Camino Portugues - Seven months to go

Here we go again.

El Camino de Santiago was such an amazing experience that we want to try again.  Initial plan calls for El Camino Portugues starting in Liboa.  We plan to stop at Fatima to visit the shrine of our Lady Mary and from there to Porto, Tui and Santiago de Compostela.  This will probably take place in May/June next year.

Both of us have new boots to replace the ones we wore out in El Camino and I got a new backpack that fits better than the old one and we probbaly will have to replace a few more items.  We feel out of shape since we have not been able to walk in the last couple of months much but we still have time (although winter is coming).

Our health has been up and down but we cannot complain, we still can walk.  When we walk next year I will be almost 72 years old but this time we will have the experience and El Camino Portugues is shorter, only 615 Km, and is easier, not as many mountains to climb.  Besides, Wonder Woman will be at my side to pick up the pieces every time I fall.

So Santiago de Compostela here we come.

Santiago, St James, pary for us.

Day 51 - Madrid to Mississauga

This will be the last entry for this blog.

We are going home.  As I write we are flying towards Mississauga.  God willing we will be home this evening.

Too many thoughts run through my mind.  I don't want to think of tomorrow.  I know that after almost two months away there will be a long list of things to do.

I rather think of the last two months.  The excitement of the preparation.  The impatience to get started and then the adventure of our lives.

I admired my wife for years but this pilgrimage has given me a whole new view of her.  She looked after me like no one could have, and while she can be  sweet and loving she is also really tough. I cannot believe I got so lucky getting her as my girlfriend, my lover, my wife.

I have now so many memories that will last forever.  On the spiritual side I got closer to our Lord Jesus.  The old majestic cathedrals and churches, the priests, monks and nuns that we met. The priests and religious who gave us pilgrim blessings; in the church in Pamplona, in Estella, the Benedictine monks, the Franciscan friars of O'Cebreiro, the Belgium pilgrim priest, the young priest walking with a school group of 15 year olds, the nun in the convent of Santa Teresita, and the last blessing from the Franciscan brother at the church of San Francisco in Santiago de Compostela.

There are memories of magnificent liturgies.  We attended some very special services including a vespers in the cathedral of Leon, vespers with Gregorian chants with the Benedictine monks, mass with the Cistercian nuns of Santa Teresita and the liturgies of holy week in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela with the archbishop, a large group of priests, cantors and choir and the amazing pipe organ.  I will never forget the Spanish cofradias and their processions.

And then there are all the pilgrims we met and share the experience with.  Starting with Luis, the Spaniard from Navarra who walk with us the first day and stay with us because he felt I was not well, and Felipe from Santiago who took over for Luis the next day.  We were lucky to see him again in Santiago where he invited a cup of coffee.  Hendrik and Sophia from South Africa who were our companions a couple of days, Ian and Marian from England, Karen and Dave from Calgary,  Karen and Steve from California.  Roberto from Monterrey, Mexico. I have to mention the two Spanish 15 year girls who stop to help when I fell. Then my internet friends I never met in person but shared the experience on Facebook, Marilize and Theresa both from South Africa.  And many more. 

Then the sites we walked through, mostly I loved the mountains and the peaks (though sometimes I was not sure I liked climbing them).  In particular I will never forget come down the Pyrenees through Roland's pass, el alto del Perdon, where the way of the wind crosses the way of the stars and where the monument representing pilgrims through the centuries is.  The cross the Ferro, where pilgrims have been depositing pebbles for centuries.  The pebbles brought from their homes and representing things from our lives that we want to leave behind.  O'Cebreiro with the oldest church in el Camino with incredible views on one side to Castilla and on the other to Galicia.

Then the historical places that we saw. Like walking on a 2000 year old Roman road or crossing Roman bridges or mediaeval bridges like the one Santo Domingo de la Calzada built for pilgrims and the bridge on Puente la Reina.  Then there were sites like the castle of the Templar Knights in Ponferrada or the Parador de San Marcos which was the base for the Knights of Santiago and the museums, so many is hard to remember.

As I said somewhere in the blog an incredible journey. Spiritually uplifting, emotionally exciting and physically demanding.

Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing us to complete this pilgrimage.  Allow this experience to get us closer to you and to make us better human beings.
Ten piedad de nosotros.

Day 50 - Madrid

Last day in Spain.

We thought all the museums were closed on Monday but we discovered that El Prado is open.  So we woke up late and to the Prado we went.  The Metro left us only a couple of blocks away and we walked in the rain to find a block long lineup of umbrellas.  Of course we lined up and eventually we got into the museum.

We spent there most of the day.  It is an incredible collection.  Lots of Spanish art including Velázquez, Goya, Murillo but there is a wide collection of European art including Miguel Angel, Rubens, el Greco, Raphael, Tintoretto, Rembrandt.  We could spend days admiring all these master pieces and walking room after room in there. There are more than 90 rooms.

We did escape for a bit for lunch to a favourite restaurant of Brenda that is nearby and had a nice paella and squid lunch. I think we have been there every time we have been in Madrid.

By 4 pm we had overdosed in art so we left and walked first to la Puerta de Sol and then continued to the Opera House and crossed to over to el Palacio Real and finally to the Cathedral de Santa Maria la Real de Almudena.  We arrived just on time for our last mass in Spain.

Now back at the hotel and getting ready for tomorrow.  It looks like we have to get up at 5 am.  We are ready to go home.

Santa Maria de Almudena, take care of us in our trip back home.  Pray for us and for all our pilgrim friends on their way home or still completing their Camino.

Day 49 - Santiago de Compostela to Madrid

Bus day.

Really nothing notable happened today.  We left the hotel  at 9 am and the bus trip took 10 hours.  It seems our bus is the one that goes around Galicia from town to town picking up people.  We arrived at 8 pm to Madrid and it took us one more hour to take the subway across the city to get to our hotel.

Now to bed. We really want to get home now but we have one more day in Madrid.  Unfortunately is a Monday and all the museums are closed.

Hail Mary full of grace pray for us.

Day 48 - Santiago de Compostela

Last day here in Santiago de Compostela and mass of the resurrection.

The only thing we really wanted to do today is attend the Easter Vigil at the cathedral at 10 pm so we had a free day.

We decided to visit some of the museums. There are two museums of pilgrims.  We started with the old one.  It has some interesting facts of the pilgrimage and religious art.  The new museum is very modern and is next to the cathedral.  It has an amazing model of the cathedral and a computer game where we role played  a mediaeval pilgrim arriving to Santiago and the cathedral.  It also has a collection of great photos from el Camino which we could identify, we were there!

We also took the time to have one more visit to the tomb of the apostle and then a last Galician lunch of caldo Gallego and fried squid.

We rested  for a while and packed for tomorrow's trip to Madrid.  And the afternoon was gone.

We left the hotel just before 9 pm and caught a bit of another procession.  This was from the Cofradia del Santisimo Cristo  de la Uncion y Nuestra Señora de la Serenidad. I was reading that it is important for the cofradias to include the family thus the processions include women and children.  Today they had lots of children.

From there to the cathedral.  What a special sendoff.  The Easter Vigil started with the ceremony of fire with the cathedral on the darkness.  Then the fire was passed along to all the people.  We all had candles and then this magnificent huge church became alive with all the lights. This cathedral which was built over hundreds of years is one of the largest of Europe and has a very large pipe organ.  The organ and the choir provided a majestic sound to the ceremony.  The archbishop was accompanied by 10 priests.  I don't have the words to describe what I saw and what I felt.  A great celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Santiago, apostle of our Lord Jesus, patron of the pilgrims, please  listen to our petitions and protect us in our way home.  Pray for is.

Day 47 -Santiago de Compostela

Good Friday

Day of mourning.

We started the day by watching a reenactment of the passion of Jesus by the Cofradia of Jesus of Nazarene and our Lady of Sorrows.  This was in a plaza outside the cathedral.  The passion of our Lord was narrated by a priest and reenacted with four floats carried by the Cofrades.  The floats were: Veronica,  St. John, Our Lady of Sorrows and Jesus carrying the Cross.  The performance ended with a procession through the streets of Santiago.

After that we visited the cathedral's museum.   It has a wonderful collection of mediaeval religious art and includes a visit to the old claustro.  Very interesting.

We finished the day with Good Friday celebration at the cathedral. It was an impressive liturgy.  It was presided by the archbishop accompanied by the bishop and a dozen priests.  The passion according to the  gospel of John was  chanted by three cantors and a choir.  I had never seen a Good Friday liturgy like this.  This continues to be a very special Holy Week for us.

Our Lord Jesus, you died for us in a day like today 2000 years ago. Thank you for allowing us to be here, by the tomb of your apostle Santiago.
 
Ten piedad de nosotros.

Day 46 - Santiago de Compostela

The last couple of days we have spent a lot of time with pilgrims we met on the way and that keep arriving.  Lots of hugs, dinners together, and talk a lot about our experiences.  It feels like nobody wants to end the pilgrimage. Today we had lunch with Hendrik and Sophia from South Africa.  We were at mass with Marieta and her son.  And we saw Steve walking around. Marilize from South Africa should arrive tomorrow with her mom.  There is a true pilgrims  fraternity.

The other very significant part of these days has been the liturgical part.  Today we attended a penance service in the morning presided by the archbishop.  Luckily, there was an English priest right by the place where we sat so it was easier for Brenda to go to confession.

This afternoon we attended the mass of the last supper.  The archbishop presided again with a dozen priests concelebrating.  The gigantic organ was played with a beautiful choir.  The liturgies in the cathedral are just incredible. 

After mass we went out the plaza to watch the Maundy Thursday procession by the Cofradia of the True Cross and presided by the archbishop.  As usual they had a float of Jesus at the last supper and a float of Our Lady of Sorrows.  I should mention that the masks worn by the members of the cofradias have been in use since the XV century.

These liturgies have had a great impact on me.  As I am rediscovering my church I feel a true spiritual renewal.

Santiago, help up maintain this spirit of rediscovery, and today that we celebrate the first mass and the institution of priesthood pray for our priests, our religious orders and for us.

Day 45 - Santiago - las cofradias

Day 45 - Santiago de Compostela

We started with a walk to the church of saint Francis of Assisi, there we received another certificate as pilgrims on the 800th anniversary of the pilgrimage of St. Francis.

It was a day of reunions.  First we met Karen and Steve (from the US) in front of the cathedral just when they arrived.  Hugs an emotion.  Then we found Ian and Marian from England with Marieta and her 11 year old son Rodrigo (from Madrid).  More hugs and kisses. They were going to an albergue which we were planning to visit because we walked at the beginning with Felipe, the owner. 
We had a very nice lunch with them and then went back to Felipe's for a visit.

Later Brenda and I went to the evening mass and we ended sitting with Ian, Marian, Karen and Steve.  The mass was very special with the archbishop presiding and an amazing choir.  The mass was followed by the way of the cross with representatives from all the cofradias (brotherhoods) of Santiago. The procession started in the cathedral and ended in the church of St Francis. Very special and very colourful.

St Francis of Assisi pray for us

Day 44 - O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela

21 km to Santiago de Compostela

What a day!
So many emotions, so many feelings.  It was hard to believe we were so close.  We had planned to arrive on Thursday then on Wednesday and last night we decided to give it a go.

We left the hostel in the dark without breakfast because there was nowhere to eat.  The forecast was for rain and we found everything wet and a little muddy but no rain.  At dawn we met a girl.  She was happy to see our Canadian flag patches on our backpacks because as she said she is from Trawna.

After an hour and 4 km we had a standard Spanish breakfast of café con leche and toast.  And we found ourselves surrounded by more school groups of teens.

Shortly after noon we arrived to the Monte del Gozo (Mount of Joy).  The first place from where you can see the towers of the cathedral only 4 km away. We stopped there for a rest and talked to some pilgrims we have met before:  Annette from Denmark, a couple from Salamanca, and a German gentleman.

We walked alone into the city, one more hour, we wanted to go right to the cathedral and say hello to the apostle.  But... the front door of the cathedral was closed.  We went to the pilgrims office and we found out that pilgrims are not allowed with backpacks in the cathedral so we got our Compostela, pilgrim certificates and a special certificate for long distance pilgrims. 

We stopped at the office of RENFE, the Spanish trains to get tickets for our return to Madrid.  There are no tickets for this weekend all trains are full.

Then we went to look for our hotel.  We had reservations for Thursday.  Well, the hotel is CLOSED until Thursday.  Anyway,
another hotel from the same group offered us a room for two days at the same price (this hotel is more expensive) but we had to walk another 15 minutes to the hotel.

Then we called ANSA, the bus company, they had two seats but they do not accept foreign credit cards over the phone and they would not reserve the seats so we had to leave right away and take a taxi to the bus station to get the seats. We got seats but we won't be together.  It is a long trip from 9 am to 7 pm.  Still, it will get us to Madrid.

We finally had a chance to get back to the hotel, have a shower, and rest half an hour before the pilgrim mass.

We arrived early at the cathedral so we had a chance to go behind the altar and hold the statue of Santiago as per pilgrim tradition.  We also went to the crypt where the tomb of the apostle is and had a moment of prayer.

All the things and the people who filled this 40 days.  From ash Wednesday to today, holy Tuesday filled up mind. I also learned to admire more and more my woman.  She Is just amazing. Really hard to express emotions and feelings.

The church was not full for the evening pilgrim mass which is a good thing.  The noon pilgrim mass is too busy and there are too many tourists that interfere with the solemnity of the celebration.  I cannot describe the feelings when the priest welcomed the pilgrims and went through the list and welcomed the Canadian pilgrims that started in Roncesvalles.  This mass was the culmination of the pilgrimage. This mass was very special.

So now back at the hotel, it will be very strange not to have to get up at dawn and walk for hours and hours.  It has been the experience of a lifetime. And we have done it together.

Santiago apostle, we had the privilege of walking your Camino.  Help us be better because of this experience.  Grant us the favour we are asking from you and please pray for us. Amen.

Day 43 - Arzua to O Pedrouzo

39 km to Santiago de Compostela

We were going to walk 15 km and overachieved and went all the way to 20 km.  We are now at a point were we could be in Santiago tomorrow evening.

Somehow we are not as tired as yesterday.  The Camino is really busy now.  It is like walking in a crowd sometimes.  Lots of teens in school groups.  Today we were talking to a group of girls from Madrid that are in the school of nursing. We also met Marieta, she was at the bar where I got first aid the day of the fall.  She seemed truly happy to see me on my feet.  She is walking with her 11 year old son. Very nice lady.  Not much more to say except that we were busy walking and walking.

We arrived to O Pedrouzo around 3 pm and found a hostel. The restaurant in town does not serve supper until 8 pm so we went to the supermarket, got a big can of fabada (a soup of white beans with bacon and chorizo chunks), bread, ham, and strawberries and that was our dinner.  We are going to try to get up early to see if we can make it to Santiago tomorrow.  The forecast is for rain all day so if we are getting too wet we may stop early.

The end of the journey is near.  I think we are ready to finish and excited at spending Easter in Santiago, watching the parades of the Cofradias and attending Easter services at the cathedral. I think we are going to miss walking every day.

Jesus, help us get closer to you in these painful days and to celebrate your resurrection.  Ten piedad de nosotros.

Day 42 - Melide to Arzua

52 km to Santiago de Compostela

Today was a beautiful day, maybe the warmest so far with lots of sun.  Even though our walk was short it was tough.  The guide shows it as a fairly flat stage but it does not say we are crossing Galician hills.  Up and down, up and down.  Pretty tiring indeed.

The fields are now in full spring splendour.  Fresh spring greens in the fields and in the trees and spring flowers of every kind all around us.  We just had to stop often and admire the views, the flowers, everything (and also to catch our breath).

As for pilgrims we saw Annette from Denmark a couple of times, Johannes from Holland several times and more groups of teens including a group of Scouts (not boy scouts since they included a bunch of girls). The Camino is busier indeed.

We arrived at 2 pm to Arzua, lunch and rest and then we attended palm Sunday mass.

My face while more colourful looks better, some of the scabs are starting to fall and the swelling is down

A regular day in the Camino. We are just getting more anxious to finish the journey but we don't want to arrive before Wednesday.

Santiago one of the first apostles, the first one to suffer martyrdom.  Please help us to get closer to Our Lord Jesus this holy week that starts today.  Santiago pray for us.

 

Day 41 - My nurses

I met again two of the little 15 year olds that stopped to help after I fell. I was happy to be able to say Thank You.

Day 40 - after the fall

A selfie that shock me after I saw what happened to me after I fell on el Camino.  I looked worse the day after

Day 41 - Palas de Rei to Melide

67 km to Santiago de Compostela

We had a great room in Palas de Rei.  We found a new albergue and everything was nice and sparkling clean.  I slept very well but my girl did not.  Both of us woke up tired.  I guess the fall affected both of us. 
This morning my face looks worse.  My eyes were more colourful and redder than yesterday.  Fortunately  I don't feel any worse. 

When we went down for our typical Spanish breakfast of toast and cafe con leche or manzanilla (camomile tea) she found Eliza and Emiliano, we would be meeting them many more times during the walk.  That are a very nice young couple. 

The walk was short, only 17 km, but we started later, after 8:30 am so we did not arrive to Melide until 2 pm.  A few hills, some mud,  always colourful villages and some great views. 

A special moment of today was at a break when we saw the two of the little 15 year old  girls who help Brenda patch me up after the fall.  I went to say thank you again.  Their teacher was there so I went to tell him what the girls had done and to make sure he mentioned to their parents.

At Melide we found a place to stay and went out to eat something.  This is the place to eat Galician style octopus so that is what we had.  Delicious.

To finish the day we attended Palm Sunday mass in the church of San Pedro. Another very old church with a beautiful retablo in the main altar.  It has several tombs from the XIV century with the sculpture of the person on top and very special for me, it has on one side a large picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Mary my mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe I ask you for my special favour and pray for all my family, in special for my grandchildren: Julian, James, Eric, Eowyn and Chloe.

Day 40 - Portomarin to Palas de Rei

93 km to Santiago de Compostela

I woke up still a little tipsy from my vertigo.  I still have my vertigo pills from Astorga so I started taking them again.  Looking at the map we realised that there  are no towns for the first 8 km until the village of Gonzar.  After that there were hamlets or villages every 2 or 3 km.  I was concerned that I would not feel well and 8 km would take us close to 3 hours to walk
We decided to take a taxi to Gonzar and walk from there.  Perhaps one or two towns.  Just a token walk and rest the rest of the day.  Well, we walked and arriving to a village we would say, let's go for one more and one more and one more. We ended walking almost 20 km in 7 hours all the way to Palas de Rei.

The Camino is very busy now.  We saw at least three groups of Spanish teens and one of English boys.  At one of the rests we found ourselves by the school group we met at mass on Sarria.  Their priest is so young that he looks like one of the kids.  We talked with him and before he left gave us a blessing.  Later on at another break we met the man who gave me first aid.  He seem truly happy to see that I was on my feet again.

We arrived to Palas de Rei at around 3:30 pm and found a new albergue.  San Marcos, impeccably clean, Ana, the person in charge gave a very nice room and sent us out for Galician dinner.  I had caldo Gallego and Brenda had lentil soup and octopus a la Gallega.  Really nice dinner.  

In the evening we went to mass to the church of Santo Tirso.  The group of students from this morning were there too.  At the end of the mass we said good bye.  We are going to slow down so we can arrive to Santiago on Holy Thursday as we had planned.

Palas de Rei, Palace of the King, Interesting name.  There was a Visigoth king in the VIII century who had his residence here.  That is where the name comes from. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother, pray for our sons and daughters, for our grandchildren and for our mothers.  Help usp complete this pilgrimage under your protection.

Day 39 - Sarria to Portomarin

115 km to Santiago de Compostela

Breakfast at dawn outside a cafe in the main Street of the old town.  We sat near a couple from USA who live in Germany, soon a young girl we saw in O'Cebreiro came by, she started to talk , we found out that her name is Cathy she is from Seattle.  We ended walking with her for a while.

Leaving Sarria is up, up, up again.  300 metres.  There were lots of pilgrims and we saw lots of Spanish teens.  It looks like they come in school or church groups at this time of the year.

We passed several little hamlets.  There seem to be lots of cows in this area (which make for a smelly Camino).  We were hoping to get to the Village of Morgade by 1pm.  That would be the first place with a restaurant where we could seat for a while and have lunch.

We were walking in an area where the Camino becomes a creek but they have built on the side a walkway made of stones or rocks.  Suddenly my feet got tangled with a branch that was on the ground and down I went.  Walking with poles and a heavy backpack it is difficult to react so I stopped the fall with my forehead.  At least I did not fall in the water.  Lots of blood, my poor wonder woman looked more scared than I was.  It took me a while to get up but she very quickly had the first aid kit out and was cleaning and stopping the blood.  I was surprised to see a few adult pilgrims go by without a word.  Then four Spanish girls, teens, came by and right away tried to help.  That is why I like young people so much. All of them had first aid kits and passed things to Brenda.  I got the wound cleaned and patched and we walked another two kilometres to Morgade.

By then Brenda had decided that I needed stitches so we asked the host to call us a taxi.  A Spanish pilgrim that we had met before said he knew first aid and asked me to let him have a look.  Soon he had a good amount of materials.  He disinfected and cleaned the wound again and also said that I needed stitches.

The taxi finally arrived (we were on a little hamlet in the middle of nowhere) and we asked to be taken to the clinic in Portomarin.  The doctor checked me out and gave me two stitches. Somehow this took  very long time, all kinds of paperwork even an incident report to the police. 

The only problem I was left with is that the vertigo came back.  Lying down in the clinic the room started to move. Fortunately is not bad and I don't  have the nasty nausea that sometimes comes with vertigo. I am feeling a bit better and I am hoping I can walk a bit tomorrow.

We had a good dinner at a restaurant that has a magnificent view of the river and I have been resting all afternoon.

Portomarin has an interesting story.  The town was in a place that was flooded when they built a dam so the town was moved to higher ground.  The church from Saint Nicholas which is unique in this area and Romanesque in style was moved and rebuilt brick by brick in the new centre of town.  Pretty amazing.

Saint James the great, Santiago el mayor, I am one of your pilgrims, I ask you for your protection for all the pilgrims in el Camino, for my wonder woman and for me.  I also remind you of the very special favour that I am asking from Jesus thru you.

Day 38 - Triacastela to Sarria

144 km to Santiago de Compostela

We got up early and walked in the dark for half an hour.  Sunrise was awesome, Brenda saw the Milky Way.  I guess in the mountains and away from any cities we can see the night sky much better.

Of course we had another climb.  This time was 310 metres.  We passed the village of San Xil (San Gil) and finally reached the alto Riocabo (peak Riocabo).

By now the sun was up, a marvellous day, lots of pilgrims in the Camino many of them we knew.  Now down the 300 metres, sometimes it feels like we are digging a hole just to have to fill it up again,  up and down, by noon we arrived to Pintin.  The first town with a restaurant in over 10 km. The place was full of pilgrims.  We ordered lunch, a sandwich of chorizo and eggs (delicious).  We sat at a table with Marie, a young German girl, very interesting gal, 20 years old speaks fluent Spanish, English and has traveled the world, many countries in Asia and Latin America.

After lunch the heat arrived, 23 C, but wallking in the sun with the backpacks it felt like 30C.  We walked for a other 3 hours but today we felt both very tired and I had very sore feet.

We decided to spoil ourselves by staying in the best hotel in town, the Alfonso IX.  It really was not more expensive than some hostels we have stayed in.  I think he gave us a special pilgrim rate.

The story related to king Alfonso IX, as in the hotel name, is that he died here, in Sarria, in the XIV century during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.  It is incredible the number of pilgrims who die in el Camino.  We have seen innumerable number of crosses marking the places where pilgrims have died.  There is talk that a pilgrim died this year in the Pyrenees.  May all of them rest in peace.

A walk in town and dinner outside at a cafe.  While we were eating our friends from yesterday, Emiliano y Eliza (Spanish and Brazilian) went by, they were planning to walk another 5 km.

Mass at the church of Santa Mariña at 6 pm is for pilgrims.  Today there was a group of around 30 teens lead by a young priest that start their pilgrimage tomorrow.  The kids were very impressed when they found out we started in the Pyrenees and I really like showing off with 15 year old girls.  It was very nice to see so many young people at church and very excited about their pilgrimage.

Sarria is a common starting point for pilgrims.  There is a requirement to walk a minimum of 100 km to get a Compostela, a certificate of a Pilgrim, thus, many pilgrims start here, 110 km from Santiago de Compostela.  El Camino should be a lot busier from now on.  Sarria, with 13000 people, is the largest town on el Camino in Galicia.  From now we will find mostly small villages.

Our Lady of Sorrows, it is appropriate now that we are close to Easter that we think of you, our mother Mary, it is very difficult to imagine how you suffered the last days of your son and Our Lord Jesus.  Mother Mary pray for us.

Day 37 - O'Cebreiro to Triacastela

155 km to Santiago de Compostela

We started late, it was almost 9 am.  When we came out of the hostel the fog was very thick and there was some drizzle.  The path was going up the hill.  Wait! Up the hill?  We were supposed to be going down.  We walked up for about 20 minutes through some evergreen woods, there was still snow on the ground.  Then down a bit and we came out of the woods and like turning a switch on, the fog was gone, the sun was out and we had amazing views.

As it happened we really did not go down for a while.  We walked  on the mountains for four hours.  Up and down, in fact we reached a peak, el alto del Poio, which is a bit higher than O'cebreiro.  At around 2 pm we arrived to Biduedo.  Then we had to decide; stay there or walk another 7 km to Triacastela. 

We were tired but we decided to go ahead.  The 7 km are a very steep path downhill.  Sometimes I think it is harder to go down than up.  There are more injuries going down than in any other terrain.  Black toes (bruised toenails), shin splints, etc.  It took us another 3 hours to go down.  We finally arrived, very tired, to Triacastela.

Many years ago there were three castles in this place, thus the name of Triacastela.  Unfortunately nothing is left from those castles. The town is fairly small with a population of 900 but it has several albergues and hostels to accommodate pilgrims.

There was a significant change today.  In the past we have walked mostly alone.  Occasionally we talked to other pilgrims but not very often.  But now that we are in Galicia the number of pilgrims increased dramatically.  We saw people that we met before; Jan and Carol from Florida and our young friend Mattias.  But now we met a very young German girl, Katarina, an older couple, Marian and Ian from the UK. 

We also met two young Italian men at a rest.  I ordered a small bottle of sidra and they did not know what it was so I let them try it.   We left and an hour later they caught up with us.  One of them, Samuel, had brought a bottle of sidra for me.  That was a very nice detail.

Later on we met a Spanish man, Emiliano with his girlfriend, Eliza, from Brazil.  Eliza was having trouble because her boots died an el Camino's death and she had to get new boots.  Ouch.

So today can be summarised as mountains, amazing views, steep downhill, lots of pilgrims, tiredness, sore legs and happiness and satisfaction.

Santiago el Mayor, one of the first disciples, friend of Jesus, protect all those pilgrims who travel to your tomb.  You know the very special favour I am asking from you, please consider it and pray for us.

Day 36 - La Portela de Valcarce to O'Cebreiro

175 km to Santiago de Compostela

Up at dawn again,  we walked almost 10 km in 2 and 1/2 hours. And then everything changed; we hit the wall.  Very steep, I mean very very steep hill. It would take us over 4 hours to walk the next 10 km.  We went up 750 metres on those 10 km. But what amazing views, well worth the effort of the climb.   We had a great morning. One of best and more interesting days in el  Camino (and one of the hardest). It was not until we started to run out of mountains, may be an hour to go that the cold drizzle arrived and behind it the fog. This time even my wonder woman admitted she was getting tired. 

We met a nice couple from Florida on the way up.  They had heard of a man who had been to emergency twice in el Camino and kept walking.  I wonder who that guy is.

The little village of O'Cebreiro is at the top of a mountain.  It says it has a permanent population of 50.  So besides the views, the houses are very interesting, they are made of stone and some have thatch roofs.  Built the old way and I am sure most of them are very old.  Of course now the village lives from tourism (many tours stop here because of the views) and because of the old Celtic flavour of the whole town. Also lots of pilgrims stop here to rest and spend the night after the climb.

There is a little church here.  The Santuario Santa Maria Real de O'Cebreiro. Also called la Iglesia del Milagro (the church of the miracle).  This church is pre-romanic probably from the IX century and it has a story.  It is said that around the XIV century there was a Benedictine monk who was really fed up.  The snow was piling outside, the wind was very mean and he was loosing his faith.  He thought that with the bad weather no one would show up for mass. However a man, a farmer, climbed up to the church so the monk proceed to celebrate mass.  When he arrived to the consecration he was really surprised to see that the bread had become flesh and the wine real blood.  The news of the miracle spread around and the faith of the people was renewed.

After a dinner of caldo Gallego and trout we went to mass.  The church is now run by Franciscan friars.  It was only four of us pilgrims and two priests.  Really intimate.  During mass I could not stop thinking of the miracle of bread and wine becoming the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus.  It is easy sometimes to forget that this really happens every time we attend mass.

At the end of the mass the priest came to talk to us,  he gave us his blessing and wished us Buen Camino.  And he reminded us than 800 years ago St. Francis of Assisi walk this very path to Santiago de Compostela.

St. Francis, pray for us.

Day 35 - Cacabelos to La Portela de Balcarce

194 km to Santiago de Compostela

We left Cacabelos in the dark.  By the time we got to the bridge over the river Cúa, just outside the town, the sun was starting to peek behind us.  Then the huff and puff of the hill started.  It was not too bad, it is only about 150 metres climb over 8 km to Villa franca del Bierzo. 

Once in Villafranca we walked thru the town and got a chance to see a castle, el Castillo de los Marqueses, unfortunately only from the outside.  We managed to find the town's plaza.  By then it was 11 am so we had something to eat.  I have found that we can burn up to 5000 or 6000 calories per day and if I don't eat enough I find myself very tired the next day.

We had planned to walk to Trabadelo and camp there.  That would be another 10 km.  We decided to take the easier route that follows a road.  Just outside of Trabadelo we met Matthias, a 19 year old German pilgrim.  Nice young man.  We would be meeting him often at rest periods and walk occasionally with him the rest of the day.

We arrived to Trabadelo at 2 pm.  By then we were tired so we stopped to eat lunch at a rest area.  There were 2 other pilgrims there, an Italian, Mauro and Wie.  Wie is Latvian and we had met her a month ago in Zubiri when we stayed in the same hostel.  The pilgrims world is indeed small.

Time to reevaluate.  Tomorrow we want to get to O'Cebreiro.  The hardest climb of el Camino.  We have to go up 700 metres in less than 10 km.  We would have to walk 19 km in total.  We decided to walk another 4 km to La Portela del Valcarce. It would be almost 4 pm by the time we got there and find a hostel.  That means we only have 15 km for tomorrow (and the climb).  Total km for the day were 24, one of our longest walks.

For dinner our pilgrim menu included caldo Gallego and trout (2 for each).  The waitress was speaking Galician (Gallego).  We are still in Leon but almost at the border of Galicia.

The bad news, I got another bruised toenail (black nail);the third.  That means I am going to loose three nails in the next few months. Ouch!

We are feeling tired but happy and excited.  The end is near.  Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and we should be in Santiago for Holy Thursday.   We are happy to be doing this Lent pilgrimage but we miss our grandkids and our kids.

Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for giving us the opportunity to do this.  We hope this journey will get us closer to you.  Please forgive our misdeeds. Amen.

Day 34 - Ponferrada to Cacabelos

210 km to Santiago de Compostela

There has been some wear and tear on us and on the equipment.  Both Brenda and I have some semi-permanently sore muscles.  Of course I needed repairs a couple of times at ERs in Pamplona and Astorga.  And we definitely have lost some weight which is goodness.

As for the equipment both pairs of boots are holding their own but we will need new ones when we get home.  I am in my 3rd pair of rubber tips for my poles, Brenda's water valve from the hydration pack is leaking. Everything else looks a bit worn and tired.  We have to last only two more weeks.

The walk today was mostly on pavement.  By the time we walked out of Ponferrada, its suburbs and contiguous villages; Compostilla, Columbrianos, Fuentes Nuevas and Camponaraya we had walked 10 km.  The last part was through vineyards and fields of fruit trees. We hear the cherries should be ready soon.  Beautiful countryside but the trail very muddy.  The terrain is hilly. Otherwise we could have been in the Niagara peninsula

We arrived to Cacabelos at around 2:30 pm and by then we had 16 km in our favour and I was tired so we found a nice hotel and camped there.

Cacabelos is a 5000 people town and it started as a Visigoth village.  As many others it took its name around the XI century when pilgrimage to Santiago was in its golden era and the village grew as a stop for pilgrims.

We asked where we could go to mass and we got directed to the church of Santa Maria.  We were told mass would be at 7 pm. 

We decided to have an early dinner around 5 pm.   We found some restaurants closed (Spanish people eat late so restaurants close between lunch and dinner).  So we found a place open and we had paella.

At 7 pm we were at the church and we found out that Spain changed the clock a week ago but the church did not so the 7 pm mass would be at 8 pm.

By now the clouds were gone and the sun was out.  We went to the little plaza, bought some churros and sat to enjoy the sun. Soon a lady in her 80s came and sat down with us.  Talk, talk, talk.  When she decided to leave she made sure she got kisses from Brenda and me.

The church of Santa Maria is Romanesque.  It was consecrated in 1109 but only the part back of the altar remains .The rest was replaced in the  XVI century.  The church was full, mostly older people.  It was a nice service.

Walking to the hotel we passed by the street that had all the central restaurants and we found there some kind of celebration today so there was a good number of people and they were wearing folk dresses, even the kids.

Holy Mary mother of God pray for our family, our friends, our priests and nuns, for our fellow pilgrims and for us.

Day 33 - At the Templar's Castle

Day 33 - Templar Knights in battle

Day 33 - Acebo to Ponferrada

225 km to Santiago de Compostela

We started with a very nice day, walking on the road and with beautiful views of the mountains around us.  Soon we were off the road into the Camino path.  Steep and rocky but very beautiful. 

We passed the village of Riego de Ambros and the path got more difficult and soon the rain started.  I slipped on a  rock and fell but the only thing I hurt was my pride.  It took us a long time to get to Molinaseca which is fairly close to Ponferrada.  By then we were soaked.  I really did not want to take a chance of another fall for me or for her. 

We found a coffee shop, so we entered to get a warm drink and I asked the server if there were buses to Ponferrada.  He said no but that we could get a taxi.  There was a man with two ladies seating nearby and he got up and said "I can take you".  We introduced each other.  They were hospitaleiros, volunteers working at an albergue. He is a Spaniard, Javier, and the ladies were Betty from Ireland and Jenny from Australia.  After some friendly conversation they drove us to Ponferrada were we found a nice hostel next to the Templars castle.

Ponferrada, Pont Ferrada, the iron bridge, is a medium size city, big enough to find anything we need here.  We had some errands which we took care of.  Buy some food (hard to find open stores on the weekend in small villages), get some cash, buy new tips for my poles.

In the XI century, the river Sil was a big obstacle for pilgrims.  The bishop of Astorga ordered the construction of an iron bridge to facilitate pilgrimage.  Son a few houses were built by the bridge and later the Templar's castle and the town grew.  Today, the old town with the castle is on one side of the river and the modern city on the other.

Knights have always fascinated me.  After Jerusalem was secured by the crusades, pilgrims going to the holy land were often assaulted and often murdered even in large groups.  Hughes de Payens, a French knight recruited 8 knights among his relatives and started the order under the protection of Jerusalem's king.  The king assigned as their headquarters the Temple of Solomon.  The order took the name of the "Poor fellow-soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon" or the Templar knights.  They were warrior monks making vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and their mission was to protect pilgrims.

They became a very powerful army and they were key in the crusades,  on the Spanish reconquista (fighting the moors in Spain) and as protectors of the pilgrims (together with the knights of Santiago) in the Camino de Santiago.

The castle in Ponferrada is impressive by its size and its fortifications.  It also has an impressive library of mediaeval books.
We ended the day early because we have an ambitious goal for tomorrow.  We will see how far we can get.

Saint Bernard of Clairbaux, doctor of the church, you defined the rule of the Templar Knights and became their patron saint, protect our pilgrimage and pray for all pilgrims in the Camino and for us.

Day 32 - Brenda at the Cruz de Ferro

Day 32 - Rabanal del Camino to Acebo

243 km to Santiago de Compostela

Exhilarating.  That is the only word I can think for today.  It included everything el Camino his supposed to be: physically demanding, emotionally exciting and spiritually uplifting.

We started walking at dawn, the rain had stopped, after several days it really finally stopped.  There were some grey clouds but the sun was peeking here and there.  It was cold, around 0 C, we had all our clothes on.  The mountain wind can be very mean.  The trail was steep and with a lot of water, mostly a little creek running against us.  Huff and puff, two hours later we arrived to Foncebadon.  A little village that looks almost like a ghost town but they did have a warm albergue.  We stopped there for about 20 minutes, we talked to other pilgrims from Ireland and Spain and we had a hot drink.  That would be the last toilet for another 6 hours.

We came out of the albergue to find it was snowing, where did the sun go? The climb was steeper and the path still flooded.  It would take us almost an hour for the next two kilometres to Cruz de Ferro.  It was pretty tough going.  The backpack which we have managed to keep under 10 kg felt like a ton.

Cruz de Ferro, the Iron Cross is a simple cross on top of a 6 or 7 metre pole. (See the picture in the other post for today).  It is surrounded by a pile of pebbles that measures around 30 metres in diameter and two or three metres high. The original iron cross is from the XI century and is now in a museum in Astorga.

It is said that 2000 years ago people travelling west and crossing at this mountain pass, el paso Irago, would leave a pebble for good luck.  A custom probably adopted by the Celts that inhabited this region. The custom changed when it became Christianised. So pebbles from all over have been collecting there for centuries.

For us, modern Christian pilgrims the iron cross is a place where we bring a pebble from home - imagine, there are pebbles there from every corner of this world - and place it at the foot of the cross.  The pebble represents all the things that we want to leave behind, a cleansing.  At the same time we deposit the pebble we pray to God asking for forgiveness for all the sins we have committed through our life. After all, the pilgrimage is done for penance.  A pilgrim who participates in the sacrament of reconciliation, attends mass and performs an act of charity,  on arrival to Santiago gets plenary indulgence.

For me, praying at the foot of the iron cross and depositing my pebble from the Credit River, was very touching.  I cannot believe that this pilgrimage has had such an impact on my spiritual life.

The next stop was at Manjarin, still way up there.  It is an abandoned village with permanent population of one.  This man, Tomas, maintains a very basic albergue.  He does not ask for anything but accepts donations.  He follows the tradition of the Templar Knights by protecting and assisting pilgrims.  Unfortunately Tomas is in hospital in Ponferrada but a volunteer, Jose, has taken his place.  We went in to warm up and rest a few minutes.  Our Irish friend arrived soon after and three Italian pilgrims.  When I say basic, I mean basic, the water comes from a well and the toilet is an outhouse. Quite a place.  No question everyone is welcome there.

We walked down a bit and a last hill to climb and then down the hill.  A trail wet, flooded, rocky and very steep.  We tried to skip some parts by walking on a not very busy highway.  Suddenly it was 2 pm and we had not eaten since 7:30 am.  We decided to eat sitting in a rock.  The menu: a can of sardines each with melba toast and for dessert chocolate.   Still, it took us 2 more hours to get to Acebo our goal for the day.  The map says we walked 16 km, the pedometer says 20 km.  I believe the pedometer.  It was so nice when around 4 pm saw the little village down below in the distance.

 Acebo is a pretty nice little village, we found a casa rural with a really great room.  We even have a  big double bed (most double rooms have 2 beds), they are washing our clothes (you would not believe how muddy my pants were) and now we are showered and resting.  They will be serving supper in 15 minutes.  What a luxury.

All in all a fantastic day on el Camino de Santiago.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, you are always around when I need you.  I was so happy when I saw you image at the albergue templario.  Holy Mary mother of God pray for our family, our friends and for us sinners.

Day 31 on the way to Rabanal del Camino

We had to walk on the road because the Camino path was floded.

Day 31 -- Santa Catalina de Somoza to Rabanal del Camino

253 km to Santiago de Compostela

We started again almost in the dark, at 8 am,  just on time for sunrise.  The rain was still coming down but more gently than yesterday.  It would continue all day.  The end result, despite the rain jacket, the backpack cover and the poncho is that after 4 hours outside, the boots and socks are wet, the pants, the backpack and the shirt are wet too.  The rain does part and the sweat (which stays inside the rain jacket) does the rest.

The countryside is changing as we continue climbing the mountains of Leon.  There are much nicer views, more trees, and despite the water the walk is more enjoyable and I am feeling much better.  When we finished the 12 km for today, I was not as tired as yesterday and we did it in only 4 hours.

I think I am ready for tomorrow, we are planning for 16 km, which does not sound like much, but we have to reach the Cruz de Ferro, the Iron Cross, this cross marks the highest peak of the Camino and it has a special significance which I will explain tomorrow.  There is another climb after that so we have a little challenge in front of us.

We are now installed in a small hostel in Rabanal del Camino.  Miriam, our hostess, made a very nice meal for us: Vegetable soup and roasted chicken with a very nice salad. She has made us feel at home.  Right now we are the only guests. And we have WiFi!.

This village has only 59 people according to its website but it has a long history.  It started as an outpost of the Templar Knights from their castle in Ponferrada in the XI century.  This warrior monks were here to protect the pilgrims crossing these mountains on their way to Santiago de Compostela.  The town later grew to a population of 600 but in the last few years it has become just a stop for pilgrims.

After a nap we went to the monastery of the Benedictine monks for the liturgy of the hours, the vespers, there were a dozen pilgrims and it was a touching ceremony with the monks chanting in Latin.  At the end one of the monks gave us a beautiful pilgrims blessing.  Very spiritual experience.

Saint Benedict, patron Saint of Europe, pray for the monks at your monastery, all the pilgrims in this Camino and for us.

Day 30 - Astorga to Santa Catalina de Somoza

264 km to Santiago de Compostela

The plan for today is to walk only 10 km.  I was actually a little nervous when we started. Would I be able to walk? Would the vertigo come back?

We were out of our nice hotel by 8 am.  Still dark.  With the change this weekend of the clock forward dawn comes a few minutes after 8 am.  It was raining and the rain fairly hard would keep coming all day.  The clouds would also make for a darker, somber day. It was colder than yesterday.

We crossed the town of Astorga and finally hit the trail.  This morning we saw many pilgrims as they went by (we are slow, remember?)

Nowhere to hide from the rain until we arrived to the village of Murias de Rechivaldo.  We found a bar there so we entered to ask for a warm drink.  Soon after two other pilgrims came in.  They were Belgians and one of them was a priest, father Pete.  We asked and received a very nice blessing from him.

By noon we were at Santa Catalina de Somoza, our objective.  We quickly found an albergue that had a room available and we installed ourselves there.  We were soaked and cold. 

I was talking for a while to an older Spaniard. I asked him about history or legends of the town but he said there is no much history and no legends though he was an interesting man. We actually talked for quite a while.

The village is very small,  there is no WiFi, the TV in the room does not work,  so we stayed in our room most of the day reading and napping.  We did go down for lunch and we met another pilgrim from England, Joanne.  It looks like we have another 1/2 day of rest. 

Tomorrow, we have planned another short day, 12 km, trying to get used to walking again.  We are going up the mountains of Leon so it will be up the hill. The forecast is for cold and rain. 

Saint Francis of Assisi teach us humility and love to everyone around us.  Pray for us.

Day 29 - Astorga - Our Lady

Our Lady of Guadalupe at the cathedral of Astorga

Day 29 - Astorga

Still 264 km to Santiago de Compostela

A friend from Sweden that I met at the pilgrim's forum sent me a very nice note. She said she had some concern because I have not sound as enthusiastic in this blog as I was at the beginning.

I think she is right. The last few days have been hard times.  First the last couple of days walking the Castilla-Leon plateau were hard.  Specially the day we had really strong cold head winds with hail first and then rain and nowhere to hide.  Then the severe attack of vertigo I suffered  in Villadangos when I could barely stand and with pretty horrible nausea and with a visit to emergency to seek medical help.  Indeed I was discouraged.

Today It is the 3rd day of rest at Astorga and I am feeling better.  My wife as usual is a solid rock of strength for me with her unconditional support no matter what. My mood is improving.  I am finding that the discouragement at this stage, here, at the end of the plateau is not unusual.  Medical visits and forced days of rest are also common for pilgrims. 

They say the pilgrims go through three different crisis, the first one is physical,  when the body reacts to this unusual excess  of exercise.  Boy oh boy! Did I have a physical crisis with my extreme exhaustion that needed medical attention and kept me in Pamplona for 3 days.

The second crisis is emotional and here I am living it now.  The discouragement that comes after 3 weeks of walking  and the monotony of the plateau (and on top of that my vertigo). I think I am past that one.

The third crisis is a spiritual one so I better get ready for that.

It looks like my experiences are not unusual.  So tomorrow we start to walk again.  We are being prudent planning for only 10 km.  If I get tipsy we can always call a taxi and come back to Astorga.  God willing we are on the move.

Today by chance we got to the cathedral half way through mass so we had a chance to be there for communion.  After mass walking around the cathedral I found a beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  She is very dear to me.  In fact I am very devout of her.  I felt that she was telling me just as she did to San Juan Diego:  Am I not here, I who am your mother?

So now I feel I have full support from my Mother Mary and with my dear wife by my side I am ready to take on the mountains of Leon and Galicia.  Cruz de Ferro here we come.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother Mary, help us, stay with us and please pray for us sinners.

Day 28 - Astorga

264 km to Santiago de Compostela

Whatever the doctor did to me yesterday seems to be working very well.  The nausea is gone and I can walk reasonably well though a little tipsy occasionally. Still, we are going to stay in Astorga another day.

The church of San Bartolomé is next door to our hotel. It is the oldest church in Astorga, from the XI century though additions and enhancement were made on the XIV and XVI centuries.  The altar is churrigueresque and you can appreciate it in the attached picture ( see other post for today).  We attended Sunday mass there and were impressed by the choir and the number of children and teens.  Sadly, often we found only older people in Spain's churches.

Later walking in the plaza I approached a pilgrim just to chat and wish a Buen Camino (the standard pilgrim greeting). Well, she happened to be Karen, a lady I befriended months ago in the pilgrim's forum.  She asked where we were from and when we answered Canada she said Gil!  What a surprise.  She Is delightful, we had lunch with her and later on we saw her again.  I would not be surprised if we become life long friends.

Later in the afternoon we were in our hotel when we heard drums.  We went out to have a look and there was another concert of brass and drum bands from cofradias (religious brotherhoods).  There were 6 or 8 bands, a couple with more than 75 members. The bands included men and women, adults, teens and even little kids, all with very elaborate uniforms. They perform this concerts as practice for the Easter parades that precede Good Friday.

It was an interesting and rewarding day in el Camino (even if we are not walking).

San Bartolomeo, apostle of Jesus, friend of Santiago, pray for us.

Day 28 - Astorga

The altar of the church of San Bartolomeo.

Day 27 - Villadangos del Paramo to Astorga

295 km to Santiago de Compostela

I woke up in the middle of the night with the room spinning; vertigo!
I realised that as long as I did not move I was fine.  So that was the rest of the night.  In the morning I managed my routine and even to go for breakfast. 
After that things got worse.  I got the nausea that accompanies vertigo.  By then we knew that walking would be impossible.  We knew that even the hotel was closing at that little village for the weekend so we had to move.

With a lot of trouble we made it to the bus, not a pleasant trip, and to Astorga. We found a nice hotel and I have been seating on a comfortable chair and sleeping most of the time.  Every time I move I get dizzy and lying down is impossible.  We are going to try to wait it out.

Later, I kept getting sick every time I moved so finally I agreed to go to emergency.  As in Pamplona, the doctor and the nurses were very kind.  After all kinds of checkups the doctor confirmed severe vertigo. They gave me medications intravenously and by injection and sent me back to the hotel to rest. It looks like we will be camping here for 2 or 3 days.

Our Lady o Guadalupe, Mary, my mother, as usual when I am in trouble I come to you.  I accept this illness as part of my Camino, please help me to complete the pilgrimage.  Pray for us.

Day 26 - Leon to Villadangos del Páramo

317 km to Santiago de Compostela

Today was an uneventful day, the Camino goes through Leon and then continues by the side of a busy highway. We passed through La Virgen del Camino, Valverde and San Miguel and eventually we arrived to Villadangos del Paramo.

Today we saw more pilgrims go by.  A couple of French girls, a Dane, and Spaniard.  We were slow. My leg was acting up so I needed a more rests than other days.

We followed our pilgrim routine, find a place to stay.  Rest a little while, go for lunch, the usual menu consists of two dishes and dessert, go back to our room, shower, wash clothes have a nap and then go and buy provisions for the next day.

Later we went to mass to the church of Santiago el Mayor, St James the Great, there is a picture of the altar and the retablo.  At the centre is the image of Santiago Matamoros, St. James the Moor slayer.

It is said that after the moors invaded Spain in the VIII century, the Spanish christians were loosing battle after battle.  In 844 king Ramirez of Castile, the day before a battle against a stronger moor army, dreamed that Santiago promised he would help.  The next day was the battle of Clavijo, when the odds where turning in favour of the Moors, Santiago appeared on a white horse with a white standard and charged. The battle then turned in favour of the Christian army and they succesfuly defeated the Moors.  That is the origin of the story of Santiago Matamoros.

Santiago, protect us and help us to complete this pilgrimage to your cathedral. Pray for us.

Day 25 - Mansilla de las Mulas to Leon

335 km to Santiago de Compostela

We decided that we would rather walk in Leon than walk to Leon.  Mancilla de las Mulas is just over 17 km from the centre of Leon.  We woke up early and took the 7:45 am bus to the city. 

The three most notable features of Leon are the cathedral of Santa Maria de la Regla, the Real Colegiata de San Isidoro and el Parador de San Marcos.

We had visited the cathedral last year but we started by participating in mass there. The mass was in a chapel that we accessed through a side door but even in this small sample of the cathedral you can admire the splendour of this church.
The building was started in the XIII century and completed by the XVI century. It is Gothic in style.  It is one of the three most important cathedrals in el Camino de Santiago.  The other two are the cathedrals of Burgos and of Santiago de Compostela.

After the cathedral we went to check in the Parador de San Marcos.  We had decided to treat ourselves to some luxury after all the albergues and hostels where we have stayed.

Once we had a room assured we went to visit San Isidoro.  The basilica is from the XI century.  The royalty of Leon assisted its development and negotiated bringing the relics of several saints to this basilica.  It also became the pantheon of the royalty.  Several Leonese kings, queens and nobility are interred there.  The museum hoses amazing pieces of religious art.

After lunch we returned to the Parador and did a tour of the building. It stated as a convent - hospital by the side of the Camino de Santiago in the XII century. In the XVI century the hostal is built yo host the Military Order of Santiago.  This order had married monks, religious monks and military monks or knights.  The religious monks with the assistance of the married monks look after the physical and spiritual needs of pilgrims while the knights protected the pilgrims and fought in the war of the "reconquista" against the moors. 

The building includes the Parador (a hotel), a museum and a church.  We did a self guided tour of the building which contains a good number of pieces of religious art. 

It feels like we are living 1000 years of history.  I cannot even imagine what has happened or who has been in the room we are staying.

Santa Maria de la Regla, pray for us.

Day 24 - El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mulas

359 km to Santiago de Compostela

We woke up to find a light layer of snow outside the hostel.  After a light breakfast we started our walk at 8 am.

It was cold, the weather report said we had a wind chill of -5 C.  It was windy again but not as bad as yesterday.  But it was Sunny!

Again, very flat countryside, few trees or bushes.  Farmer fields as far as we could see and no cover from the wind anywhere. We walked alone.  We only saw two Spanish pilgrims once, when they went by (we are slow, remember?).

There is nothing for 14 km, so when we finally came to a village, we stopped at a bar for a hot drink.  Six kilometres  later, at 2 pm we arrived to our objective: Mansilla de las Mulas.  Mansilla comes from "mano end Silla", or hand on saddle.

We quickly found a pension and soon after that a place to eat. The meal was excellent and the hostess Monica helpful and charming.

The village is small  but it has its origin back to Roman times.  The most notable feature are the mediaeval walls.  They are still in good shape and include fortified towers and gates.  Impressive.

We are only 17 km from the centre of Leon so tomorrow we'll take the city bus and instead of walking into the city we will play tourists and walk in the city.

St. Francis of Assisi, you walked these trails.  Guide us and protect us. Pray for us.

Day 23 - Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero

375 km to Santiago de Compostela

It was supposed to be an easy walk.  The Castilian plateau is fairly flat and while we had a slight constant climb we figured it would be OK.  It was chilly when we left around 7 am; around 0 C.  We started walking pretty fast but soon a headwind started.

The trail is good, of dirt, well maintained with a slight slope. But the weather was rotten and it got worse and worse.  By 9 am we had a pretty strong head wind. Now reading the weather reports we see we had gusts of up to 80 km/hour.  An hour later hail started.  Small pellets like sand, pretty hard on the face.  The wind kept blowing my hood off and the backpack covers. An hour later a very cold hard rain hit us - right on the face.  We walked the last couple of kilometres  with a young German and a middle age Frenchman. 

We were very tired, cold and wet when we finally arrived to El Burgo Ranero.  Our friends continued but we decided we could not go any farther.  We found a hostel which had a room and a meal and that was the day for us.

By the pedometer we walked about 20 km in 6 hours, very fast for us. I guess we were in a hurry to find shelter. Without a doubt this has been the hardest walk so far.

When we woke up from our siesta and looked out the window the hail was coming hard and flying almost horizontal because of the wind.  We are spending the rest of the day indoors.

My wife to informs me than despite the two days off this week we have walked 125 km.

I asked the hostess what is a Burgo, after all it is the name of the town, she did not know but Google informed me that in the middle ages a Burgo was a fortification or a castle. Later it was applied to towns that grew around the fort.  Thus el Burgo Ranero is the castle where the frogs are.

Today we celebrate the Annunciation, so we can repeat the greeting of the archangel St.Gabriel: Hail Mary full of grace.

Day 22 - in Sahagun

Day 21 - Resting in front of the cathedral

Day 22 - Burgos to Sahagun

Still 501 km to Santiago de Compostela

An uneventful day. We walked a bit around the cathedral in Burgos, then we took the bus to Sahagun. The bus had free WiFi and a movie.  I was surprised to find 5 more pilgrims in the bus.   Still I missed the walk but we now should be able to get to Santiago by Good Friday.

We walked a bit in Sahagun and found a convent where we participated in mass in the evening. It is a special experience to attend mass with the nuns.  Their prayers and chants make a difference.

Sahagun is the birthplace of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, a name well known to any Mexican.  He was born in 1499 and early on the XVI century he travelled as a missionary to New Spain.  While his main work was as a missionary He has been called the first anthropologist for his work on the "Historia General de las Cosas de la Nueva España". A comprehensive work on the life, customs, language and culture of the Aztecs.  He also founded the first school of higher education in America, El Colegio Imperial de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco.  He died in Mexico in 1590.

After a month in Spain there are things that still puzzle us.  The schedules for us are difficult to deal with.  In the larger towns they are fairly well defined but
somehow I cannot get used to find everything closed between 2 pm and 4:30 pm. Pretty well everything closed on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday.  In the smaller towns is touch and go.  The food store may have hours listed at the door but the owner may decide to open late or go for coffee and close early or may be not even open at all. So if we find a store open we need to make sure we have enough food for the next day, in particular Saturday mornings.

Tomorrow early morning we will be back to our pilgrimage.

Hail Mary full of grace pray for us sinners and help us get closer to your son Jesus.

Day 21 - in Burgos

501 km to Santiago de Compostela

Burgos,  the home of el Cid Campeador, the Lord Champion, Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a knight and military leader and Spanish hero from 1000 years ago.  A knight of legend.  The cathedral of Burgos is one of the largest in Spain and one of the most beautiful and contains the tomb of the Cid. When I was a kid I dreamed of being a superhero, a knight, a champion of Christendom like el Cid.

This morning we went to Sunday mass in the cathedral and later to the museum of evolution of man.  The museum is link to the archaeological digs we visited yesterday and complements what we saw yesterday.  The evolution of man has been one of my interests since high school when I read about the discovery of the skull of Australopithecus Africanus and later when I read  " The human phenomenon" by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

We did not want to eat in the tourist area so I approached an older local couple, well, as old as me, and asked for a good restaurant where they eat.  They very kindly walked us to a nearby hotel.  Well, lunch was an excellent full meal in a very nice environment and not expensive.

Then we came back to our hotel and reviewed our plans and schedule.  We lost 3 days in Pamplona with my incident of exhaustion.  We are walking slower than planned because of my chronic leg pain.  Being realistic we are behind schedule.  Painfully we had to accept that we need to recover some days so we are going to skip 100 km, that is 5 or 6 days for us, and take the bus to Sahagun. 

We still think that we can push ourselves a little and complete the last 400 km in time for Easter.

A little disappointed but the years sometimes are heavier than the backpack.  My teammate, my woman, my girlfriend, my love, is totally supporting and she says that she is not only learning to be patient, she is learning to love being patient.

God willing we will still be in Santiago for Good Friday.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, you never got what you really wanted in life, to be in the missions.  Still, you accepted your limitations and taught us how to become saints with the little things of life.  Please pray for us.

Day 20 - Agés to Burgos

523 km to Santiago de Compostela

Again we started early and arrived to the town of Atapuerca by 9 am.  From there we walked to the visitor receiving centre for the archaeological park. 

A bus came to take us to the excavations and we had a witty and funny archaeologist as a tour guide.  This is probably the most important dig in the world.  They have found up to 300 humans and humanoids from different ages starting with a young girl of about 20 who lived 1,300,000 years ago. Her bones show signs that she was cannibalised.  Very interesting.  Tomorrow we will try to visit the museum of evolution in Burgos which complements what we saw today.

The tour ended at 2 pm and we still had over 20 km to go.  We started by climbing yet one more hill to Alto Cruzeiro.  The day had been getting colder, around 4 or 5 C but with strong winds.  We really could not find anything to eat so we went without lunch and only the fruit we had left.   From there we walked another 10 km to Villafria.  We had some rain and more very cold wind.  Villafria is a suburb of Burgos so we gave up and took a city bus to downtown.  This saved us about 5 more km of cold and rain.

We are set up in a very nice hotel near the centre of the city and it is costing us less than a room in most of the albergues.  We got a nice pilgrim discount.

Too early for Spanish dinner we went to the corner cafeteria and had nice burgers for dinner.

It was a long day, in total we walked just over 20 km and with the cold and rain both of us are very tired.

It is 9 pm so good night

St. Francis of Assis, you are an example of humility, teach us to be like you. You walked el Camino de Santiago 800 years ago.  Protect us during our journey and pray for us.

Day 19 - Villafranca Montes de Oca to Agés

538 km to Santiago de Compostela

The albergue de San Anton, where we stayed last night is a restored pilgrims hospital from the XVI century.  There is so much history everywhere around here.

As usual we were ready at 7:30 am, looking for breakfast we found the only place open was "el Pajaro", the bird, the truck stop. But the only breakfast was coffee, packaged donuts or buns and orange juice.

The montes de Oca were famous in the middle ages because of the bandits that assaulted all the pilgrims crossing this mountains. We were happy to learn they are all gone.

The first half hour we climbed 200 metres in just 1.5 km of very steep hills but the views were amazing.  We could see clearly the snowed peaks of the Sierra de Millan.  The morning was cloudy and cool, around 6C, and very windy.  The vegetation changed over quickly to evergreen woods.  Everything around was
beautiful.

After the Alto de Mojapan, the way was a bit easier but still with more hills.  Soon we arrived to the monument of the fallen, Monumento de los caidos, here, in 1936, during the Spanish civil war, 300 men were executed by firing squad.  During the construction of a highway a mass grave was discovered.  A sad spot in el Camino.

From there, there are 8.5 km of evergreen woods, a nice mountain walk (and more hills) to San Juan de Ortega.

San Juan de Ortega was a disciple of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, he continued the work of Santo Domingo to facilitate the way for pilgrims.  He build bridges, roads and albergues from Nájera to Burgos.  In the XII century, he build a monastery and a church in the town which has his name.  His tomb is in the church, a simple stone casket.

We finished the day a few kilometres down the road in the town of Ages.  We are now a short distance from the town and the archeological zone of Atapuerca. Pretty exciting.  I will explain tomorrow. And we expect to get to Burgos tomorrow night.

San Juan de Ortega, pray for us.

Day 19 - Crossing the Montes de Oca

Day 18 - Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca

551 km to Santiago de Compostela

The house where we stayed last night is very old.  Our room was OK  it very cold.  The Spanish are a lot more stingy with heat than we are.  We had a little portable heater but it was not quite enough.  Our bathroom was down the hall so it was a very cold trip in the middle of the night.  Our hosts were very nice, a woman from Nicaragua married to a Dutch.
They got up at 6:30 am to feed us breakfast of orange juice, toast and coffee.

We started to walk at 7:30 am.  Again we met our South African friends Hendrik and Sophia and spend time with them on and off.  We talked to a Spanish gentleman from Madrid, Goyo, who is just doing a few days of el Camino, we talked to a couple of young Koreans we have seen before.  So today we were not alone. 

We first  crossed the village of Tosantos, from there we could see in the distance a church built into the mountain, it is the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña.  We continued on to Villambista and to Espinoza del Camino.  There we stopped at a bar, Brenda wanted a hot chocolate and we sat next to an old lady in her 80s so we were talking to her for a while.

The uphill is tough so we decided to stop after only 13 km (only 4 1/2 hours),  because what follows is another 14 km of tougher hills and there is nowhere to stay, no water, no villages.

The name of this place is  Villafranca Montes de Oca.

We found a fancy hotel with an albergue attached to it.  We got a single room for a reasonable price. Much nicer than what we had the last couple of nights.  We do have to cross an 8 bed albergue dormitory to to get to our place but so far there is only a South African lady, Sheila, there.

We had lunch a bar called el Pajaro, the bird, it is a nice restaurant and the meal was excellent.  Started with octopus cooked in its ink over rice and followed by deer stew, nice local wine and flan for dessert.
 
Tomorrow we will climb the Montes de Oca.  The mountains of the wild geese. There are actually three peaks each higher than the previous one and the last one, el alto Carnero, is over 300 metres higher than where we are.

So now to rest the afternoon and another short but difficult day tomorrow.

Holy Mary mother of God pray for us sinners now and in the our of our death.

Day 17 - Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

574 km to Santiago de Compostela

Santo Domingo de la Calzada lived in the XI century.  He was rejected by the Benedictines so he became a hermit.  Seeing pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela go by with great difficulty he decided to help, first by building a wooden bridge over the river Oja.  He continued his works all his life by building a calzada or causeway, a hospital and a church for pilgrims, replacing the wooden bridge with a stone bridge which is now called el puente del santo or the saint's bridge.  The town grew arount the church and later took the name of the saint.

We left town crossing the river over the Saint's bridge.  The first landmark is the cross of the valiant men.  It is said that in the middle ages there was a feud between a man from Santo Domingo and another one from Grañon over a disputed land. The man from Grañon won and a modern steel cross now marks the place of the duel.

The Camino is not as interesting as other days.  Most of the walking is by a busy highway, very small villages every 3 or 4 km and mostly walking up the hill.  We passed through Grañon, Redecilla del Camino, Castildelgado, Viloria de la Rioja (where Santo Domingo was born), and Vilamayor del Rio. 

Soon after Grañon we crossed from La Rioja into Castilla and Leon.  The land of castles or castillos.

I  was so tired I wanted to stop  at Vilamayor but when we got there we found both the albergue and the casa rural closed.  That meant we had to walk a other 5 km to Belorado. In total we walked 26 km, a new record for us.

What was different this time was that when we got to the iron cross, la Cruz de los Valientes, we met there our old friends from South Africa: Hendrik and Sophia and they introduced us to another couple from Calgary; Karen and Dave.  From then on we would be leapfrogging each other or taking breaks with them all day.  Once in Belorado we ended in the same pension with Karen and Dave and we had a fun dinner all six of us together.

The good news, the bathroom in the pension we are staying has scales.  It looks like I have lost 11 pounds and my GF has lost 8 pounds.

Now to bed early because tomorrow we get to do this all over again.

Today we celebrate Saint Joseph, patron of the families.  Saint Joseph pray for our families and for us.

Day 16 - Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

595 km to Santiago de Compostela

As we leave the town of Nájera, we pass the monastery of Santa Maria la Real.  This fortified monastery is built against the cliff that is behind the town.   It was  built on 1052 by order of king Don Garcia Sanchez III.  The legend is that one day while hunting the king followed an animal into a cave in the cliff.  Suddenly he found himself in front of an image of Our Lady and around were a bell, a candle and a vase of flowers.  As an act of thanks he ordered the construction of the monastery against the cliff and including the cave.  The monastery today is famous for its pantheon of kings and queens of Navarra and Castilla.  The most famous being the tomb of Doña Blanca because of the artistic carvings.

We left the hostel at 7 am, barely dawn.  Nothing was open so we left without breakfast.  The way is up the hill for 15 km, the first village is Azofra, 6 km away.  The weather changed today. Yesterday lots is sun and around 20 C, today it got cloudy, very windy and temperature of only 6C.  It was cold.  Yesterday we walked alone, we only saw a polish pilgrim, today we saw lots of people, we talked to Roberto from Monterrey, Mexico and we had breakfast with him in Azofra.  We briefly met pilgrims from Holland, Latvia, Korea and Ireland but we saw many more. 

At the very top of the Alto is the town of Cirueña, the country club offers pilgrims meals, they are the same than for members but they charge a third so for 5 Euros we had a tapas of chorizo, excellent plate of fish, a drink, salad and desert in a very nice environment.

We are for sure the slowest pilgrims on the Camino. By the time we stopped for lunch everyone was gone and we walked alone the last 6 km to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.  It took us 8 hours to walk the 22 km.

Once in town we found our way to the hostel of Santa Teresita. It is run by the Cistercian nuns.  As expected the rooms are impeccable and the sister who received us told us the price and said if you cannot afford it don't worry. Wow. Another advantage there is mass this evening in the chapel of the hostel so we don't have to go out.

Now, I know I am being long winded but there is a legend from this town that is said was well known in the middle ages. The legend of the hanged pilgrim.  A young man was on pilgrimage with his parents and they stopped at a hostel.  The daughter of the host was attracted to the boy but he did not pay attention to her.  She was angry so she took a silver cup and hid it in his luggage.  As soon as he left she accused him of robbery.  The authorities caught up with him and searched his luggage finding the cup.  Taken in front of the magistrate he was condemned to be hung by the neck.  They proceeded to do that but he did not die. It is said that Santiago was holding him up by the feet. The parents went to the magistrate and told him he was alive.  The magistrate was about to eat a roasted rooster and a chicken.  He said he is as alive as this chicken I am about to eat.  As he said that the feathers came out the rooster and the chicken and they were alive.  The magister forgave the young man who continued his pilgrimage with his parents.  A white rooster and a chicken are kept by the cathedral of the town.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada, you dedicated your life to God and to help pilgrims.  Help us learn your ways to help others. Pray for us.

Dsy 15 - Ventosa to Nájera

706 km to Santiago de Compostela

I have had a nagging pain on the right leg for years but very manageable.  Yesterday it got worse and we discovered a big bruce on the leg so after only 12 km I wimped out and decided to stay in the village of Nájera. On the way we passed el Alto de San Anton where we had a fantastic view of la Sierra de la Demanda,  covered with snow,  and el Pico de San Lorenzo, the tallest mountain in la Rioja.

On the way down to Nájera, we found a resting area with a big sign with another story of Roland.  It narrates that as Roland approached this area with his knights he found the giant Ferragut, a Muslim knight, in a castle in Nájera.  Ferragut challenged Roland to combat and he accepted.  Ferragut weighted over 200 kg and his skin was impenetrable. Roland fought him for 2 whole days with swords, sticks and anything imaginable.  When Roland was exhausted he managed to stick his sword in the only place Farragut was vulnerable: in his navel killing him.  This way the French paladin gained the title as the best knight of the Christians.

Walking into town we found the Convent of Santa Elena, one of the town notable points, where there is a congregation of the sisters the poor Clarisas.  The monastery and claustro are from the XVI century.

Nájera is a small village, the old town is in a narrow area between a mountain and the river.  We found several albergues closed but eventually we stayed at a hostel.  We found a bar with a nice pilgrim menu and after a good meal retired to rest early.  I am hoping that the leg will be in better shape tomorrow.

St. Clair, Santa Clara, you are an example of humility help us follow your example and pray for us.

Day 15 in Nájera

The old city is sandwiched between the river and the mountain.

Day 14 - Logroño to Ventosa

605 km to Santiago de Compostela

Last night we went a little early to mass and we found a liturgy in progress. There were 7 priests with red capes.  There were sent readings a chants.  Very impressive.  The cathedral itself is an amazing place for mass and any other liturgies.

This morning we left the hostel early, we were alone on the streets.  Almost at the end of the old city we found the church of Santiago Real.  It is from the XVI century, it has a carving of Santiago Matamoros (the Moore slayer) over the front door and replaced a IX century church that was built to commemorate the battle of Clavijero.  It is said that Spanish Christians were loosing a battle against the Moors when Santiago appeared in a white horse and charged.  This changed the battle in favour of the Christians who eventually defeated the moors.

The Camino continues thru city streets for a few kilometres, then thru parkland and then up a hill to el alto Grajera.  From there we had magnificent vies of Logroño below in the distance. 

Early on we find our German friends, Edith and Sue and we walked with them for a while.  We will leave them behind and pass them again many times today.  The Camino continues through fields and fields of vineyards.  This is expected since we are in la Rioja where the best wines of Spain come from.

Later on we walked for a couple of kilometres by a wire fence.  Pilgrims have been making crosses with sticks and knitted them through the wires. There are  hundreds of crosses.

We arrived at the town of Navarrete and we meet Edith and Sue again.  There is a little plaza in front of the church, la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion.  Another XVI century jewel. The ladies left and we stayed to have our lunch. Then Jordyn and Cameron arrived.  Jordyn decided to walk despite her hurt knee.  It was a nice surprise to see them. Now it was their turn to stay behind eating lunch.

At 3 pm we finally arrived to Ventosa and our hotel, Hotel Agueda.  It is very nice.  After a shower we went downstairs to find the owners having lunch with friends and family.  They received us as if we were old friends. 

Another nice surprise, Jordyn and Cameron are staying here too.  We had a nice dinner with them.

The bad news, my right leg often hurts because of a pinched nerve.  Today it has been particularly bad.  I wonder if I can walk tomorrow....

San Juan Diego, friend of Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

 

Day 13 - Logroño - a photo

Church drum bands playing for lent in Logroño