of Santiago Peregrino which I will carry in my backpack and will treasure for the rest my life. She and I hugged and must have exchanged at least a dozen “Buen Caminos” and “Graciases”!

Up at 5:00 a.m. and out at 5:50. My dependable navigator, Isabella, got us to the ‘renfe’ train station in plenty of time for a quick breakfast and a bit of texting before boarding our 7:05 train. My foot is amazingly better after a day of not hiking and a couple of doses of good drugs. The train ride from León to Monforte de Lemos was absolutely gorgeous, into the mountains with lots of beautiful views and many, many tunnels. During our wait for the connecting train to Sarria, my dependable translator, Isabella, handled ordering lunch for us at a nearby bar. We arrived in Sarria in the early afternoon and registered in a really nice little albergue that feels like somebody’s historic home. After walking probably 2 or 3 kilometers today my foot feels wonderful, not perfect, but wonderful. I am so excited to be “restarting” the Camino in the morning.

Day #20

Sarria

Population 13,500 / Elevation 455 meters

Albergue Casa Peltre

Distance traveled today 194.9 km (train)

Weather sunny and mild.

Several days ago I got what I thought was a cramp or a muscle pull in the arch of my left foot. I tried walking through it, but could not get it to go away. I was able to put up with it by favoring that foot until the last few kilometers of yesterday’s walk when the pain got really severe. There was no way I would be able to walk any distance today. This morning we took an ALSA bus to León, the equivalent of two days of walking. The view from the bus confirmed that the terrain in this area is very flat with mountains along the horizon to our right (north). We went through Mansilla where there is a historic bridge only wide enough for a single lane, so there is a traffic light to let vehicles over, first one way then the other. How different from the U.S. – we would tear down the old bridge and replace it with a nice wide one so no one would have to wait. From the León bus station we headed toward the central part of the city and got directions to an urgent care clinic. The doctor diagnosed my condition as planter fascitis and prescribed an anti-inflammatory (stronger than ibuprofen). I was told that I cannot continue walking 20 to 25 km a day, but have to cut back to no more than 10 per day. We decided to take a train in the morning to Sarria to give us more than 12 days to walk the final 100 km to officially complete the Camino and earn the Compostela (certificate of completion of the pilgrimage to Santiago). Needless to say, this is not the way we planned or expected things to go, but all we can do at this point is to make the best of things. After checking in at the Santa Maria de Carbajal albergue we attended evening vespers and mass with the Benedictine nuns and received the pilgrim blessing. I am giving thanks that I am not having to give up the Camino and should be able to complete it. 

Day #19

León 

Population 130,000 / Elevation 840 meters

Albergue Santa Maria de Carbaja

Distance traveled today 44.8 km (bus)

Weather sunny and warm.

One more boring day in the meseta. As you can see in the photos below, today was another level and straight path and senda after another. And at our destination another modern albergue with a 4-person room with private bathroom.

After I showered, I found the most amazing surprise waiting for me on my bed. A Father’s Day card from my grandchildren, transported all the way from Georgia by my wonderful Isabella.

Day #18

Bercianos del Real Camino 

Population 200 / Elevation 850 meters

Albergue La Perala

Distance walked today 23.5 km 

Weather cool and foggy early, then sunny and warm.

Like yesterday, today’s walk was kilometer after kilometer of straight and boring. The photos below may look pretty much the same, because they are, but each was taken in a totally different location. We walked nearly 5 kilometers along a straight gravel path to the first tiny village, then another 12 kilometers to the next small village. As if for variety, the final stretch was along a senda (like yesterday). No interesting churches, no interesting much of anything. It’s easy to see why the meseta has a reputation for being difficult. There are, however, a couple of bright points to report: We  reached the halfway point in our Camino today; and we are pretty much in the lap of albergue luxury tonight – our room only sleeps 4 people in a pair of bunk beds, and it has its own bathroom.

Day #17

Terradillos de las Templarios

Population 100 / Elevation 885 meters

Albergue Los Templarios

Distance walked today 26.8 km 

Weather sunny and warm.

Today’s  walk consisted of kilometer after kilometer of level, straight, and boring sendas (pilgrim footpaths next to a highway) punctuated with a small village every 3 or 4 kilometers. It was so level and straight that you could see the next town as soon as you left the last one. The nicest break was stopping in Villalcázar de Sirga to visit the church of Santa Maria la Blanca. There’s even a sculpture of Santiago Apóstol resting here before going on. Unlike Iglesia San Martín yesterday, this is an active church. Besides taking lots of pictures, I took time to pray before the blessed sacrament, a wonderful chance to remember all of you who are so generous in supporting Isabella and me in this endeavor. I prayed one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139, which seems so appropriate to this journey. Our rest day yesterday seems to have paid off – we both felt so much better today – and we made it to our albergue where we were graciously received by the kind nuns.

Day #16

Carrión de los Condes

Population 2,200 / Elevation 840 meters

Albergue parochial, Santa Maria 

Distance walked today 19.3 km 

Weather sunny and mild.

Isabella and I have been struggling the last couple of days and needed a rest day, but did not want to get behind schedule , so we took a taxi to Frómista instead of walking. Since Frómista is best known for the Iglesia San Martín which dates from the eleventh century, we had to check it out. It is reputed to be one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in Spain. Unfortunately it’s actually a tourist destination, not a functioning church, but it is really beautiful. Our albergue is right on the Plaza de San Martín, so it is ultra convenient. We are sharing a small room with just two others, a mother and daughter from Iowa, who we met a couple of days ago. Mainly we relaxed today and are hoping to be rested and ready to walk tomorrow.

Day #15

Frómista

Population 840 / Elevation 790 meters

Albergue Municipal 

Distance today 24.9 km (taxi)

Weather sunny, cool early, warmer later.

Today was our first full experience of the infamous meseta. As we had been told, there are long stretches of high plateau interspersed with narrow valleys, each with a small town with much appreciated bars offering a variety of food and drink. The guide book warned of lots of sun and heat with little shade – we got lots of sun, but kept our jacket and sweatshirt on because it was so cool and windy. There are still lots of rocks, now larger ones piled up along the edges of the fields and often covered with wildflowers. A few days ago when asked if we had seen any wildlife, I mentioned slugs (large), snails (small), and ants (large). I forgot to include that we are sometimes annoyed by what seem to be the Spanish cousins of Georgia gnats. (Sorry, no gnat photos.)

Day #14

Castrojeriz

Population 500 / Elevation 810 meters

Albergue Orion

Distance walked today 20.1 km.

Weather very cool and breezy.