Santiaaaaago!

I made another attempt of a long day's walk to arrive in Santiago on Saturday instead of Sunday, but again, the high temperatures and hard walking limited my mileage. The last couple of days, Eva and Hans and I were joined at the albergues by Divina and Nadine, a very nice mother and daughter from Norway. I walked with the two of them my last long day and it really helped pass the time and I enjoyed their company. I nearly cried when I arrived in the tiny town of Oteiro realizing I was just 10 miles from Santiago. I just couldn't believe it. We checked in at the albergue and the nice girl who stopped by to register us drove us the half mile down the road to the restaurant as we were too tired to walk. We had a nice dinner at a nice restaurant and then the owner of said restaurant drove some of the group up the hill. Eva and Hans had ridden their bikes so I rode Eva's back up the hill but mainly walked it up as it was too steep for the likes of me. I got up pretty early on Sunday and walked into Santiago. I arrived and went to the pilgrim's office to register and then to the pilgrim's noon mass which was VERY crowded as it was palm Sunday and there was a procession and loads of people at the cathedral. In my previous visits it wasn't so crowded so I kind of worried that I wouldn't be able to meet up with any of my cohorts. I had hoped to go shopping to buy Spanish ham, cheese, etc to take home as I usually do before leaving Spain but as it was a Sunday, very few shops were open...mainly souvineer shops. I went to Casa Manolo for lunch. This was the favorite restaurant of my dear friend, Christian, from my first camino. I had a very good and filling lunch and went back to the cathedral which was nearly empty and very quiet. On my way out I ran into Eva and Hans which was great as we'd made no plans to meet up as I was sure I would see them but at this point I was beginning to fear that I would not find them. We went and had a drink and then it was nearly time for me to go to the airport. I did not see the Norwegians but I have their contact information. I had also hoped to run into the Polish/German woman and her daughter. I returned home late last night and Brian had things all prepared for me....the grapefruit juice that i had asked for, various bottles of ibuprofen, Aleve, lotion, foot cream, etc. etc. I've spent the day so far enjoying such luxuries as full sized towels, certain hot water, not having to carry a toiletries to the bathroom etc. etc.

This route, the Via de la Plata, was very hard for me. I had worried before the Camino Frances that I wouldn't be able to do it but after the first day I had no worries as I knew I could. This time i was really never sure that I could walk the whole thing. Three days before the end I considered just taking a bus and hanging out in Santiago. I'm glad I went though. I had a good time. I met lots of nice people. I spoke a lot of Spanish...I think more than on the previous trips...I stopped and talked to lots of villagers. I saw lots of pretty places. As much as I complained, the first two hours each morning were usually very enjoyable. I walked 1000 km. I cannot imagine that I will do that again though.

Hangin' with the Monks

Well, I was, in fact, not able to walk 27 miles straight uphill which turned out to be fine, as instead I walked about 20 miles and ended up staying at the ever so lovely Monastery of Oseira. It is the largest monastery in Galicia and one of the largest in Spain. In it's heyday (12th-15th centuries) I imagine that it housed hundreds of monks...now, there are just 17. I arrived in the late afternoon unable to walk more (the heat, in the upper 80s, continues to be tough) so I checked in with Paco, the caretaker. He informed me that there was an evening vespers service where the monks sing. First I went to the village bar for a coffee. The village poplulation matches that of the monastery and I hung out with about a quarter of the population there at the cafe for a couple of hours chatting. Sadly, I did not pack a "duster" so I didn't really fit in with the ladies but they were kind nevertheless. I returned for the vespers service and all of the monks were gathered at the entrance and seemed to be having some sort of celebration. One of the monks, Luis, came over and introduced himself and spoke surprisingly good English. He told me that it was a special day as the new superior arrived. Then the new superior came over and greeted me. The superior was so exicted that there was an actual pilgrim walking to Santiago on his first day. I felt bad that I was the only one but they were so very kind and welcoming and I was happy to be there. Luis gave me a little painting he had done on a small piece of wood. Then Paco took me through the enormous and beautiful monastery to the small chapel where I listened to the monks sing their verses. It was rather nice except for the portions where I was required to stand as me feet really hurt. When I returned to the dormitory for the walkers I saw that Eva and Hans had arrived so I ran over to the bar to great them. I loved the monastery but it was by far the coldest place I had slept during the entire trip. The next morning's walk was very beautiful and I really enjoyed it and was glad I had not attempted in the afternoon before when I would have been miserable.