Monday 3 Oct
An easy day: only 15 kms, with a swim and a massage to look forward to at the Pazo.
(This was the extent of my diary entry for the day, so I'm again resorting to Fresco's itinerary notes).
Half way to our destination! We leave Melide on small country roads and wooded footpaths and wind our way across the Galician countryside. Along the Camino, we should stop in at Boente and have a look at the tiny Church of Santiago and its simple wooden altarpiece. After this short day walk, we arrive in Arzua, where you should try some of the famous local cow cheese. Once we regroup, we head back to the hotel for a shower and a siesta. Tonight is your free night for dinner, where we encourage you to try some of the local gastronomy from our hotel's menu!
Tuesday 4 Oct
A hard day: 23 kms, but no hard up and down bits. We left the Pazo at 8.45 am to return to yesterday's finish spot in Arzua. We did 16 kms before lunch, though we had 2 stops for coffee, croissants and aqua con gas, which kept us going till lunch in the woods at 2.00 pm near Santa Irene. I walked mostly on my own through oak woods and then some plantations of eucalyptus, including some blue gum.
The 6 kms to do after lunch was rather trying and I was very thirsty in the heat of the afternoon sun. Every stone marking the kms to Santiago was significant. Our walking destination was a bar which was about to close, but remained open to serve Allison. Then Larry called up Jason and me, bringing up the rear, to take our orders for drinks before they did close! Then a waiter came out, a Spaniard with a North of England accent, who had lived 18 years of his life in Scarborough.
Wednesday 5 Oct
Today we finally made it to Santiago: hot and tired but in a mood for celebration! We started out at around 9.30 am and walked 10 kms fairly quickly to Lavacolla (meaning "wash tail"), where early pilgrims gave their bodies a thorough wash in the stream before arriving in Santiago. We walked right past the airport, where the end of the runway loomed above us on top of a huge embankment, fenced in behind a high wire into which pilgrims had stuck wooden crosses.
We were asked to regroup at Monte do Gozo (meaning "mountain of joy") where pilgrims normally got their first glimpse of the twin towers of Santiago Cathedral. Today, there is an enormous modern sculpture, put up to mark the visit of Pope John Paul. The place was packed with bus loads of tourists who swarmed around as we tried to get to the Church for our stamp. Some other people enviously eyed the food set out for our lunch and were finally given some of our leftovers!
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| Artist's impression of the Cathedral seen from afar |
The walk into town after lunch in the hot afternoon sun seemed to go on forever, as we passed more and more modern suburbs. At last we followed the brass shells in the pavement to the old part of town, through an arch where a Galician bagpiper was playing, and into the huge square in front of the Cathedral. Everyone stood in the centre of the square, hugging and congratulating each other on the achievement. Allison's boyfriend, the fireman from Texas Search and Rescue, was right there waiting for her - a man who had never been out of the USA before!
Jason led us to the Pilgrim's Office, where a queue wound its way up the stairs to the counters manned by 4 officials, checking the passports and handing out the compostellas. After another celebratory G and T (slightly more expensive in this town at 7.50 Euros), we made our way to our hotel, the Virxe da Cerca. Bliss: a room to myself, as Nancy's husband was to arrive from the US later in the evening.
We all went out to dinner for a huge meal of local specialities. The restaurant was packed, but the amount of food defeated us. Late to bed!
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| O Dezaseis Restaurant |
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