The Last Post

Well folks that wraps it up, nearly five weeks walking across Spain from St Jean de Pied Port in France to Santiago! We talked the talk and now we´ve walked the walk. Tonight we catch the train to Madrid and tomorrow morning our flight home. I hope you enjoyed following our travels, for those planning on doing it themselves, nothing can really prepare you for the experience (but do what you can anyway!). At the start of the blog I paraphrased the great American essayist Henry David Thoreau, the last words go to his associate Walt Whitman -

Afoot and light hearted I take to the open road

Healthy, free, the world before me

The long brown path before leading wherever I choose

Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune

Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing!

Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms

Strong and content I travel the open road

It is safe -I have tried it-my own feet have tried it well- be not detained!

Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen´d!

Let the tools remain in the workshop! Let the money remain unearn´d!

Let the school stand! Mind not the cry of the teacher!

You road I enter upon and look around, I believe you are not all that is here ,

I believe that much unseen is also here !

From The Open Road (Leaves of Grass) Walt Whitman

Photos

Here´s a few extra photos from Santiago. Cervantes (author of Don Quixote), St James (the compassionate, hacking a few heads), buildings with canons ?etc Met the two Sydney boys today, how they made it I have no idea (they were drunk every night of the walk!),also ran into Young German boy who just kept repeating ¨we made it¨. Irish Adrian is walking 3 more days to Finnisterre! and Liverpool Paul is heading for home today.

Taking it easy-NO WALKING!!!!

Thankyou to everyone for all the good wishes!
Santiago de Compostella is a beautiful city of 130,000 people, with about 3.5 million tourist days per year! We are staying in the Centro Historico which you may have guessed is the old city and it is delightful, the buildings (particularly the cathedral at night) are awesome! The Centro Historico is a warren of streets, some of which are just bars/cafes and restaurants. Seafood is the speciality of the region and most restaurants have tanks full of live crabs, langostines, crays etc ( a bit cruel) and you can order many types of fish, mussels, razor clambs, horse barnacles and the most delicious seafood soups .

Santiago was founded by decree in the 11th century, it was basically a propaganda scam organised by the Catholic Church- the whole myth of the body of St James magically arriving in Gallicea (in a stone boat no less!) from the Holy Land and the subsequent pilgimage route Camino de Santiago (the third most important after Juruselem and Rome)- to mobilise support for the struggle to expel the Moors (Islam) from Spain (La Reconquista). Santiago and the Camino became a focus and symbol to the extent that St James was often seen (and is often portrayed) charging the Moors with raised sword! Santiago is now a modern city with a large University but the St James mythology is still strong as it is now a big moneyspinner!

Oh Yeah!!!! Living large in Santiago!!

We made it to Santiago de la Compostella about 12noon. We´ve got a great pension above all the bars/cafes. This town is unreal, I´ve never seen so many Bars/cafes/restaurants, hundreds of them! So many impressive historical buildings. So far all we´ve done is pick up our compostella certificate and eaten (mejillones, sardinas, pulpo, chorizo al vino and sopa de pescado - seafood every where you look). Ran into Liverpool boy who had arrived the day before! Irish boy (Adrian) walked in with us. Time to do some serious relaxing, siesta first then sight seeing and more eating and drinking (we´ll soon put back that weight- Ray lost about 8.5kg while I only lost about 5.5kg). We have until Monday night to enjoy Santiago and then it´s night train to Madrid and a plane back home.

A few extra photos

Almost in Santiago!

We walked into Arca today about 20 km from Santiago de Compostella - tomorrow is the big day, we should get in about lunchtime! Will we be welcomed by brass bands? Do we get the keys to the city? Will we get a room? Will my leg get back to normal size? Stay tuned for answers to these and other profound questions. We´ll post more photos over the next couple of days.

greetings from Arzua (O Coruna)- Gallicea

Hi Greg great to hear from you I hope you´re enjoying a well earned retirement and yes I hear what you say - each step closer to the finish... (I´m trying not to think about!). I´m glad your enjoying it and yes photos posted are highly selective!!!! .. and Spanish history is an interest of mine.

The day before yesterday we walked close to 48km, we had to as the albergues in Sarria was full, the next one was full and the one after that was closed! The number of walkers increases every day as more and more short-walk pilgrims join. There are even groups of seconday school students (lovely well behaved kids, sure they pass around funny smelling cigarettes...) A group of about 6 fresh faced, singing school girls raced us for an albergue, we knew if they beat us the would take up all available beds; at one stage with 100m to go I was tempted to hold them back with a stick while Ray dashed to the albergue but this seemed to go against the spirit of the camino (and as it turned out it was the closed one!). We ended up having t0 go to Portmarin, even here the first two albergues were full but luckily we found a very nice one with enough room and washing machines and driers.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we walked to Palas del Rei, 26km and when we got there the albergues were again full. We decided to walk on and sleep out but on the way out we noticed a house called La Casa de Ruben, Ray felt this was a sign and when an old guy walked out he asked if there beds around. He took us to a very nice hotel, talked his rich relatives into giving us a room (for 25 euros!), and even carried Rays pack up the stairs for him! A nice old guy, ex-sailor called Ruben who told us a bit about his life and travels around the world. Every time things look bleak something good happens.

Today we walked about 30 km to Arzua, only 42 km from Santiago. The number of walkers is really increasing now, every bar and cafe and albergue is packed.The truth is we both developed swelling and pain on our right shins (tendonitis?). Anyway bandages and pain killers do wonders! Again we expected to be sleeping out. The walking tracks and the weather are exceptional, through forested gullys lined with ancient mossy oaks and then uphill to dairy paddocks and maize fields always surrounded by forest or hedges. We stopped at a lovely little bar for lunch and one of the French walkers ( a tiny middle aged women) sang a wonderful rendition of Je ne regret rein - I regret nothing (forgive my French but those who know this song will know what I mean; she was fantastic! she sounded just like Edith Piaf , it was a special moment. I n the last few km we began to see eucalypts scattered within the forests. It´s quite bizzare to see Blue gums and Manna gums amongst the indigenous trees of Spain and the smell of eucalytus in the afternoon breeze is so evocative of the aussie bush (sniff!). In fact we had a siesta on the side of the track amongst bluegums and squirrels! About 7pm we got into town and the first albergue was full but luckily there was room in the next. It´s a great 5 storey, modern albergue with all the mod-cons and the best internet services yet and the restaurant across the road served the best Pilgrims menu we´ve had (Caldo Gallego, pescado/pollo and mousse chocolate washed down with a bottle of Gallician wine)

Tomorrow another camino joins ours (camino del norte) so we expect the number of walkers to keep increasing as we approach Santiago.

It seems to me that there is an inverse correlation between religious belief and the degree of control humans have over their immediate environment. In the past if you were a victim of weather, storms, volcanoes, floods, war etc you invented volcano gods or gods that can control the weather etc, in that way you could placate the relevant god (eg with sacrifices or prayer) and this gave you some control. But the big one is death itself, the very basis of existential angst. The religions of the book (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) offer the ultimate for ¨death has been defeated, Jesus Christ has been resurrected". The basis of all religion is blind, unthinking faith which is the antithesis to rationality. Why can´t humans except that like all organic life we come into existence, we live our span and then we die.

Two days to Santiago and they are both relatively short walks, about 20km each!

Sarria

Greetings from Gallicea _ Triacastela

Tuesday
We wish you a happy birthday Sheron, hope you had a great day!
Three days without posting (trouble getting to computers)!
Friday we walked down from the Montes de Leon after spending the night at Molinassecas. We spent all day walking through the Valle de Sil (Sil River Valley), a beautiful valley between the Montes de Leon and the Sierra del Ranadoiro. The valley has a milder climate than the surroundings areas and is famous for it´s vineyards and superior wines (amongst the best Spanish wines). At the start of the valley is the gorgeous town of Ponferrada. It´s worth coming just to see the awesome Templar castle/fortress (maybe it´s a boy thing, I know Louis would love it!!)- a castle dating back to 1178. This was the headquarters of the Templar Knights.

The area here is called El Bierzo and while it is still in the province of Leon it has a close affinity with Gallicea as it was once part of that province. El Bierzo came into national prominance when mass graves of executed republican prisoners were discovered in recent years. This led to calls for a judicial inquiry into the human rights violations of the Franco regime. Conservatives tried to block it but a preliminary inquiry has just agreed that there are grounds for a full inquiry (hopefully th Catholic Church will be held to account for their complicity in mass murder (not for the first time- Inquisition, witch burning and the genocide in the New World).

The night before last we stayed in Villafranca del Bierzo after a tough 35 km hike . The town is named after the French that settled there in the 11th century. It was once called ¨little Santiago¨, since sick and weak people that couldn´t make Santiago recieved the same indulgences from the church (once we get to santiago all our sins are wiped clean and we can start fresh!!)- what a pack of mallingerers!!!

We enjoyed a nice meal in a group of 8 (Japanese, Germans, Spaniards and Kiwi boy). Kiwi boy has kept up with us for about a week now, he´s seen a fair bit of Spain and Portugal and is having over the last 18 months. He heads back to NZ after Santiago, his only regret is that he didn´t make the ¨running of the bulls¨ (in Pamplona) two years running but he did make the Tomatina festival (apparantly for young aussies and kiwis the big three are running of the bulls, Toamatina in Valencia and the Octoberfest!).

Yesterday we walked out of the valley and up and up and up to O Cebriero (1330m) and one of the highest peaks in Gallicea. The forests and scenery generally is spectacular, tracks meander through deciduous forests, many crystal clear trout streams, emerald green pastures and picturesque villages. The background sounds are cascading water and the everpresent sound of cowbells..

After the difficult climb we arrived at the summit with sweaty clothes and grabbed a bed in the first albergue. A lovely albergue/cafe/restaurant which was playing Celtic music. We are finally in Gallicea, an autonomous region (like Catalonia and Viscaya). The Gallicians have a strong celtic heritage dating back to 700 BC when celts from Gaul settled here. The Suabi from northern Europe set up a kingdom in the 5th century and the Visigoths arrived in the 6th century (incidentally the visigoths brought christianity to Spain not the Romans). The language while latin based is different and more akin to portuguese which developed from Gallego. The music is celtic (drums, fiddles and Gallician bagpipes) and would not be out of place in an Irish pub.

Today we walked about 25km downhill most of the day. The scenery was the most spectacular yet, with mountain peaks arising from a sea of fog. We are now in Triacastella and tommorrow on to Sarria. I don´t think we´ll get photos on today, you´ll have to wait. Less than 150 km to go!!!!

Greetings from Mollinosecos

Yesterday we started really climbing into the Montes de Leon (over 1500m) through forests of Chestnut and Oak and up past the treeline into alpine heathlands. These areas are snow covered in winter. The scenery is spectacular, I love the mountains, at each summit or around every bend another panorama unfolds. The alpine heathlands are dominated by purple and pink heath which are still flowering (there is diversity here but most shrubs have flowered and set seeds, I´d love to see them in Spring). One common flower (also common in the Pyrenees) is a fragile pink 4-petalled flower than comes straight out of the rocky ground, there are no green parts so I assume it´s not photosynthetic and maybe parasitic on surrounding plants (it cannot flower and set viable seed unless it can draw nutrition from somewhere).

At the summit we stopped at a very special albergue, in Manjarin a ghost town dating back to the 11th century. It´s run by an eccentric (Tomas) and his sidekicks. They are a strange hippie/Christian/wannabe Templar Knights group (The Templar Knights were a group of warrior monks from around 11th to 14th century when the church shut them down). These guys run an albergue without electricity, running water, proper toilets etc really basic. In the mornings and afternoons they run little ceremonies that involve prayer, clanging together of swords and battle axes etc (scary, Ray and I almost made a run for it!). They dress as Templars without the armour. Sleeping quarters were upstairs under the attic - with about 3ft head clearance, (mattresses on the floor), from your place on the mattress you could touch the ceiling. Supper was a watery potato soup with bits of suspect meat (Ray reckons one of the many cats around here, I suspect semi-rancid meat) We were relieved when morning came and we could make a dash for it!

The Templars were big around here particularly in Ponteferrada where they built a humongous fortress. They kept order along the camino. But best of all they loved to get kitted up and head out to the Orient to massacre a few ´heretics´in the name of their loving God. No doubt the followers of Islam also liked to massacre a few ´infidels´in the name of their loving God!

Today we walked about 20km to Mollinasecas, mostly straight down along treacherous rocky paths. It was wonderful to get to an albergue and have hot showers and wash clothes etc (it really makes you appreciate the little luxuries of life). Tommorrow we´ll walk through Ponteferradas, this town was basically a Kights Templar town but more on that tommorrow.

Some thought on the birdlife on the camino
I have not seen one brightly coloured bird since starting. The local Robin makes some effort with a little rufus patch but if it ran into an aussie Robin it would die of shame (you call that colour, I´ll show you colour!), think of the Flame robin, the Scarlet robin, the Red-capped robin, the Pink robin and the Eastern Yellow robin. Then come the Blue wrens, the Golden Whistlers, the numerous species of Honey eaters and the parrots/lorikeets.

I´ll try another post with photos a little later
greetings to Liz L glad your enjoying our adventures and yes pass on the blog address! yes it is a real test of physical fitness but more so of mental toughness!!!

The track was difficult today (I prefer climbing to the descent) but Rays knee and ankle held out ok.
Hi to everyone and don´t forget to post messages!

Greetings fro Astorga

Hola Papa que tal? Estamos in Astorga, es una cuidad con una historia muy Romano, hoy passamos unas ruinas Romanas con una mosaica del siglo 70AD! Tenemos mucho para cuentar te! Hasta la vista.

Well we are in the fascinating Roman city os Astorga, it´s all very historical not sure what to photograph first. As we came in we saw recently oncovered Roman ruins that included an amazing mosaic floor in suprisingly good condition (considering it´s 2000 years old. They are very proud of their Roman heritage.
We hit a hard pace today for 25+km- tommorrow we sart walking into the mountains of Leon and into our final third- The Life Stage!!! Weather was cool to cold today and rain threatened but we only got a few drops. We´re now adding some more photos.
Hi Anabel glad your feeling good (on the good stuff?).

6 more photos at start!enjoy!

hi kids

Just want to say hello to my babies. Aidan why haven,t you posted any comments you will have to work on your knee if you want to do a walk like this. Axel and Anita i haven,t heard from you two either. Axel you should get the girls to help you. And Ayla it was great to hear from you it really made me happy. Bye for now lots of love dad.

Greetings from Villadongs del Paramor

Well we´ve left lovely Leon after a short but pleasant stay. A few old faces in the albergue eg Crazy Polish Guy, he´s got one setting, full on -he likes his booze and to party. He gets a skin full every night and likes to sing; his favourite is AC/DC and enjoyes belting out Highway to Hell which I´m not sure is the appropriate song for the Camino de Santiago! (or maybe it is). Passed Finnish Angel today walking by herself, the group around Liverpool boy has fragmented and no one knows where he is (probably see him down the track).
There will be no more large towns before Santiago, tommorrow we pass through historic Astorga (named after Emperor Augustus), the first written records are from about 68AD. The weather has been cool the last couple of days but we´ve avoided the rainstorms hitting the south (so far no rain, touch wood). We now start heading away from freeways into the mountains which we can see ahead of us.
This computer is very slow and ancient, so we´ll waite to download photo´s (I´ve only downloaded some of mine, we´ll do some of Rays next so that you can see some of me!!).
GREETINGS TO MIKE, HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY-HAVE ONE FOR ME!!

Hobbit holes

Photos throughout blog - go onto Archives 2009 to get the whole thing. More photos coming!

Greetings from Leon

A very cool start to the day today. We walked about 20km again and arrived in Leon about midday. Some very dangerous walking into town, sharing the roadway and bridges (without footpaths), almost got cleaned up by a bus! We have settled into the albergue in the Humid Quarter (the old part of Leon, it´s ancient and beautiful). Much of the walk today was beside freeways so not much to say about it. Last night in Mansanilla it was the first day of a 3 day fiesta and the music,fireworks etc went on all night (shame that our curfew meant we couldn´t take part). Had a little fiesta of our own in solidarity. We picked up our stuff from the post office, had a kebab (oh yeah!) and found an internet place-so lets see if we can download photos now.