O Pedrouzo - Santiago (pop 95,000) 20.1 km October 30

This morning we began our walk knowing it would be our last day on the camino.

Was it emotional? 

Yes, every thing meaningful in my life is emotional.

Sunlight making its way through the eucalyptus forest.  

What was the best part of the camino?  

The people.

Today's way marker 

What did I learn about myself as a person?

At the moment I am just as confused now as I was before I started

Was the camino spiritual ?

Yes at times it was... very.

Did I have an epiphany?

No, not yet

What did I learn about us a a couple?

We make a great team ...and still enjoy each other's company very much!

Our first Santiago siting

What was the best experience of the camino?

The cross...my heart was laid wide open there

Drying corn for seed

How was the food?

The food was ok, we had some excellent meals, we had some that were only ok and some that were less than satisfactory....the wine on the other hand was extraordinary !

A piper was piping us into the cathedral square

Was the walk hard physically?

Yes, very

Would we do it again?

Too soon to answer one way or the other

Our arrival at the cathedral 

Did I miss any comforts from home?

Not one, except maybe peanut butter ....

Receiving our compostelas 

What was the worst part of the camino?

Climbing uphill...(same as real life!)

We are checked in here for three glorious nights.  (45 Euros per night) ...And we have sent all of our stinky laundry with an earthy angel .

What am I thinking right now?

 How great thou art!

Arzua - O Pedrouzo 20.1 km October 29

After a good rest we begin our second last day on the camino

It is foggy in the morning, eventually the sun breaks through.  Our trail today continues to be heavily wooded.  The ever present eucalyptus trees add to the mystical aura

This particular variety of eucalyptus sheds it's bark, unfortunately I cannot smell them, maybe their aroma is seasonally dependant .  It is all so beautiful!  We eventually stop for a break at Salceda past our half way point for the day

We have a pick up siting

Certainly less than 5 we have seen this whole trip!

We will arrive in Santiago tomorrow, it will be 36 days ago since we left St Jean, including two rest days.  The days flew by like hours!  

I no longer feel like I could walk around the world....rather I feel like I have walked around the world!

We arrive at our destination before 1 o'clock and check into

The albergue Edreia, usual requirements ( 30 euros). This is our last evening on the camino.  It has been a most remarkable journey!

Palas de Rei - Arzua ( pop 7000) OCTOBER 28

We heard the rain through the night , we are very thankful it has stopped this morning.  We had a Long day today, the guide book indicated that it would be an easy walk.  It wasn't.

This will be us when we get to Santiago!

The trail was good and heavily wooded for the most part.  We stopped at Melide at 11 am for a break, we had walked 15 km by then, the next 12 km took forever!

We were joined by a fellow from Scotland today...when we asked what part of Scotland he was from he was impressed we knew he was from Scotland and not Ireland.  We told him that we have a nephew that also talks like he has a mouthful of marbles...he totally understood!

Still in dairy country and pretty darn green for October 28!

Crossing a midevil bridge, the water is still very high.  We stay dry for most of the day, only a couple of light showers.

Many times we have seen these elevated sheds....they are (were) used for grain storge and elevated to keep the contents dry and safe from rodents....which I am thankful we have seen none of....

Another beautiful bridge!

We are crossing the highway on an elevated foot bridge, at this point Sid sees a sign that indicates that by car we are 30 minutes from Santiago...we have two more days of walking to get there!

At 3:30 we check into this place (40 Euros). We are dining in!  My SIM card expired so we find our way to get it topped up....that process did not get any simpler.

About stuff I packed....I cannot say enough good about my/our backpacks.  They have been amazing. I had no back/shoulder/neck issues at all.  My leg muscles were pretty sore for the first few days, I think b/c of the weight resting on my hips....otherwise nothing and my boyfriend is also very pleased with his pack.  When I left home I thought my pack weighed 14 lbs, but I ended up carrying the iPad, camera and phone and some water, so I think closer to 17 lbs in reality.  It sure feels good to take it off at the end of the walk!  The only thing that I packed and haven't used so far are leggings, I could have left my vest behind, otherwise everything else was very functional.

Sid and I are very tired, today was long and 800 km is a very long way.  We have 2 - 20km days to Santiago and then we are going to be in the same place for three whole days....!!!

Portomarin - Palas De Rei (pop 4500) 24.8 km October 27

Last evening we enjoyed a great pasta meal with Jude in our albergue and a German fellow, who never did clean up after himself.

We get a picture of our sweet Maxine after her spa day, she is spending the weekend with Linus and Stinkerbell

And in Spain it was the night to set the time back.

This morning we left in the daylight!

The weather is very nice for walking and we have a steady uphill climb.  One thing the camino has taught me is that I am way better at pretending to be a prairie dog than mountain goat.  Uphill is just not my thing so much.

After about 4 pictures today I see my camera is deader than a door nail...is there even such a thing a a live door nail?

In many ways today our walk was kind of magical / mistical

In part I think because we are very near Santiago , can it be that we have walked across Spain already?

Still in dairy country and still facinated by the stone work, how do you build round corners out of stone?

Once we reach our destination we check into the San Marco albergue (40 Euros) private room con bano.  This place too has a fully equipped kitchen, but not one thing is open (Sunday ) where you could buy any food to cook.

So we get over that and meet the Acadians, enjoy another great pasta meal and fine fellowship

Sarria - Portomarin (pop 2000) 22.4 km October 26

Last evening on our walk about of the town we met some of our caminio friends who were not so lucky with their shoes drying out after the previous days rain.  Jude shows us how she has kept her feet dry

A grocery bag inside her shoe, she said her feet were warm and dry all day!

We had supper at our albergue , a most delicious meal.  We both have mixed salad, Sid had meatballs and fries and I had stuffed red peppers  and we both have an exquisite custard covered with applesauce and chocolate , of course including from the homemade cask

Sadly , Sid and I were the only ones having dinner there that evening.  It looked like many pilgrims were buying groceries.

In the morning we leave while it is still darkish.  We can see stars so that is a great sign!  The day turns out sunny and clear with a warm breeze just enough to keep the pesky black flies away

The path today is in great condition and we enjoy the sun rise

We don't know what this plant is but we often hear it before we see is as it is always full of bees

We are in dairy country and pass by many small dairy farms which have prolly been around for hundreds of years, all of the buildings are made of stone, as are some of the fences!

We happen upon this fellow from Hungary who was delighted to have just bought himself this donkey

I didn't quite get his story....and around the next corner 

Was this big girl

Today's path

And another cemetery with an attached church.

The first siting of our destination

And why wouldn't you have a whole hedge of hydrangea ?

We cross the Mino river, we use the new bridge built over the medieval one.  We enter the town climbing the steep staircase and through the gate

And wander past the church of San Nicolas

We check into the albergue Ultreia

We have a private room (30 Euro) and a shared bathroom.  And the best part is a kitchen that we can use....I just about run to the mercado and buy pasta....and onions and red peppers and mushrooms and cheese and red wine.  It is so clean here , which is repetitive, the stairs are granite, the floors and bathrooms are all ceramic , so tidy and efficient .

The one thing the camino is not is commercialized ( so far). Some things could certainly be better but for the most part the experience is amazing!

Triacastela - Sarria (pop 13,000) 18.7 km October 25

* I went back and added the population of the villages we stayed in so that we have a sense of how remote some of these places are.

I am thankful for many things in my life, this morning I am especially thankful for clean,dry clothes, socks and warm dry shoes.  And that there is no rain for the moment.

We have a great walk through the countryside

It is so quiet and no wind, temp of about 15, we stop for water at this fountain

The view continues to be spectacular

We come across a few mushrooms

I'm sure this one is magic !

We pass by these girls , so odd to see the horns!

More vista

So beautiful

We stop for breakfast at Fureia (pop 2) and this wall has coins from everywhere in the world!

Another tree tunnel

And here we have to climb the embankment to let the tractor pass!

A dairy barn under contrsuction

Our trail into Sarria

We find lodging in Sarria 

At this place - private room, shared bathroom 30 Euros . Durminiento Pension

Sarria is a major starting point for pilgrims with limited time to pick up a compostela   Starting from Sarria will just cover the requisite 100 km to the cathedral in Santiago .  The guide book tells us to be nice to the new pilgrims and not to judge them.

In 1970 only 63 compostelas were issued in Santiago .  For the year ended 2012 192,488 compostelas were issued .  Of those 21% started in Sarria compared to 11.54 % starting in SJdPP ( where we began ) In 2012 49% of the compostelas issued were to folks from Spain , 1.51% were from Canada 

Today marks one month of walking.