mattersofthemoment

We knew we were getting closer to the coast when we saw this fresh boiled octopus called pulpo in Spain. Dave had tried a few pieces with pasta a few days back and quite liked its mild almost beef like flavour. It’s very tender and not at all rubbery. This was a big one that he hauled out of pot for us to photo as we passed through Melide pop. 8000. Melide specializes in pulpo a la Gallega. It was too early in the day to stop and have some! We had started our third last day on this pilgrimage in good spirits, well rested from the private room accommodation in Palas de Rei. So rested I think we now decided, no more refugios – too many people, no privacy, noise, etc.. Our goal today would be Arzua, some 26 km away. We would cross 5 river valleys and walk on peaceful woodland pathways. The sun was peaking out again.

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The purpose of those curious elevated structures in the gallery above we were told was to allow harvested crops to dry. It must rain here a lot we surmised. It was surprisingly uncrowded on the path today. It was a very peaceful. However when we stopped in a bar restaurant for lunch, a very funny thing happened.

Marie and forgotten her sunglasses the previous day at another restaurant stop. Suddenly she spots a man wearing them. When she pointed this out to him, he immediately took the glasses off and gave them to her saying “I was bringing them to you.” Such is the Camino!  We continued on walking 20 km today and took the bus the last 6 km to Arzua pop. 7000. We checked into the Hotel Suiza. It was a real treat staying in a hotel with maid service and a restaurant.

We awoke the next day and walked about 20 km through eucalyptus shaded paths with palm trees and fresh blooming flowers. We then hopped the bus for 18 km and stopped for the night in Lavacolla, just 9 km from our destination. We spent that night at the Hostal Restaurante San Paio. We had the Galician style menu del dia with wine for dinner. It was delicious and a very good deal.

As we drifted off to sleep we wondered what it would be like walking into Santiago de Compostella tomorrow. Nothing could stop us now we prayed.

We were now into the last days of our journey. Sarria is the jumping off point for many on the Camino de Santiago as it is the shortest distance that qualifies you for the Compostella – the official certificate saying you hiked the Camino. Brierley has Santiago as 118.2 km from Sarria.

When we arose, it was raining so we dawned our rain gear. The scenery had changed. Galicia looks more like the terrain back home in Canada – forest, streams, open pastures, farms, all very green in Spring. A smell of manure and dung was everywhere. It is a rain forest – very different from the earlier scenery on our tour.

We of course were carrying our packs on our backs. There is a commercial service available that would pick up your pack and deliver it to your next planned destination, relieving you of all that weight. One would then only have to carry a light day pack with lunch, water, TP etc. Not to demean those who use the service, Dave would use it in France 3 years later, we called these pilgrims “day trippers”.

A note on TP. Dave carried a small roll of TP in his pack as you never know when nature calls. For some reason it was often pink in colour in Spain. When you had to go you would wander off the trail and do your business behind a tree. However you will recall there were long sections of the Camino with no trees. Hence it was not uncommon to come upon someone doing their business out in the open – men and women alike. The polite thing to do is look the other way. And that is what everyone did, still it was somewhat trying. Most refugios had separate bathrooms for men and women. However we recall one that had a single unisex bathroom that took us by surprise.

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It was getting crowded now. The closer you get to Santiago, the more pressure to ensure you would get a bed each night without reservations. The refugios get bigger and bigger. We hiked the 23 km to Portomarin pop. 2000 and hiked up all those stairs. Rather than check into the 160 bed Xunta Alburgue, we found a private room in the Pension Portamino. It was clean, quiet and dry. Dave was feeling much better and Marie was managing her blisters as best she could.

The next morning we set our sights on Palas de Rei pop. 4500, another 26 km. The rain had stopped, it was cool and we made good time despite the 400m elevation climb. We took a cab the last 5 km. We checked into a small alburgue and shared our room with Henny and Randi who we had met on the train to Leon and seen on the trail several times. We went out to dinner and had a nice evening together. Dave is still connected with Henny on Facebook – he is skipper of a fishing trawler in Denmark and they live on an island. Love Denmark!

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So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”                                                              John 8:31-32

As we planned we met Pastor Dick at the Triacastela bus stop and bussed it 12 km forward to Samos, site of the famous Benedictine monastery. I think we nievely knocked on the front door thinking they would open it but there was no answer. There were several other doors but no signs inviting one to enter. Reluctantly we decided to cross the street and have a café con laite. Dave was not feeling well and having difficulty swallowing. Both Marie and Dick counselled him to get his throat checked out.

So that is what we did. Dick walked on while Dave and Marie stopped at a convenient clinic a block away. After checking my OHIP card and asking me to fill in a form, I was ushered into a doctor’s room. Trouble was I did not speak Spanish and the doctor did not speak English. Luckily the nurse spoke French and Spanish. I was able to answer their questions in French with the nurse doing the 2-way translating. It was strep throat. The female doctor issued me prescriptions for 2 kinds of antibiotics. We found a pharmacia and purchased the drugs. We were on our way again in less than an hour! The cost was minimal and Dave would soon be feeling better.

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So off we walked the remaining 13 km to Sarria. It was a bit of a grind and we had not stopped to buy any snacks for later. We arrived in Sarria and checked into the Los Blasones refugio. Dave went to sleep for 2 hours. When we went out again about 6 PM we were very hungry. All restaurants and food stores were closed – cerado, cerado, cerado – until 8PM! So we decided to go to the 7 PM pilgrim Mass at the Santa Marina church just down the street.

Dave remembers being so hungry and weak, he almost toppled over during Mass. However he experienced a special revelation there. Feeling light headed, I remember gazing around the church at it’s art work, the cross, the statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Priest and wondering if it is all true? i.e. is Christianity and the Church’s witness really true, or just a nice story that we have come to believe in? Momentarily… the answer came back to me, from God himself it seemed, that yes it is indeed all true! That was an epiphany I will never forget. It was a transforming moment! After Mass we stumbled out, found the nearest restaurant and had a meal in appreciation of the day. Sarria is a special place that we will not soon forget. We would like to go back to this church someday and give thanks.

The sum of the whole is this: walk to be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with purpose.  Dickens

Well today would be more than a walk – it was a 30 km long climb up 700 m elevation with and an up and down in the middle as you can see below. So we opted for the bus at least part way.

We knew that today would be difficult. In the refugio last night we started seeing a different group of people. They were extremely athletic looking. Men and women from the Tyrol in Austria, others from Norway. When we asked why they were here they said that they liked hiking in mountains and had skipped the flat parts of the Camino. Interesting we thought!

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We continued hiking on a flat plain for about 10 km stopping often to enjoy some gorgeous views. There were lots of small farmyards that we walked right through. As in England, public hiking trails have existed since antiquity. Farmers cannot bar the public from hiking through their land – even when the path goes right by their barn it seems.

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Then it was steeply downhill again. After about 15 km we took a cab for the last few km and checked into the private 27 bed Refugio El Oribio in Triacastela. The first person we run into there is Pastor Dick from Arkansas. We spent a pleasant evening catching up while recouperating from the strenuous day. We also met a nice lady from New Zealand. Plans were made to meet up with Dick in the morning. Dave did not sleep that well and he was still coughing a bit.

Let us not be overwhelmed by the distress of the present time.  Let us instead open our hearts and minds to the great challenges lying before us – respect for human rights in all situations, with special concern for the most vulnerable: children, women and refugees.                            Pope John Paul II

… and seniors I might add.  Pope JPII is a personal hero of mine – I can’t get enough of him.  Back to our Camino story now.  The photo above was taken coming down about 350 m elevation from Riego to Ponferrada.  We were glad we had poles and boots!  It was a rigorous decline so we only planned walk about 13 km today.  It was getting hot!

We arrived in beautiful Ponferrada pop. 62,000 in the early afternoon.  We found the pharmacia for some new bandages for Marie and throat losenges for Dave.  Then we explored.  We have friends whose son and daughter-in-law live here.  What a pleasure it must be living in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After touring the castle and a bustling street market to pick up some supplies, we decided to bus it 25 km ahead to Villafranca del Bierzo.  Dave’s sore throat was getting worse.   We checked into the hippie like 76 bed Ave Fenix private refugio.  No social distancing possible here.

After freshening up we went out for a nice pilgrim del dia dinner with wine and then looked around town a bit.  It was very peaceful.  We called it an early evening since we had a big day coming up tomorrow.

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Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of humankind as a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing at all.                                                         Helen Keller

This life lesson from Helen Keller seems all the truer today as we face our own vulnerability during the 2020 global  Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

Today we would climb some 300 m in elevation and descend 900 m on our way to Riego de Ambros 20 km from Rabanal.  The views would be gorgeous.  One of the major highlights – La Cruz de Ferro – was on our route today.  Again we were blessed with good weather.

We reached the highest elevation of the entire Camino pilgrimage at La Cruz de Ferro, 1505 m.  We walked up a twisty highway to get to the Iron Cross.  It consists of a wooden pole with an iron cross at its top.  At its base is a mound that has been forming for years.  The tradition is to throw a small stone or other object you brought from your home at the base of the cross, either in honour of someone or to let go of something – let go, let God.

We spent about 30 minutes there reflecting and resting.  One of the characters we had met along the way was there with his wife too.  I remember he was from Cognac, FR.  That may be him pacing in the background above.  He had all kinds of equipment that he was fiddling with – an alcohol heater of sorts, a small camping stove, pots and pans, thermoses, etc.  He was telling his wife everything.  She rolled her eyes a few times and we chuckled.  He reminded us of Mr. Bean.  Our laugh of the day!

Coming down the views were golden.  Actually though, walking downhill is harder in some respects than uphill.  Your toes tend to crunch forward painfully in your boots and your legs soon get tired from resisting the pull of gravity.  Usually we would walk zig zag as this style was easier on your toes and legs.

At a small hamlet called Manjarin, pop. 1, we came upon a medieval scene. A man named Tomas who claims he is the last of the Knights Templar, operates a coffee shop and animal pen turned refugio for pilgrims.  We were taken aback when he rang a bell and led a small ceremony while we watched increduosly.  Another living mystery on the Camino.

We continued on our way to the municipal Alburgue in Riego de Ambros for the night.  Most people kept going another 5 km to Molinaseca.  It was clean and quiet.  We ate in a restaurant with Eric and Joyce from South Africa.  It was a gorgeous little town.  Only problem was Dave started coughing a bit and had a sore throat by the end of the evening.  It will probably go away tomorrow we thought.

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Today would be a slow climbing day – shown as only 100m vertical on the map above but 250m according to Brierley.  It was uphill  – 24 km to Rabanal.  But first we walked through historic Astorga.

The Romans built the first settlement called Asturica Augusta here in 14 B.C..  During the middle ages it became an important way station for pilgrims on the Camino. By the 15th century its growing significance inspired the rebuilding of the Catedral de Santa Maria de Astorga pictured above, as well as its 3rd century town walls.  We enjoyed passing through and wished we had more time to sightsee.

It was slow steady walking all day.  We stopped every hour and chatted with a few people.  It was sunny, quiet and peaceful. Marie’s feet were healing.

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When we got to Rabanal about 2:30 PM we decided to upgrade and checked into La Posada de Gaspar, a guesthouse with private room, bar and restaurant. We had our first bath tub and the maid did our laundry!  We hung our sleeping bags out to air.  Wow, a lovely restful evening followed.

We had a nice dinner and then had time to look around Rabanal.  Rabanal has a long history as an important stop on the Camino and prominent town in Leon.  It was revitalized with the help of the Confraternity of St. James in London, a Camino pilgrim support organization.  We have several of their excellent publications and accessories.

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We much enjoyed our stay there and so were as ready as we could be for more climbing the next day.

The message above says it all.  On the Camino everyone walks at their own unique speed. I’m OK, you’re OK. This is fine when you are walking alone but when you walk with someone else, there has to be some compromise.  Early on, Marie and I agreed that we would walk about 20 km each day. I tended to want to race ahead and go farther but in the end was content with our goal.  Some others, particularly solo men would walk 40 km or more a day. Their first question at the end of the day was “How far did you walk today?”  For them it was a competitive race.

Usually each day there was a choice of destinations with accommodations 15 to 30 km away.  Today was a little different.  Hospital de Orbigo was about 12 km out.  Santibanez was 18 km but at the top of a hill you could bypass on an alternate flatter route.  Astorga pop. 12,000 was about 29 km away.  I convinced Marie that we should make Astorga our goal. So off we went.

We stopped for lunch in Hospital de Orbigo.  In the middle ages there was a church here dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  In the 16th century the Knights Hospitaller built a pilgrim hospital here.  It was a hot sunny day and we enjoyed our coke zero stop too.

The farms here surround each town.  Farmers live in town and go out to their farmland each day.  They do not usually live on their land like in Canada.  I suppose this is because small towns are so frequent here, it has always made sense to organize life this way since feudal times.  We continued hiking in the hot sun.  Suddenly we came on a nice surprise – David – the refreshment stand operator.  It was a welcome relief to take a break.  All he asked for was a donation.

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We continued walking in the hot sun.  About 4 PM we were going through a hamlet called San Justo de la Vega.  It was another 3 km to Astorga.  A man named Manuel comes out in the road and invites us to stay in his small refugio in his house.  We said yes, we’ve had enough for the day although Dave still wanted to see Astorga.  We did our laundry and hung it out to dry on a clothes line.  I had 2 pairs of Oceania Cruise slippers that I washed and hung up.  I remember the line was hanging pretty low and there was a couple friendly dogs in the yard.

We freshened up and Sean and Ruth from Montreal checked in too.  It was comfortable and he only wanted 12 Euro for the two of us.  We decided to walk a few more km to have dinner in Astorga which you can see in the background above.  We had heard of a famous local meal called Cocito Maragato – a Castilian stew.  Well we found a great restaurant that served this dish thanks to the recommendation of a couple from Madrid we had met today.  It was a huge meal!  It was hard to get thru it all but Dave enjoyed the culinary experience with Marie’s help.

When we finally made it back to the refugio, overfed and exhausted, Manuel said that unfortunately, one of the dogs had jumped up and ate one of your slippers lol!!  He felt bad and said we could stay the night for free.  In the morning we gave him 6 Euro as he was so hospitable and apologetic.

In bleak and difficult times you must always keep something beautiful in your heart.                                                                                                      -Pascal

As we prepared to leave Leon, we had a look at the map.  We had come 425 km from Pamplona.  We were about 60% of the way to Santiago in 17 days. We had 12 days more and 325 km to go. Up and at it, we started walking out of Leon at 9 after a great breakfast in the cafeteria..

We walked through the Plaza Isidoro and by the San Isidoro church. Beautiful.  We kept walking and walking and walking and still we were immersed in the city with its noises and busy streets.  We felt conspicuous in our grubby clothes but the city goers must have been used to seeing such pilgrims on a daily basis and paid us no attention.

Regarding our reception by the locals, there are 2 stories I would like to relate.  The first one, would take place tonight.  We arrived in the alburgue by 3 PM and were napping in the dorm at about 4, as was our habit.  A loud group of Spanish speaking younger men arrive and proceed to make a loud racket joking and talking so that I and everyone else napping were suddenly awoken. Impulsive me yells out “Hey quiet, can’t you see that we are sleeping.”  One guy responded angrily that they had every right to make all the noise they want at 4 PM or something like that.  The very next day Marie and I were hiking along and suddenly I see the loud man stopped on the path in front of us.  I think oh, oh I am going to get punched out now.  I pause, he looks at me, says no offence and then gives me a hug.  Hey I said, “I am sorry I yelled at you yesterday.”  We then went on our separate ways in peace and forgiveness.  

Another time, Marie and I were making our way through a busy city.  There were a couple of tough looking guys we had to pass within a foot of on the narrow sidewalk.  Here we go, we are going to be mugged I thought.  As we pass he looks in my eyes and says in English “Welcome to my country.” with a smile.  Wow I thought!  How receptive would people in Canada be to hundreds of vagabond people trapesing through their city everyday.  Such is the beauty of Spain – social traditions, acceptance and respect run deep here.

Finally we made it out of Leon.  It took 2 hours.  When we got back to the country side, we sighed in relief.  For perhaps the first time in my life, I realized that I did not like big cities as much anymore. They can be impersonal, polluted, noisy, confusing, overwhelming, dangerous.  Both I and I think Marie realized that we could be happy living in the country side or at least in a much smaller town someday.  Camino lesson, rant over.

We continued for about 21 km today walking beside a busy highway as it was shorter than the inland route.  One advantage was we scored some delicious Spanish chorizo sausage for lunch with fresh baguette.  Yum!

We spent the night at the 85 bed municipal alburgue in Villadangos del Paramo, with the aforementioned nap disruption.  We were halfway from Leon to Astorga.

We awoke at 7 AM in the Alburgue La Laguna in El Burgo Ranero to the soft sounds of classical music playing, I think it was Bach.  Well today was Dave’s birthday.  He thought it was a secret.  However Marie must have informed Carmin and Rosa.  After breakfast, out of the kitchen comes a huge upside down pineapple cake with a candle.  The gang gathered around and sang happy birthday Dave.  He was very touched and grateful.  What a great place to celebrate a 60th birthday and one he will never forget.  Thanks to Marie for spilling the beans!

Carmin and Rosa the volunteer hosts from Quebec made it all happen.  Their joy and fun loving spirit was the hospitality highlight of our pilgrimage.  Reluctantly we said goodbye to everyone with lots of hugs.  We would never see them again.  Dave did connect with Sarah and Rafael for years on Facebook until they left the platform.  Sadly, we could never find a communications link to Denis and Aline.  At Christmas, Rosa emailed Marie a wonderful video of her year at La Laguna but alas, that has gone astray.

We took the train some 38 km to Leon to celebrate Dave’s birthday in style.  This brought us forward 2 complete days and hence we would be walking with meeting a whole new group of pilgrims who were up ahead.  We met Henny and Randi from Denmark on the train.  Today we would not be walking far so we could start celebrating right away! 

We arrived in Leon, pop. 130,000 and were making our way to our boutique hotel when who do we run into but Dick, who we hadn’t seen since day 3.  Dick was a very interesting man.  He was a Protestant Minister in a community church in Arkansas on sabatacle to hike the Camino.  But he did not tell many people his story.  Rather, he enjoyed asking each person he met what their story was i.e., why are you walking the Camino?  He enjoyed listening to their response and should the opportunity present itself, discuss Christian faith matters with them.  We became great friends to this day.

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Our hotel was easy to find and near the Cathedral which looks so great when lit up at night.  After freshening up we walked around town to sightsee.  Later we found the marketplace, had tapas and vino for dinner and met a nice young couple from Montreal on pilgrimage too.

We spent a somewhat restful night in our hotel room with private bath,  however it was noisy on the street, the window would not close nor the TV work.  We were grateful for another great Camino experience and still eager for more.  Thanks for the great birthday celebration Marie!