Camino - Brand Blue Day

The last 20 km into Santiago took forever. We seemed to be deliberately taking our time.
Our arrival and official stamping and 'Compostela' certificate didn't really register until much later in the day.
We have been walking every day for a month, sometimes for as long as 12 hours at a time.
We have met folk from all over the world. All strangely on a similar but very different journey than ourselves.
We smile in recollection at the Englishman who had invested in an expensive brand name sleeping bag for the trip, only to be rewarded with being dyed blue due to the humidity. The dye, although easy to be released from the material took 3 days to come off the skin. Alas this happened several times on his trip, and due to the heat he slept in the nude!
It comes to something when one goes to bed an Englishman, but wakes up a Smurf!
TTFN

Camino - Final Approach

With less than a day to go before finally arriving in Santiago, we are still being surprised by our bodies ability to come up with things to moan about. We had hoped that after nearly 500 miles they would have gotten used to the continual punishment.
Sally has resorted to using sanitary pads as cushions for her heals, and I have a collection of Compede, Elastoplasts & bandages around various toes on my right foot.
Time is having to creep back into our lives once again, as practicality dictates that we need to start planning our return journey.
Although one part of our journey is coming to an end, there is yet another one to begin.
We had both thought that walking so far would mean that we might lose a pound or two, and that I would certainly reduced the size of my 'muffin tops'.
At home we might have some wine at a weekend, and at a social occasion. Here we have had a bottle of red wine with every meal, and a cool beer is nectar of the gods in this heat - I don't normally drink any beer at all.
Hence we don't think we have lost any weight, and I suspect we have both become alcoholics!
Personally I feel a bit like I have been on a busman's holiday, as I think I have used Bowen Therapy nearly everyday - sometimes it has helped a little, sometimes a lot. Needless to say it has been a huge learning experience for me, watching the body 'in situ' break down and repair both in others and myself.
Once again all these experiences will be applied in clinic.
Writing this we have less than 23 km (14 miles) to go, yet it is not getting any easier, and it seems a long way to go. Tomorrow we will arrive in Santiago, this in itself raises a lot of personal reflection for us both.
TTFN

Camino - Holiday or Punishment?

One of the key oddities of walking the Camino is that we are continually in pain day after day, and at the end of almost every day we are utterly exhausted physically and emotionally. Washing our clothes by hand is a must at the end of each day, with the hope that they will be dry the following morning.
It cannot be described as a holiday, nor can we say that we are enjoying ourselves. Yet we are somehow glad to be here, and we keep getting up at 6am every morning to do it all over again.

There are some who have done this more than once, and others that do the Camino every year!

A German gentleman we had met in the first few days of the journey, who was in his 70's, walked the Camino 2 years previously with his wife. He enjoyed himself so much be wanted to do it again. Sadly his wife developed a heart problem so she was unable to come along. However so that he was not alone on his voyage she has signed his right boot, so that she is always present wherever his feet take him.
He wakes every morning at 5.30 and walks at a steady pace until about 2pm to avoid the worst of the heat.
He has been outwalking most of the pilgrims.
We had lost touch with him after the first week, he spoke no English but expounded in fast German with his ever present enthusiasm.
Today while approaching the town of Melide, we noticed a large note tied to a telegraph pole in full view along the pathway. It was a note addressed to 'Sally & Austin' wishing us all the best from our jolly german friend. Deeply touched it spurred us on, and restored our smiles.
TTFN

Camino - Last Legs

As we approach Sarria, it is with a certain sense of achievement coupled with trepidation that we begin the last 100 km of our Journey.
The town of Sarria is the great junction where the 'wearied and blistered' encounter the 'fresh faced and excited' as this is where many new pilgrims begin their adventure to Santiago.
For those of us who have done a few miles already this could make the last leg much more busy and frantic compared to the comparative quietness of the trail so far.
There is also something of a pecking order that one notices on the path.
Egos tend to be pricked a little when one comes across folk who have done less or more miles than oneself.
And there is always someone who has done more!
We met a couple from Holland who had walked from their front door, and a Swiss gentleman who had set out from Krakow. We foolishly thought this couldn't be beaten until we encountered a chap who had started in Poland and went via Rome before heading back to Santiago, clocking up a staggering 6000 km, all on foot and with his loyal dog!
Our feeble 800 km effort pales into insignificance.
TTFN

Camino - Grub & Dodgy Wine

Almost every day for the past 3 weeks we have been eating the available 'menu peregrino'. This is almost always a 3 course menu including wine and water for about 10 Euros or less - so really good value.
The quality varies somewhat depending on each restaurant / bar. In general we have noticed that in the Navarra & Rioja region where a lot of wine is made, the wine (often a whole bottle) included in the menu is pretty good, and sometimes great. The food however, although plentiful and good value, is mostly quite plain.
Almost as soon as we entered the Castilla y Leon region, the food quality improved but the wine deteriorated dramatically. This is not to suggest that Wine from Castilla y Leon is bad, just simply that pilgrims are not granted any of the good stuff.
On one particular occasion the local eatery was happy to admit that their wine was so terrible that they would be including a free bottle of sickly sweet fizzy water with the menu, so as to make the wine drinkable - it didn't help!
The standard main course that appears on every menu, so far, is Lomo Cerdo, which a version of Pork with chips. This staple dish can be anything from a sliver of leather in grease to the most fantastic triple chop delicately pan fried in garlic & herbs - every meal is an adventure.
Ironically each time we have ventured away from the set Pilgrims Menu, we have been quite disappointed, and ended up making (comparatively) an expensive mistake.
Where in the UK could you get a 3 course meal with wine for under a tenner?
TTFN

www.virginmoneygiving.com/SallyandAustin

Camino - Highest Point

The long ascent to just under 5000 feet brought us to the highest point on our journey. Frankly the Crux de Fero is a bit of an anticlimax, but some of the messages and tokens left by the pilgrims are quite touching.
The ascent may have been long and shallow but the descent to the next village 'Acebo' was steep and treacherous. Sadly my left shin decided to make itself known, to the point of bringing me to tears and the only way of descending was for me to walk backwards! Slow going indeed. We finally reached the beautiful mountain village of Acebo, where we stayed for the night as I could proceed no further.
The heat had been increasing already by the time we had arrived.
Later in the afternoon the sun had really started to get in gear.
At around 6.30pm we came across a fellow pilgrim from Belgium whom we had met the night before, and had set off at about the same time that morning. He looked quite sunburnt and in an exhausted state.
He explained that half way up the mountain he had dropped his water bottle and it had spilt the contents. He had spent the rest of the journey with no water. Due to the lateness of the hour - as few pilgrims travel during the heat of the day - he didn't encounter any other pilgrims on foot. Desperate he tried to flag down some of the pilgrims travelling by bicycle. Alas no one wanted to stop.
Eventually an older cyclist stopped and generously gave him all his water!
It was a stark reminder once again to all of us how something a simple as the availability of water can still present such a problem so quickly to those of us who are so used to surfeit in every other aspect of our lives.
TTFN

Camino - A bed for the night

It is perhaps time to mention the accommodation available to the average 'Perigrino'. We have almost always made use of the Camino Albergues which are only available to Pilgrims (special Camino passport needed for trip). A night stay ranges from 5 - 10 Euros per bunk. These places a not dissimilar to Youth Hostels. Initially we were a little reticent at the idea of bunking in a room with possibly 30 or more folk in one room. Surprisingly apart from 2 exceptions (so far) these albergues are spotless and provide more than adequately for the weary traveller. And to be honest the service and general convivial atmosphere of these places is considerably better than many 'low budget' motels/hotels we have stay in, in the UK & Europe that charge significantly more.
The fly in the ointment can be when one is in a room with one or more snorers. Armed with earplugs this problem can be reduced somewhat. However yesterday we had the double misfortune of entering a village with only one place to stay, it was raining, and our bodies refusing to go any further. Sadly this particular Albergue was, shall we say, tatty and unkempt. The outdoor loos had no seats or paper, and we decided not to venture into the outdoor showers for fear of coming out less clean than when we went in! The room was not really large enough to swing a cat, yet it had 6 bunk beds crammed in. However one could argue that for 6 euros each we shouldn't complain, and beggars can't be choosers. Weary and a little disgruntled we made an early night. Alas we were later blessed with a snorer of the first magnitude that managed to penetrate through earplugs and vibrate through the somewhat thin mattress.
We arose grumpy and still very tired.
Yet the world has this rather marvellous way on balancing things up a little.
We had completed our ascent to Astorga with just a few miles to go. We planned to stop at the top for a break. There before us was splendid little shack/bar unattended laiden with the most fantastic array of organic nibbles, teas, muesli, and hot coffee dispensers. Plus an array of juices and a variety of milks, ranging from cows milk to soy, rice or nut milks. All this, set out just for Pilgrims, with a sign saying 'self service' and a little honesty box at one side. We were truly honoured and humbled by the generosity of whomever had decided to create this marvellous oasis for those on their way to Santiago.
TTFN