CaminoDeSantiago 2017

Palas du Rei to Arzua Distance: 16.5 miles / 27 kms Goal for the Day Two shorter days to Santiago Meaningful Moment Making it at last to the albergue. Random Thought of the Day Two more days and 30 miles  to Santiago. Four years ago I could not conceive of this moment. On the Road Long slog today. Got started around 8, knowing that it would be an effort today due to distance. As always the morning went fast and we covered distance. We stopped in Melida to partake of the local speciality - octopus. Having had it before,  I enjoyed my portion but it did not work for Linda. Like all the afternoons, it started to drag. For some reason, today  I lost my ability to judge distance and time. I kept thinking that we were closer than we actually were. We finally made it to our final destination just before 6 pm. Tired and sore, I got my daily shower and laundry in. Lunch in Melida. Famous for its octopus recipes. Octopus in oil. Fried green peppers. Ga!iciac soup

 Portomarin to Palas du Rei Distance: 15 miles / 25 kms Goal for the Day Close the distance to santiago Meaningful Moment Another picnic Coming across other pilgrims of a different sort Random Thought of the Day Three days and 65 kilometers left On the Road Came across an ermitage that offered pilgrim stamps. The man doing it was blind and required our help in placing the stamp. Beautiful pilgrim folk mass tonight. Picnic

Post Title Distance: 12.5 miles / 22 kms Goal for the Day Get to albergue early to get some rest. Meaningful Moment Picnic in a field. Nothing special happened, just a nice time. Random Thought of the Day Santiago is only four days away after for years of hiking. On the Road Pretty unextraordinary day. Had a good breakfast, homemade, at the albergue. Headed out. Lots of cloud cover kept the temperature comfortable. Linda and I have a standard joke now that no matter how far the distance or how hard we try, it will take us eight hours to reach our destination. Desired a short hike, we needed 7.5 hrs to get here. Attended the mass tonight. Churches in Galicia have a Celtic heritage so the architectural style is very current from Castile y Leon. You can see in the pictures that the building is very different. Four days to santiago. It is a tsunami of pilgrims now. Very disconcerting. I'm use to space and time being about me in the Camino, but here it is impossib

Fillobal to Sarria  Distance: 13 miles / 22 kms Goal for the Day Kind of a rest day. We took it easier with a slightly shorter hiking day. Meaningful Moment Linda and I downing a four-person pizza and a pitcher of sangria after an all-day hike. Kind of sloshed on the way back to the albergue. Random Thought of the Day I have hiked Andalucia, Extremadura, Castile y Leon and now I'm walking through Galicia. Pretty amazing experience. On the Road Started uneventfully. But soon after, horse riders passed us by. You can see from the pictures just how beautiful Galicia is, but that contrasts with the dying nature of many of the small fam and ranch towns. Clearly modernization is taking its toll. Sarria is the point for many pilgrims because it is the closest place from Santiago at which a pilgrim can start and still get credit for doing the Camino. It's legit but for those who have walked hundreds of kilometers, we wonder about the appropriateness. Altho we wan

Las Herrerias to Fillobal Distance: 15 miles / 25 kms Goal for the Day Climb the 700 meters to O Cerebrieo, and possibly descend again Meaningful Moment The beautiful peaks and valleys of Galicia Random Thought of the Day Another wonderful picnic at 1300 metres alongside pre Roman hutches. On the Road Linda and I stayed at a private albergue last night. It was a bit more expensive but well worth it. We had a good night's sleep. We awoke to a beautiful day, got dressed and started our home. The challenge was that we immediately faced a700 meter, 2100 foot climb. It was exhilarating to challenge body and mind, but it was also physically demanding. I knew that I could do it, but at what cost. We started the climb around 8 and finished around noon. I was drenched in sweat, but I met the goal. Don't sell yourself short. Be realistic about your abilities and then go forward and onward. The rest of the day was about how far we would go. We had several options a