9th of April 2012

9/10th of April 2012 Melide to Santiago de Compostela i made it to Santiago and the Cathedral feeling glad to have finished but also simply physically unable to walk one step further. My feet had decided not to go back in my boots, i made a mental note and reminder to myself never to buy this brand again, the five blisters on my feet i had nursed all the way from Leon. Upon entering the Cathedral i could not walk around i simply sat on a pew somewhere discreet and wept like the tide was on its way out. I just sat outside of the cathedral in Santiago for many hours after with my sandals off the shoes were thrown away to one side of me and throbbing feet being aired,like the many other pilgrims sat all around the huge square that all seem when i look at them to have something wrong with either their feet or something on a part of their bodies, but all with looks of serenity and relief. I eventually hobble off a few hours later to go find the pilgrims office and collect my Compostela certificate and be formally congratulated by the assistant and i am so relieved to have finished this walk that i started what seemed so long ago and words simply cannot describe how elated i fell at this moment.I seek out one of the lovely restaurants for some good food for I seriously need to take some time out now so i will come back on here at some point in the future and write and expand some more,i appreciate any feedback and comments on any of these posts.......................

8th of April 2012

8th of April 2012 Portamarin to Palais de Rel then onto Melide. I feel good today after the rest i managed to secure yesterday in the fleshly laundered sheeted bed and after a good breakfast at the hotel,after breakfast i head out from the hotel and head out of the high street trying to make the yellow arrows out along the way,the temperature is colder today theirs a thick fog all around me and i have got a jumper and my jacket on and also my thinsulate hat it that cold,my feet are still sore and the blisters seem to be still there despite using dofferant methods all along the way like smothering my feet in vasaline then when i lost that a compeed speed stick,all of these methods being unsucessfull in dealing with my blisters. The Camino overnight has changed from being a very pleasent solitary experience to one of seing huge parties of supported groups of pilgrims all wandering along in throngs chatting at the tops of their voicesexcercising their overinflatted egos,they dont carry any bag on their backs and all their gear is transported along for them in vans that constantly pass by them.These pilgrims then stop at lunchtime at a predestined place where their lunch is then all laid out in front of them on a table, The graffiti has increased along this part of the route too every sign seems to be covered in little tags. The swirling mist eventually burns itself up by the sun by about 1pm and it becomes lovely and warm and i take my jacket of and put it back into my bag,i even manage at one point ot find a little peace in a field to take my shoes off and earth myself for a while,al i could hear the whole time i lay there was shouts from the pilgrims at me for a "buen Camino". My blisters are killing me and i finally reach Palais de Rel at about 4:30pm closely followed and surrounded by the loud throngs of many merry pilgrim groups.I enter the main albergie in the town and have to wait at least five minutes for the three Spanish girls in front of me in the Que,when i gave the lady hospitalera my passport to stamp she asks to see my real passport and as i lean down to get it a guy justs pushes past me and gives her a huge stack of maybe 20 passports to stamp and i look and there seems to be a massive crowd now all around me,this i find just a little too much to handle and decide to leave in disgust i walked across the road and had a big bowl of spaghetti bolonaise and an ice cold beer to cool me down,i then decide to get into a taxi which takes me 15ks down the road to a place called Melide,here in this town i was recommended a really good hotel with a great room very modern and very clique and the main thing was i was now away from these hideous crowds,its here on contemplation that i decide i am not enjoying walking this part of the Camino......

3rd of April 2012

3rd of April 2012 Molinaseca to Villafranca 39,700 steps on my stepometer. I found todays walk a little bit difficult because it was a huge distance to travel and also my legs were aching proper bad from coming down of of the mountain yesterday,the weather has seemed to turn a bit today and its cold and also overcast with rain threatening,i plod on the path for many miles till i reach Ponferrada where i get accosted by three very enthusiastic Jehovah witnesses trying to get mt to convert,not knowing to much Spanish help me escape them as none of them spoke any English. After many miles more walking i finally arrive in Villafranca del Bierzo roughly 8 hrs after setting off,extremely tired i like crawl into the albergie called Ave de Phoenix which seems to be a very quirky place somewhere that wouldn't go amiss in the Himalayas,they serve a communal meal at 8 pm for 8 Euros to all the pilgrims and this i found very good and very tasty and the hostel was full with pilgrims staying too,secretly i go off into a dream wishing that tomorrow i will rest with my feet up and maybe treat myself to a hotel,hmm let me see how i feel in the morning........

7th of April 2012

Sarria to Portomarin. I didnt sleep very well last night as i kept on waking up with a very peculiar pain in my right ankle, the bed i slept in had a plastic cover on it was hilarius every time i moved around on it it squeeked two of the other pilgrims i was sharing the room with snoored like elephants. I left the albergie at about 8amand didnt get very far before being lured into the most lovely italian restaurant/cafe for a lush breakfast of coffee, croisants with jam yogurts, fresh fruits and juice, mmmm delicious.I then attempt to walk out os Sarria in the pouring rain with a horrible pain in mt left ankle. I didnt seem to get to far before the painim getting seriously takes more energy than i can muster to be able to walk on it so decide to call a taxi to take me the rest of todays planned walk of about 20ks to Potomarin. Here i decide to treat myself as its still early like 10 to treat myself to a nice hotel for the night, i cant remember its name but its the only on in Poromarin,the room is immaculate theirs freshly laundered sheets on the bed clean towels in the bathroom, even a piddly little bath. I lay on the bed and fall almost instantly to a well earnt sleep. I come around from my lovely sleep at around 7pm and go out to find some food in the town before i crawl back into bed.

6th April 2012

6th April 2012 Triacastela to Sarria 25,800 steps on my stepometer a beautiful walk in nature today I leave the albergie at 7:30 just as it was getting light and the way is peaceful and not too hard going the temperature isn't too cold and slight drizzle rain, the path leads through lush forests of oaks, silver birch and hazel I hear cuckoo's singing and the odd woodpecker sounds, many small streams and rivers, and after a couple of hours solitary walking amounst the sounds of nature the path starts ambling downwards towards Sarria in the distance, I reach the city at about 1pm and decide as it's good Friday to finish here for the day.I find a great albergie called Don Alvardo which is one of the last up the main street on Rua Maior,they have a nice light reading room in the bath plenty of bathrooms one even had a bath and bidet in, their was also an amazing room towards the rear of a nice garden that had a huge Gothic almost like a castle fireplace of which in the evening this had a gorgeous roaring fire in, and as it was good friday many a bottle of herb liquers were tippled after a huge pilgrim meal. a trully Buen Camino.

5th April 2012

5th of April 2012 Laguna de Castilla to Triacastela. 32,580 Steps on my stepometer. Had a lovely night's sleep in this immaculate albergie and when I wake its snowing outside and very cold like -2 degrees so I put my waterproofs on and head up the hill towards O Cebreiro in very little visibility the track goes for about 2ks before it reaches the village here I meet many other pilgrims that obviously made it this far last night it's still snowing but the trees look amazing with their covering of white.my feet are sore today But I carry on regardless it's so cold so I keep up a good pace till I reach Hospital de la Condesa where I stop for a coffee and croissant I plod on through the snow looking like a snowman to Ponfria another 7 ks or so here I stop in the second cafe where the lovely lady makes me the best hot potato and bacon tortilla yet to eat in Spain along the Camino,the fire was on in the cafe so I take the opportunity to slip my socks off for a while and let my seriously throbbing feet have some well needed air. Ive found that all the blisters i have on my feet simply arent going so every night i take of my socks which consist of a thick speciallist made hiking sock as an outer and a very thin bamboo pair as liners,i run cotton through them with a sterlised neddle and let them drain, the next morning they are always drained but i found that by the end of the next days walking they were back again day in day out, so unfortunatley i found no cure for my blisters i could only try to just manage them every day, and also massage my aching muscles with deep heet max strength as often as they needed. After my pit stop and foot airing session, I feel very refreshed and full of energy and at about this point the path heads steeply down for another 10ks and finally leads into the pretty little town of Triacastela where I choose to stay at the albergie called Aitzenea,the sun even tries to make an appearance,the albergie here is spotlessly clean and the showers are lovely and hot,I manage to wash my well needed to be washed clothes, spin them in the spinner and hang them on the line to dry.

4th of April 2012

4th April 2012 Villafranca del Bierzo to Laguna de Castilla 40,109 steps on the stepometer. Today the muscles in my calfs are very stiff and It takes about half an hours walk for them to warm up,this with the many blisters I have covering my feet, and that i didn't get a good nights sleep last night in the albergie because it was proper rammed packed with pilgrims , makes for a lot of uncomfortable pain,I decide to take the recommended route out of Villafranca towards the mountain village of Pradela,the path is super steep and I seem to be the only one that takes this route it's very beautiful but extremely hard going because of the pain in my feet every time i take a step,the path up the mountain is awash with beautiful lavender and pink and white flowering heather all flouring in natural abundance all around me. It's only when I manage get to the village at the top on a plateau about three hours later, that the path heads very steeply down to Trabadelo I wish I hadn't taken this route,I arrive at the bottom with seriously shaking legs and have a rest but not for too long as my muscles lock up when I do and it takes them a good ten minutes of walking to warm back up,the path at this point heads up and up and up some more and eventually I reach Laguna de Castilla where I decide to rest for the night very tired and with extremely sore blistered feet. I honestly don't know where I found the energy for today's walk but tomorrow the thought of Santiago beckons and I will find somewhere the energy to cross over into Galicia.The albergie here came recommended by a group of Spaniards that i was walking the Camino and doing a bit of Yoga with for a few days.It was called La Escuela, it was run by a lovely family for 9 Euros, it was immaculate each room only having four beds in and each room having a pristine bathroom with plenty of hot water for a shower in.

2nd of April 2012

2nd of April 2012 Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca 37,699 steps on the stepometer. Today has by far been the hardest walk of the Camino so far but also the most fulfilling. I woke up a little later than I usually do because I had a glass of wine with my meal last night which is unusual for me them went downstairs and joined the other pilgrims for breakfast I then went and packed my bag before heading out of the village.the sky's are clear and the weather is very pleasant today. The views going up were stunningly beautiful with lush pasture and apple trees blossoming,the heather is out in flower too gorgeous bright whites and pinks amoungst the green bushes, a local passes me on horseback going the other way on the track after a bit I reach the village of Foncebadon and stop in the albergie called la Cruz de Ferro for a drink and savour their open fire complete with crystals and pictures of lovely thinks I secretly wish I had reached here yesterday for tge night another 2ks on I reach the highest point of the Camino and the actual Cruz a huge pile of rocks left by the hundreds of thousand previous pilgrims,I pause here for a while and leave an orgone generator I made and a rose quartz heart on the pile,the path then leads down to Manjarin an abandoned village with a very medieval place some pilgrims stay at,the views are stunningly beautiful very panoramic too, the path heads up for a bit before going very steeply down for a few ks to reach the lovely village called Acebo where I have a coffee and tortilla sandwich. Still heading sharply down the path reaches Reigo de Ambros then after what seems like a scrabble down the mountain,I'm in my own little bubble concentratiny very hard on where I'm planting my feet when a huge snake goes rushing past me on the path,it shocked me bad to say the least,the path winds down and down and it finally gets to the quant little town called Molinaseca at the bottom where I soak my throbbing blistered feet in the super cold stream before I go over the medieval bridge to go find an albergie called Santa Maria that's on the other side of the town,the beds are comfy and the shower seriously powerful.

1st April 2012

Astorga to Rabanal del Camino 27,582 steps on my stepometer. I leave the city at about 8am just as the sun rises where the path drops down and over a bridge over the A6, there is quite a few pilgrims on the path today and when I can see for a distance I see then spread out for a few miles, I stop in a lovely bar/albergie in a village called Santa Catalina de Somoza and buy a bottle of cold water to drink, here many pilgrims have also stopped for a break too, after my refreshment I head along the path, it's hot today but I bought a new hat yesterday that has a piece of cloth around the back to protect my neck, I feel and probably look like a French foreign leigonare. This path today is stunningly beautiful about 13ks of nature walking in amongst the forest and hills to reach my destination for the day, I am staying in the hostel run by the London based confraternty of St James, I am the first pilgrim to stay here this year as it has only just opened today after being shut for the winter, I'm greeted by a very friendly Scottish hospitallera.

hospital de Orbigo to Astorga 31st March 2012

T Hospital de Orbigo To Astorga 23.500 steps on the stepometer the room was tiny in the 17th century hostel and was full of pilgrims but I slept soundly anyway and after waking up I pack everything together and walk out of town to where the path splits into two I take the left path and hit the flat open countryside, and I meet and walk with a young couple from America, it's a bit cold on my ears because the sun is just rising up over the horizon, after a few ks walking the path runs alongside the n120 road for a bit before heading right toward the village of Santibanez de Valdeiglesia which has a bar where I grab a coffee, here I was offered a. Cheese, ham and advacado sandwich lovingly made by the Americans.The path from this point heads up out of the village into a beautiful piece of countryside and then works its way through a forest of Holm oak and up to a high point where the cathedral at Astorga can be seen in the distance,it's now quite hot, I stop to have a drink and banana at a stall run by a really friendly Spanish man where everything's free and quality too.About another 5k on the path drops down and finally comes into Astorga a really picturesque small city with a beautiful cathedral and a museum built by Guadi the main square has an amazing ancient clock face and is stunning, the city even has a famous chocolate museum, mmmm yummy.the albergie I stay in is called San Javier just near the cathedral, the beds are clean, comfy and my feet get treated to a hot salt foot bath and then some attention by the resident nurse, I feel like I've landed in heaven on the Camino, I have a great nights sleep here.