Category: A Very Short Story

 

Yes, about 65 klicks to go. if you can believe the Camino road signs. I Don t.

Walked through Portmorin to Gonzard because the majority of the pilgrims would have stopped at Portmorin including all of the part time Pilgrims who started at Sarria, and there were hundreds of them. Unreal. I Don,t like this. it sucks Bigly.

We have noticed that the feel and atmosphere is changing a great deal. It is becoming more expensive and commercialized. Many of the Albergues and cafes only take cash. Up until we entered Galicia 70 % or more of the Albergues and cafes and restaurants took credit but not now. Also the landscape is changing. It is flatter as we are out if the mountains now.

We look back and cannot believe we walked across and through the mountain range. Yet there are still hills here. Undulating hills. lots of hills. every village,town or small city is on top of a hill, which we have to climb. It seems that we are always climbing. The scenery is beautiful. Very lush and green. Small hills but hills nevertheless. I dream of hills. Weird. I know. A Pilgrim,s worst nightmare…hills.

A tree tunnel. Cool in a hot sun.

Hydrangea bush. Dot would love this.

Barbedelo had a pool. Very cold but we went in regardless. Gonzard was a very quaint Albergues with great food and beer. Loved it.

Tomorrow we walk to Melide, the octopus capital of the world or so Jerry tells me. 32 klicks.

Sorry for the lateness but the wifi over the last few days suck.

Read ya tomorrow.

Galicia province.

100 klicks to go.

More hills. Sure looks like Mexico to me.

 

 

Decided to walk through Sarria and go to the next Albergure 5 kilometers past Sarria. Sarria is important because it is the last major village before Santiago. You have to show that you went through Sarria to get your certificate or Compestelle. Many  many people start here and walk the final 100 klicks. Jerry calls them plastic pilgrims or pretend pilgrims because they have not suffered like us and as I have said Pilgrims have to suffer. They cannot have fun and they cannot swear. Shyte!

2 euros for a glass, 3 euros for a bottle. Man oh man how I love this country.

Our pilgrim meal tonight.

Dinner for 12 euros or about 20 bucks. But remember we have to suffer so forget that you saw these pictures. They will self destruct after the pilgrimage is over.

 

Typical terrain

Done 670 klicks so far. About 100 to go.

Jerryisms:

“I am so hungry I could eat the scabs off of a badger.”

When describing another Pilgrim who walks very fast: “He takes off like a scalded cat.”

Read ya tomorrow. Galicia province is so beautiful. God’s country but it does rain a lot.

Cheers.

 

Walking today to the highest point of the Camino in O Cebreiri, which is code for a bitch of a walk up a steep grade. After doing this and being a veteran Pilgrim one gets to learn the various nuances of the hike: ” Oh no not another freaking hill.” That is Irish for you know what.

Our Camino guardian in Villa Franca

Jerry and I enroute.⁸

We left Villa Franca around 730am. Very dark. I was a tad anxious because of this notion that it was the highest point yet for the first 18 kilometers it was easy going. Very flat terrain on the side of a highway. We counted 17 bridges for the main motorway above us. It was very impressive, but boring. So I put on some tunes and sang along. Soon, I found myself alone!!!

The final kilometers were really hard. And that is what is interesting about this walk. Just when you think you have it made, a curve is thrown your way. In this case a kilometers walk uphill over the most treacherous terrain you have ever seen. Rocks, boulders, loose gravel and shale With a slate base. You do not want to fall. This over a very steep grade that slows one down to a crawl. Indeed some pilgrims had to crawl to the top. But no matter because pilgrims have to suffer and they can,t have fun and they cannot swear but today that last rule was broken many,many times. Forgive me lord.

Great Pic

This country is beautiful. We ended up 4 k short of our destination because we were exhausted and could go no further. O Cebreiro will have to wait until tomorrow. We bedded down at a monastery run by Germans but before we did Jerry and I and a few others imbibed a few beers and a pilgrim’s dinner at the local cantina.l

Great day if even a tough slog at the end.

Read ya later.

Man oh man how I love this country.

John the Pilgrim.

 

 

 

Jerry’s favorite poster. Expand to read.

Today’s walk was pretty good after yesterday’s walk through the valley of death. Flat, non descript and monochromatic. There were many of us. Mainly Spanish, some Italians and us stupid Canadians, as I was called by Serge, the French Canadian patriot  nationalist and separatist. I have come across three other French Canadian woman who are all separatists. Really nice women. They all said they were from Montreal, or Quebec City Quebec and not Canada. There you have it

Sunset in Villa Franca. So we walked about 23 kilometers and then stopped for lunch around 1130. We had about 5 kilometers left before we arrived at Villa Franca. But it took us 2 and a half hours to get there. Something was wrong as by my calculations and my internal GPS we
had walked over 11 kilometers. Jerry steered us to an alternative route that we didn’t t know about. Don,t worry bye it, Villa Franca, is just over the  hill and around the bend. After many wee hills and wee-er bends we arrived. We had done 35 kilometers. We were ready to kill Jerry.

Vla Franca is a small quaint Spanish village with a castle in the middle of it. Streets are narrow and hilly (steep), made of cobblestones that are very hard to walk on in flip flops. Like all villages here it is extremely clean

Houses are adorned with beautiful and intricate facades and pride on ownership is evident everywhere.

Beautiful.

Read ya tomorrow.