We are no longer peregrinos - Just tourists

We are no longer peregrinos - just tourists - and we had our first tourist upset this morning. When we arrived at Santiago’s airport none of our credit cards (all four of us tried the Visa Cards and I tried a Visa and a Master Card) would not work as the banks would not accept any of them. This meant that we could not pay for our hired car. As you know, car hire companies don’t accept cash (in case you crash the car and they need to charge you). Then an ‘angel moment’ when Marion B and Fran, who were waiting for their flight to London, saw us in the airport lobby and came to say goodbye. We explained our predicament and Fran very kindly offered to use her credit card and we were able to complete the hire process. (We have an automatic, diesel Citroen with a great big boot for all our baggage.)
But back to Santiago. Yesterday morning we spent a couple of hours in the cathedral museum, the Bishop’s Palace and the cloisters - very beautiful - whilst Anneliese attended the pilgrim’s mass in the cathedral. In the evening, after a good meal with Marion B and Fran, we did a ‘nocturnal walking tour’ of the city which started at 10:30pm and finished at 12:30am. The rain held off and it was a lovely evening for walking through the old city of Santiago including a visit to the cloisters and inner courtyards of the old pilgrim hospice which is now a Parador - a 5 star hotel. The evening ended with a ‘quemada’ (fire water ceremony) at a local bar. Very strong stuff - 50% alcohol - orange and lemon rinds, sugar and coffee beans all set alight until blue flames leap up the ladle. We all had to sample the fire water and the fumes got up Fran’s nose so much so that she had to leave the bar and catch her breathe outside!

We could hear the rain during the early hours of the morning and decided to get a taxi to the airport. After the initial hassles with our credit cards we drove off in our beige Citroen, heading west to Finisterre - the ‘End of the World’. The weather improved and the mist cleared so that we had a beautiful view of the ocean (our first sighting of the sea for 7 weeks) and a gorgeous view of the headland which is very similar to Cape Point in South Africa. We had lunch in the restaurant at the top of the hill and after having our photographs taken at the very last camino bollard - it reads 0.00kms - we headed east towards Lugo, a city with the best-preserved Roman walls in all of Spain. It was entering the city that we had our second 'angel moment'. Finn decided in Santiago that I should drive first as I had an idea of where we should be heading. So I had to drive a left-hand drive car on the right (wrong) side of the road with Finn cringing every time a vehicle overtook us and I edged away from the centre lane. (Okay Joy - now I know what it was like for you!!) By the time we got to Lugo I was whizzing around the round-abouts like an old pro but I whizzed the wrong way and took us away from the old city. We stopped and an old fellow told us to go back up the hill. I drove back up the hill, decided to take a right turn at the last minute and ended up driving through one of the 10 puertas – ‘gates’ - into the walled city. There in front of us was a sign for our hotel and about 200m later we pulled up outside. What luck! Any other entrance and we would have been driving around all afternoon trying to find the hotel.
We checked in and then took a walk along the top of the over 2km wall that was built in the 3rd C by the Romans. Greg, you would love it! Many of the buildings inside the walls resemble Dickens-like crofts, with ramshackle walls, shingle roofs, dormer windows and two or three chimneys squashed between modern, high-rise apartments and offices. Some of the houses can only be 2 or 2 ½ m wide but go up three floors so they appear to be squashed into tall structures. Very quaint and medieval. We had dinner in the main square and marvelled at how smartly dressed the locals were who took their walks around the square dressed in their Sunday best with ties and jackets, ladies in high heels - many with designer doggies tripling alongside them! Tomorrow we will drive back down to Sarria (where Finn started his walk) and drive as closely to the camino as possible all the way to Hospital dÓrbigo (the place with the longest bridge in Spain) before turning north to Oviedo where we will spend the night. Oviedo is famous for a very old relic, a shroud that covered Christ’s face before the Turin shroud was used to cover him completely. Recent tests have shown that the blood type on both shrouds are the same. There is a Spanish saying that says one should not visit the servant (Sant’Iago) without visiting the Master (meaning the relic of the shroud.) So, having visited the servant at his resting place in Compostela we will now visit the Master in Oviedo. Will let you know more about that in our next post.

Love to all,
S A M & Finn

Hello from a wet and drizzly Santiago

Yesterday we walked into the old city in bright sunshine. We only had 4.5kms to walk from Monte do Gozo - the Mount of Joy (so called because in the middle ages the pilgrims would get their first sighting of the spires of the cathedral from the top of the hilltop known as Mount Joy). Our first sighting was of early morning traffic, freeway inter-changes and panel beating shops! The route does take one through the old streets and finally through the Porta Camino into the Obradoiro Square. There in the square were Marion Bowles and her friend Fran, frantically waving two large South African flags. After a welcome and a hug we took the flags, retraced our steps to the Porta and walked in a 2nd time singing Shozoloza!

We checked into the hotel, collected our baggage from the Post Office and went to the pilgrim’s mass at 12h00. It is a very moving mass and the singing of the nun reduced most people (including Mr Finn and Marion Jackson) to tears! After the mass we went to the pilgrim office to collect our certificates but the queues were out the door and in the street so we decided to try later. We met Marion and Fran again at 3pm and walked around sightseeing until dinnertime, which we had in a pub called Derby’s. At about 20h30 we went back to the pilgrim office and stood in a shorter queue to get our certificates. Finn, Marion and Anneliese got the Compostela - based on a 14th C document in Latin - proving that they had walked at least the last 100kms. They were very proud of their achievement. I asked for the other document, which is issued to pilgrims who do not profess a religious motive for walking. I also had a chat to the lady in the office about the new rules regarding the credentials. She assured me that all confraternities and associations will be contacted about the new rules.

We had a nightcap before going to bed at about 11pm.

This morning we woke to grey skies and drizzle. Marion and Fran met us at our Hostel for breakfast and they have all moved on to the cathedral where Finn and I will meet them later on. We are hoping to do our night tour this evening with a mid-night visit to a nightclub where they perform a firewater ceremony called the Quimada. Will let you know how that goes. It is the first day in almost 7 weeks that we have not had to get up early, pack a backpack and hit the road - very strange to be walking around with no backpack and no sticks.

Love to all,
S A M and Finn

There are as many reasons for walking el camino

We are only 4.5kms from Santiago and can almost smell the incense wafting from the Botafumeiro! But, we have curbed our enthusiasm to rush the last day and will stay here at the huge complex of Monte do Gozo tonight. We arrived at about 12h30 but couldn't check in until 13h30 so we had a sandwich and a drink before checking in. This complex will provide a free bed for one night to 800 pilgrims (they never have that many though) and still has beds for 2000 more people at 7 euro a bed. It looks like a military barracks with rows and rows of dormitories, a cafeteria, self-service restaurant and a few shops. One of the statues is of pilgrims pointing the way to the city. This is the only spot left on the Mount of Joy where you can actually see the steeples of the cathedral. Right now we are waiting for our washing cycle to finish. It costs 3 euro for a wash (E1.80 for the powder blocks) and 2 euro for the dryer. Sharing between 4 people makes it worthwhile - especially if your accommodation is for free. After a surprisingly good sleep on Wednesday Finn really got into his stride! It was his 5th day of walking and his competitive spirit kicked in - passing poor struggling peregrinos and chalking them off as successes - 43 pilgrims so far! He even counts those who dare stop to take a photograph, looking back at us with a triumphant smile. On Wednesday we decided not to stay in Santa Irene as we arrived early and read that the albergue only opens at 2pm. So we decided to walk 4kms further on to Arca. (Joy-belle, that is where we made a meal for Elsabet and sat waiting for the albergue to open whilst the backpacks piled up to the top of the driveway). When we arrived at the albergue we saw that it was similar to the one in Melide - a huge municipal albergue with no doors on the showers and reported to be in a poor state in 2006. We decided to find a Pension instead and Finn and I left Marion and Anneliese in the line whilst we walked into the small, one road town to find rooms. Eventually, at the far end of the town, we found a beautiful place that gave us two rooms for 30 euro per room. The owner very kindly drove me back to the albergue to fetch Marion and Anneliese and we were soon checked into lovely clean rooms with a shared en suite bathroom. Only a pleasure! There was a cafe-bar downstairs (owned by the same person). We had lunch there and bought rolls, ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce to make our own supper in the sitting room provided for guests. Today's walk was mainly up steep, short inclines which somewhat curbed Finn's need to pass every backpack in front of him! Marion's shin splint has crept up her shin and she groans at every downhill while Finn moans, "Bugger me!" at every uphill. We will leave at about 8am tomorrow so that we arrive in Santiago just after 9am. Hopefully Marion Bowles will be waiting for us and will take a short video of the intrepid four walking into the Obradoiro Square up to the cathedral. I have fallen in love with the Horreos - little structures on stilts used to store corn. They are now protected and many have been restored and preserved.

Lil Parker asked the other day, "Why do you do it?

There are as many reasons for walking el camino as there are pilgrims, and over 100 000 will earn the compostela this year. Although the Santiago pilgrimage is a Christian one, many pilgrims profess to walking it for spiritual reasons rather than religious. Many say that they don't know why they walk it, that it 'called to them'. You would think that any sane person would have a really good reason to leave their comfort zone, their family, friends and home (and their country) to go and walk 800kms across a foreign land, staying in humble, shared accommodation, eating strange food and struggling with a foreign language. They do all this with a backpack containing everything they posses for a month and will continue walking with blisters, tendinitis, cellulitis, shin splints etc. It is amazing! Perhaps the common denominator for all pilgrims is their 'humanness' - we are all pilgrims journeying through this life and when millions of fellow humans follow a particular path, we feel the urge to join the stream. The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was the most walked path in medieval times (even more popular than to Rome or Jerusalem) and today it has almost reached the same levels of popularity as the 14th and 15th centuries. It is said that pilgrimage is a metaphor for life and perhaps the camino is life in microcosm. One experiences joy and sadness, ups and downs, easy days, difficult days, sunshine and rain, weariness and wonder, hunger and compassion. When we reach Santiago we have learned what we are really capable of. Some pilgrims succumb to injuries, or to tiredness whilst others find it impossible to keep to their planned schedule and end up catching a bus or taxi to stay on track. Those who persevere on foot to the end will have the joy and sense of achievement that all the millions of pilgrims before them have experienced through the ages. Tomorrow we will join those pilgrims when we walk into the square and see the cathedral for the first time. Tomorrow we will feel the souls of pilgrims past through the soles of our feet. I will let you know about our time in Santiago in another post. Till then, love to all.
S A M and Finn

More like a condom than a sleep sack

By 13h30 we had booked into the albergue in Arzua (pronounced Arthua because in Spanish you don't say zzzz but th for a Z). We showered, the washing was in the machine and Finn and Anneliese went next door for their first Estrella' (star) beer of the day whilst Marion lay down resting her leg and I started the email post for the day.

Last night's albergue in Melide was the first grotty refuge we have stayed in. It is a municipal albergue - donativo - that sleeps over 130 people in cramped dorms with the dirtiest showers and loos you have ever seen - black algae and grime everywhere - and a suffocating, musty, mouldy smell. Even though we managed to get bunks near the windows Finn was convinced that he would not be able to sleep with all the shuffling and snuffling around him but the walking each day takes it out of you and most pilgrims crash by 10pm. Before we went to sleep Finn had us in stitches! Lying in bed he complained that his sleeping bag was too small - more like a condom than a sleep sack - and then he nearly fell out of bed whilst cycling away trying to get his legs into it. He also complained about the tiny pillow I had packed for him in his backpack. In spite of all this, he actually had a good sleep.

We made coffee in a very grubby kitchen before we left but waited for the first cafe-bar along the way to have our breakfast (and brush our teeth). It was surprisingly cold this morning and walking through the forest was like walking to Drummond in mid-winter - even a large cow patty had hoary icicles on it! I took a photograph of it - first cowshit pile I've photographed - but am not sure if the icicles will come out! The scenery today continued to be a mixture of pastoral and pine forest as we climbed up and down short, sharp hills towards Santiago. It was warm in the sun but chilly in the shade. It will be like this all the way from now on and whilst Finn groans every time he sees an uphill, Marion groans at every downhill as it pulls on her shin-splint.

After a rest we walked into town and popped into the municipal albergue where Joy and I stayed last year. (Joy-belle, this is the one where we all put our packs on the pavement outside and then went to lunch across the road.)

We went to a little cafe-bar next to our albergue and Finn, Anneliese and Marion had hamburgers for dinner and I had a salad sandwich. Can you imagine coming all the way to Spain for a hamburger!!

Tomorrow we walk 16kms to a little place called Santa Irene where will stay in another private albergue. There are heavy grey clouds about so we might have rain. Will let you know when we reach the next place.

Love to all,
S A M & Finn

Hello from a rather grey and drizzly Melide

We were able to wear our new ponchos for the first time today and even the bales of hay had rain suits on. We have seen huge stacks of hay bales along this route but never in ponchos like these in Galicia.

The pilgrims are well although Marion's shin splint has spread up her shin and the lump has now become a swelling. When we arrived in Melide we found a chemist and she was given some ointment and an ice pack to put on the shin. What she needs, of course, is to rest it for a few days but with only four days left to Santiago, how can she do that? Finn was feeling rather flat today with almost 50kms in his legs from the last 2 days but after a while he got his 2nd wind and forged ahead of us, joking and cajoling us to hurry up so that he could get his first beer in Melide!

We all slept really well last night and after making coffee with our little immersion heaters and eating a custard slice for breakfast we set off on our way to the next stage stop - Melide. Finn asked if we thought we had lost any weight on this walk. I might have a lost a kilo or two but not noticeably so. We definitely have buns of steel, thunder thighs and chunky calf muscles! The scenery today was almost alpine with fir trees, fynbos and broom along the way. Then we descended into subsistence farmlands again, walking between someone's front door and their barn, cows mellowing inside. I fed a horse with fresh grass and was able to cuddle a puppy! In some places I will have a sudden memory of our walk in 2002 and in 2004. This morning we climbed up a winding dirt path between stone houses and turned a corner to be confronted by an old church. There was a sign on the wall that pilgrims could get stamps there so I collected all four credentials to take into the church for stamping. As soon as I saw the priest I remembered Clare, Gerogette and I being accosted by the same priest, beckoned into his church, told to take off our back-packs and being detained for almost half an hour whilst he regailed us with a lecture in Spanish about the age of the church, the wood, the Pope, the patron saint and a few other items of catholic doctrine which none of us could understand! A few kms further on we passed an albergue at a little place called Cassanova where Joy and I had sat in the sun chatting to Cheryle from Canada whilst we waited for our washing to dry.

The albergue in Melide has a washing machine and dryer so thankfully we will have clean clothes for tomorrow. We had a Peregrino Menu at a cafe-bar nearby and we are now in this 'Perergino Internet' place. Tomorrow we will walk to Arzua and the guidebook tells us that from now on we will find many ups-and-downs resulting in a rather arduous walk to Santiago.

Till tomorrow, love to all.
Sil

My air ticket is cooked

Sunday - 5 days to go:
It is 18h30 and the sun is still high in the sky - too hot to sit in whilst having a beer so we have been sitting in the shade on a terrace outside the albergue in Palas de Rei watching the world go by (mostly other peregrinos on this lazy Sunday afternoon).

Finn survived his first night in a peregrino refuge - snorers and all - and only just managed his first ever 26km walk - from Portomarin to Palas de Rei. He has now walked almost 50kms in two days, a true baptism of fire for him. We left in the dark, headlamps leading the way. After crossing the river we turned up a steeply climbing path that wound it's way through a dense wood and up to a Nottingham Road type forest of pines and firs. It stayed dark longer than usual because of a thick mist that shrouded everything in a white haze until almost 10am. We had a welcome coffee break after walking about 6kms and when the mist cleared we saw that we were walking through beautiful 'fynbos', heather and Erica juxtaposed with yellow blossomed Arnica plants and broom. By the time we reached Eirexe Marion had a swelling on her shin (she thinks it is a shin splint sustained whilst negotiating the steep downhill paths yesterday) and Finn's left calf muscle was cramping. We stopped to put Alcohol Romeo on Marion's shin (thanks Firorenza!) and I rubbed some Arnica on Finn's calf. We then had to walk another 8kms to Palas de Rei through rural meadows surrounded by moss covered dry stone walls, tiny stone and shingle hamlets and small squares of vegetable patches, with the occasional scarecrow to keep away the crows and magpies.

We arrived in Palas de Rei hot and weary and after registering at the albergue we were lead up three long flights of stairs to our room. We are sharing two small alcoves with a double bunk in each of them. Marion and Finn are on the bottom and Anneliese and I have claimed the higher ground! After having a hot shower we paid 3 euro for a token to have our washing done in a washing machine. We decided to spoil ourselves and use the dryer as well. I put all the washing into the dryer and half an hour later found that I had put my plastic zip lock bag containing all my papers - passport, International driving permit, air tickets etc - into the dryer. I couldn't believe it when I saw my passport tumbling about inside! Fortunately I could open the door and retrieve most of the papers but my air ticket is cooked so I will have to download a new one once we get to Santiago!

After lunch we discussed what to do next week. Because we have done three days walking in two days, we have decided to shorten the next 5 days completely. We will stay at private albergues (where the 20km per day per pilgrim does not apply) so we will walk about 16kms per day for the next 4 days and will only have about 6kms to walk into Santiago on Friday morning. It was either that or get to Santiago a day early but that would have meant a shorter time for Finn to be on the camino and longer daily distances for him to walk. We have also agreed to leave at about 7h30 in the morning so that we don't have too much walking in the dark.

Last night a Spanish pilgrim, who we have met all along the camino since Roncesvalles, told us that he walked 27kms to Ferreiros (which is where we had wanted to stay last night) only to find it full. It was 7pm and the hospitalero told him that he could not sleep on his sleeping mat on the floor and that he should move on to Portomarin. He told her that it was too late and that he was too tired to walk another 9kms. She told him to get a taxi and when he said that he wasn't going to go by taxi at this late stage in his camino, she told him to move on. He walked all the way to Portomarin arriving in the dark. The municipal albergue that sleeps 160 was full by the time he arrived there but fortunately he found a bed at the same, new albergue that we had booked into. All along the camino refuges have a reputation of not turning away pilgrims but, it seems that in Galicia, the bureaucracy is tighter and they do not allow pilgrim who have only walked 15 or so kms to stay in an albergue and, once it is full, they do not take in any latecomers. It seems that the 'business' of catering for pilgrims is less charitable in this, the last region of the camino.

So, tomorrow we will have a later than usual start and will only walk 14.8kms. Will let you know how the next few days progress.

Love to all,
S A M and F

We were very proud of him walking almost 23kms on his first day

We are now in Portomarin. We should actually be about 9km further back, but .... well, that is today's story! Let me complete yesterday's story first though.

I waited for an hour on the pavement outside the hotel for Finn to arrive in Sarria and was SOoooo excited when his taxi finally pulled up outside the hotel. (I still look at him every now and then and ask, "What are you doing here Finn?")

Once he checked in we did some sightseeing in Sarria, shopped for food at a Supermecado and got a few sellos (stamps) in our pilgrim credentials. We had a meal at a pavement cafe and met up with some special pilgrims we hadn't seen for a few days. Finn was quite nervous about starting the camino so I told him about our routine when arriving at an albergue, showering, washing clothes, finding food etc. He has never really walked more than 10kms at one time, so the prospect of starting with 13.5km and having to walk over 20kms on the last day was quite scary.

This morning we met Marion and Anneliese at 7am in the hotel foyer and with Marion and I each sporting a headlamp torch, found our way out of Sarria on the camino route. We started off following the yellow arrows up a steep path climbing 50-odd steps (Finn counted them) and then once outside the city limits, climbing straight up an Alverstone Road path through a forest. It was quite misty to start with and when the sun finally lit our path at about 7h45 we were delighted with the scenery around us. It is a bit like walking the Midlands Meander through the Yorkshire Dales. Dry stonewalls, small hamlets with just a few stone buildings, cows being led from their barns into meadows and chickens crowing. There are apple, quince and pear trees along the path as well as bilberries (which Finn tried for the first time). We stopped for a coffee at a small cafe bar in Barbedelo and then walked slowly to Ferriros, our planned overnight stop. The paths are mainly farm tracks, some gravel, some stone and sand and like Kloof and Westville, very undulating with some steep ascents and descents. We reached Ferreiros at about 11h00 and Finn was very pleased to have made 13.5kms on his first day. There was a notice on the albergue door that it only opened at 1pm so we sat at the cafe-bar and Finn had a beer and we had coffee and hot chocolate. We sat in the sun chatting to other pilgrims and about an hour later had an ice cream. Just before 1pm we went back to sit at the albergue and wait for it to open. It was then that I noticed a sign on the door, in Spanish, that advised pilgrims who had only walked from Sarria to please continue to Portomarin (9kms away) as this albergue would give beds to pilgrims who came from further a field - at least 20kms away. Finn was horrified! After a beer and an ice cream he really didn't feel like walking another 9kms in the mid-day heat but there was no alternative and no place in-between for us to stay. So, off we set again walking along sandy paths, through beautiful scenery all the way to Portomarin. Just before Portomarin we came across Gordon Bell's 'Banderas' albergue but he wasn't in so we left him a note and I put the CSJ of RSA badge under his door. Our routine has changed now. Marion and Anneliese are in front whilst Finn and I are at the back.

We were very proud of him walking almost 23kms on his first day and after a shower and a rest he seemed to recover very quickly. Whilst we were settling in, the hospitalero brought Gordon in to the albergue to meet us. We all met in the bar upstairs and ended up having a wonderful meal and a very entertaining evening with him.

Our plans to walk 17km tomorrow might end up with the same fate as today's so we have decided to walk the full 26kms to Palas de Rei. (Finn looked quite green when we decided to do this!) Gordon knows the hospitalero in the private albergue in Palas de Rei so he phoned her to book us beds in the refuge there. This means that we won't have to rush to get there and will be able to take it slowly all day.

This is Finn's first night in a dormitory. This albergue can sleep 160 pilgrims - mainly in one long room cordoned off into sections by curtains. It has very good ablutions - nice showers and loos - a washing machine and dryer (so we didn't have to hand wash our clothes) and a fully equipped kitchen.

It is now 21h45 and past my bedtime so I will say hasta luego - and love to all.
S A M & F

A tapestry of small meadows and fields

We have just arrived in Sarria after a wonderful 5-hour walk through Yorkshire Dales countryside. We started off in the dark, me with my headlamp leading the way and Marion and Anneliese with their torches following behind. It is quite eerie walking in complete darkness with only starlight to see by. Everything around you takes on different shapes and for a while it felt as though we were walking through a tunnel but our torchlight's showed that it was a corridor of forest trees. This part of Spain is called Galicia and it is very green - mainly because it rains so much here! Fortunately we haven't had any rain for a few days and I hope the sun continues to shine whilst we are walking. Galicia is more rural than the other provinces we have walked through, and poorer than its neighbours. There are many small subsistence farms, which gives it its particular appeal. The hills and dales are very similar to the English countryside, a tapestry of small meadows and fields, now dotted with dandelions and daisies, outlined by bilberry hedges or dry stonewalls. There is an overriding smell of cow shit! We walk through it, hop-scotch around large steaming patties, and one can't escape the sweet-musty smell. If twilight is for nighttime, what does one call the period just before dawn? Dawn-light, perhaps? Well, dawn-light is my favourite time. The bird sound is amazing, trilling, whistling, chirping and even the indignant squawk of magpies disturb by our passing. There was mist in the valleys this morning and when the sun eventually touches the hillsides it makes you want to sing! I was singing that French song "Ce'st si Bon" all the way. Fortunately there are yellow arrows on the sides of barns, on fence posts and large stones just in case you get too carried away in song and tap-dance off the path!

Our first available stop this morning was after a 14km walk. How good that first cup of coffee tastes when you have walked three hours in the fresh air! From there we walked the last 5kms into Sarria and stopped at the Information office on the way in to find out where our hotel was. We arrived here before Finn who will be coming here from Santiago by taxi. I can't wait to see him and to share the next 112kms with him on the camino!

Will mail again soon,
S A M

Won the Bullfrog snoring World Champs!

We are in Triacastela (although there are no signs of the three castles that gave this place it's name.) We walked about 26kms through the most stunning scenery but on cross-country paths that slowed us down to about 3.5kms an hour so it took us longer than usual to complete our day's walking. If you can imagine walking a marathon a day, that is what it is like when we walk over 6 hours a day!

Back to Ave Fenix at Villafranca del Bierzo. Jesus Jato did not perform the firewater ceremony - Quimado - but after a communal dinner he did some Reiki on Marion and me (to help us sleep, he said) and a foot massage on a German pilgrim. I showed him the photograph in the album of him doing foot massage and he asked me to sit next to him whilst he paged through the album, exclaiming with delight when he recognized an old friend or saw a photo of the old albergue.

The Ave Fenix albergue is locked until 7am and there was a queue of pilgrims waiting to escape when Jesus arrived to open the gates. We left without coffee or breakfast so we stopped at the first village with an open cafe bar for coffee and tostados. The route was mainly on flat, little country lanes, winding through villages and hamlets for about 20kms. Then came the big climb! The guidebook suggests that you allow 3 hours for 8kms to O'Cebreiro. We were only going 4km up to La Faba but it was still a very steep, rocky pull up to La Faba. Marion and I kept enthusing over the incredible scenery on the way up but poor Anneliese had a torrid time with her feet and said that it was the toughest day so far for her. La Faba is a farm village with one part-time shop (you ring the bell if you want the woman to come out of her house and open the door), no telephone, one bar and two albergues. We booked into an albergue, which was started by a German pilgrim and is still sponsored by the German Confraternity. After the usual shower, wash clothes etc we left Anneliese to chat with her countrymen whilst we went into the village (about 400m up the road) to suss out dinner prospects. Anneliese chose to have a menu del peregrino at the bar and we booked to have a vegetarian meal with a German hippie who runs the other albergue. This is really just one room downstairs that looks like a Kathmandu teahouse with jewellery on strange wooden boards, tapestries and other fabrics draped here and there, Buddhas scattered about and incense burning. We had a wonderful meal with 7 other people - all the veggies and fruit harvested that afternoon from his vegetable patch across the road.

Last night was like sleeping in a bullfrog swamp! I had a guy on the top bunk who groaned and rumbled all night. A German pilgrim on top of Marion would have won the Bullfrog snoring World Champs! I am sure that it is physically impossible to make the sounds she did whilst she is awake. The snores were long growls like a large dog, growing into a rumble like a tractor starting up and reaching a crescendo like a Boeing taking off. Once she reached that decibel she gargled an incredible variety of sounds - seemed to hold her breath (I got quite concerned waiting for it to all start over again) and then would start with a low rumble and repeat the whole opera over and over again. Marion kept thumping her from below and she would hesitate in full stride but continue within a moment. When we saw her in the morning we couldn't believe that such a little, cheerful looking person with short cropped burgundy red hair could produce such amazing sounds!

At about 6h45 we left the albergue and continued the steep climb to O'Cebreiro. (In 2002 we did this on the road in pouring rain and in 2004 Joy and I whizzed up in our little car through swirling mist.) The sun just started to show as we reached the village. It was breathtaking. At 1400m O'Cebreiro is a mountaintop village that is usually shrouded in mist. I don't have the words to describe a sunrise over O'Cebreiro but the early sunlight bathed everything in a glow and the surrounding hills that plunge down into valleys far below were like a patchwork masterpiece. O'Cebreiro is a listed village that contains a number of Celtic buildings called Pollazas (rondavels really!) and a few other restored stone buildings. After having breakfast at the same little Inn, Joy and I stopped at in 2004 we started our long walk down to Triacastela.
I had a last, pleasant task to do on the way. I have left a photograph and a shell for pilgrim Ezio Gory at the 145kms to do stele just outside Hospital da Condesa. Ezio, I couldn't find your tree in the dark this morning so decided to place the shell at a place you can definitely find when you walk your camino this month! I have placed the shell under a little cairn of stones on the right side of the stelle. I hope you will find it!!

The camino leaves the road just after Linares and from then on you are taken up and down rocky paths all the way to Triacastela. About 3kms before the town the path crosses the main road and I couldn't bear the thought of another rocky descent so Marion and Anneliese crossed over and continued on the stone path whilst I headed down the hill on the road. About 1km before the town I rejoined the path and at exactly that moment Marion and Anneliese turned a corner - so we walked together to this albergue.

As I am typing this Finn is on his way to Johannesburg to get his flight to Santiago. He will arrive in Sarria tomorrow and we will walk to Sarria to meet up with him.

For me this is like a dream come true. Clare and Georgette will remember that in 2002 I said that I would love Finn to walk some of the route with me. They actually bought a little book on Santiago to use when I eventually got Finn there. Well, it is over 5 years later but tomorrow my dear husband will be in Sarria and on Saturday will take his first steps on el camino to Santiago. I will mail again from Sarria.

Love to all,
S A M

Won the Bullfrog snoring World Champs!

We are in Triacastela (although there are no signs of the three castles that gave this place it's name.) We walked about 26kms through the most stunning scenery but on cross-country paths that slowed us down to about 3.5kms an hour so it took us longer than usual to complete our day's walking. If you can imagine walking a marathon a day, that is what it is like when we walk over 6 hours a day!

Back to Ave Fenix at Villafranca del Bierzo. Jesus Jato did not perform the firewater ceremony - Quimado - but after a communal dinner he did some Reiki on Marion and me (to help us sleep, he said) and a foot massage on a German pilgrim. I showed him the photograph in the album of him doing foot massage and he asked me to sit next to him whilst he paged through the album, exclaiming with delight when he recognized an old friend or saw a photo of the old albergue.

The Ave Fenix albergue is locked until 7am and there was a queue of pilgrims waiting to escape when Jesus arrived to open the gates. We left without coffee or breakfast so we stopped at the first village with an open cafe bar for coffee and tostados. The route was mainly on flat, little country lanes, winding through villages and hamlets for about 20kms. Then came the big climb! The guidebook suggests that you allow 3 hours for 8kms to O'Cebreiro. We were only going 4km up to La Faba but it was still a very steep, rocky pull up to La Faba. Marion and I kept enthusing over the incredible scenery on the way up but poor Anneliese had a torrid time with her feet and said that it was the toughest day so far for her. La Faba is a farm village with one part-time shop (you ring the bell if you want the woman to come out of her house and open the door), no telephone, one bar and two albergues. We booked into an albergue, which was started by a German pilgrim and is still sponsored by the German Confraternity. After the usual shower, wash clothes etc we left Anneliese to chat with her countrymen whilst we went into the village (about 400m up the road) to suss out dinner prospects. Anneliese chose to have a menu del peregrino at the bar and we booked to have a vegetarian meal with a German hippie who runs the other albergue. This is really just one room downstairs that looks like a Kathmandu teahouse with jewellery on strange wooden boards, tapestries and other fabrics draped here and there, Buddhas scattered about and incense burning. We had a wonderful meal with 7 other people - all the veggies and fruit harvested that afternoon from his vegetable patch across the road.

Last night was like sleeping in a bullfrog swamp! I had a guy on the top bunk who groaned and rumbled all night. A German pilgrim on top of Marion would have won the Bullfrog snoring World Champs! I am sure that it is physically impossible to make the sounds she did whilst she is awake. The snores were long growls like a large dog, growing into a rumble like a tractor starting up and reaching a crescendo like a Boeing taking off. Once she reached that decibel she gargled an incredible variety of sounds - seemed to hold her breath (I got quite concerned waiting for it to all start over again) and then would start with a low rumble and repeat the whole opera over and over again. Marion kept thumping her from below and she would hesitate in full stride but continue within a moment. When we saw her in the morning we couldn't believe that such a little, cheerful looking person with short cropped burgundy red hair could produce such amazing sounds!

At about 6h45 we left the albergue and continued the steep climb to O'Cebreiro. (In 2002 we did this on the road in pouring rain and in 2004 Joy and I whizzed up in our little car through swirling mist.) The sun just started to show as we reached the village. It was breathtaking. At 1400m O'Cebreiro is a mountaintop village that is usually shrouded in mist. I don't have the words to describe a sunrise over O'Cebreiro but the early sunlight bathed everything in a glow and the surrounding hills that plunge down into valleys far below were like a patchwork masterpiece. O'Cebreiro is a listed village that contains a number of Celtic buildings called Pollazas (rondavels really!) and a few other restored stone buildings. After having breakfast at the same little Inn, Joy and I stopped at in 2004 we started our long walk down to Triacastela.
I had a last, pleasant task to do on the way. I have left a photograph and a shell for pilgrim Ezio Gory at the 145kms to do stele just outside Hospital da Condesa. Ezio, I couldn't find your tree in the dark this morning so decided to place the shell at a place you can definitely find when you walk your camino this month! I have placed the shell under a little cairn of stones on the right side of the stelle. I hope you will find it!!

The camino leaves the road just after Linares and from then on you are taken up and down rocky paths all the way to Triacastela. About 3kms before the town the path crosses the main road and I couldn't bear the thought of another rocky descent so Marion and Anneliese crossed over and continued on the stone path whilst I headed down the hill on the road. About 1km before the town I rejoined the path and at exactly that moment Marion and Anneliese turned a corner - so we walked together to this albergue.

As I am typing this Finn is on his way to Johannesburg to get his flight to Santiago. He will arrive in Sarria tomorrow and we will walk to Sarria to meet up with him.

For me this is like a dream come true. Clare and Georgette will remember that in 2002 I said that I would love Finn to walk some of the route with me. They actually bought a little book on Santiago to use when I eventually got Finn there. Well, it is over 5 years later but tomorrow my dear husband will be in Sarria and on Saturday will take his first steps on el camino to Santiago. I will mail again from Sarria.

Love to all,
S A M

The path was lined with fruit trees, most of the fruit dropping off onto the ground

Today's walk was completely different to our hike in the mountains yesterday. We left Ponferrada at about 6h45 and once we were past the city limits we followed the yellow arrows onto flat, straight farm paths through acres of vegetable. There were gigantic pumpkins, red bell peppers, huge tomatoes, runner beans, cabbages etc. The path was lined with fruit trees, most of the fruit dropping off onto the ground- figs, apples, quince, pears, walnuts, plums etc. Once we left the flat vegetable farms we passed into the Bierzo valley, which is vineyards and Bodegas as far as the eyes could see. The mountains we crossed a couple of days ago and will climb again when we head towards O'Cebreiro tomorrow surround the valley.

We arrived at Villafranca del Bierzo at about 12h45 and I felt quite emotional when I walked into the Ave Fenix refuge. I hugged Senora Jato as though she was an old family member and told her that I had slept here in 2002. There is a much smarter, municipal refuge in Villafranca, but the Jato family are famous on the camino for their devotion to the care of pilgrims in these hills.

After the usual settling in - choosing a bed, showering, washing clothes - we walked into the village but all the shops were closed, only to open at 5pm. Marion and I visited the Church of Santiago, which is just behind the albergue. It is Romanesque and has a famous door called the Puerta del Perdon. In the middle ages, pilgrims who made it this far and passed through that door would have the same indulgences and remission of sins as those continuing to Santiago. Today the door is closed so these weary pilgrims have no choice but to continue on to Santiago!

As we were leaving the church we greeted Jesus Jato (owner of the Ave Fenix) and he kindly guided us around the church, pointing out the parts that are Romanesque and those that are 12thC and 14th C additions. He also pointed out the many stones that have been used to build his albergue. Some were donated by churches at Eunate, the cathedral in Leon, Fromista and even from Germany, Switzerland and Brazil.

We have booked to have a communal dinner tonight and hope that Jesus will perform his magical ritual with the flaming alcohol and honey for which he is famous.

It is 18h40 now and we will have dinner at 8pm. Will have to let you know in the next post how the evening went!

Love to all
S A M

The closest thing one could get to a medieval pilgrim refuge

The refuge in Astorga was in a 16thC stone and wood building so everything creaked! When someone walked on the upstairs floors it sounded as though there were workmen up there and even the wooden beds creaked whenever someone turned over. We left the refuge at 6h45 and used my head-waist flashlight to see the way to the next town. Sunrise is closer to 8am now and we walk under brilliant stars for about an hour. After having a cafe at the next village we walked on to Santa Catlina where we had planned to spend the night but it was quite early so we decided to walk on to the next village. Santa Catalina had about 4 different cafe-bars to choose from and a pretty main street starting at one end and exiting the other. As we were leaving we saw the albergue sign and decided to have a look. It was up a short alley and as we entered the garden I had another deja-vu moment. Clare and Georgette will remember the strange little town we arrived at where we sat on the pavement waiting for the refuge to open. There was nobody about and even the only bar in town couldn't tell us when the refuge would open. Eventually a kid on a bike arrived and opened the albergue. The yard was in a real mess so we and a couple of other pilgrims picked up all the garbage and tidied up a bit. There was no food to be had in the village so we sat under a little overhang and boiled water for our packet soup. What a change in 5 years - the growth in popularity of the camino has resulted in the regeneration of many villages along the way.

From Santa Catlina we walked on to El Ganso where we were expecting to sleep on the floor in a very primitive albergue but a new refuge has opened this year and we were the first three pilgrims to arrive on her doorstep. We had a three-bed room to ourselves with an en suit shower and toilet. What a pleasure! El Ganso has the most photographed bar on the whole camino - it is called the Cowboy Bar and even plays country and western music.

Sunday:
We only had 17kms to walk so we left a little later than usual. Our first stop was at Rabanal - a well-known and popular place for pilgrims to stay. Then we walked on to Foncebadon, the abandoned village which in 2002 looked like something from a Western movie set with dilapidated houses falling down, the wind moaning through broken rafters and tumbleweed rolling through the dust. It now sports two albergues a cafe bar and a restaurant! I couldn't believe it and was horrified by all the electricity poles with wires hanging everywhere.

Two kms further on was the Cruz de Ferro - a very tall iron cross with an enormous pile of stones at its base which is said to have started in the middle ages as a pagan stake with a stone pile to show travellers the way. In 2002 we left stones there for Hansie Cronje who had died in the planes crash the day before. This time we climbed the huge pile and I left my stone, brought from the Durban beachfront.

We then walked on to Manjarin, another abandoned village occupied about 20 years by Tomas Martinez le Paz who was visited in a dream by the angel Michael, left his job and home and founded a pilgrim refuge in a broken down building on the side of the road. There were storm clouds brewing on our way there and when we arrived, two adult men were having a violent fisty-cuff in the outside courtyard. We were a bit taken aback and sat quietly waiting for the hospitalero to attend to us. We learned that Tomas's aunt had died and he was away attending the funeral. A young man showed us where we would sleep - in a disused barn with mattresses on the floor - two people to a mattress. There were cats, dogs, turkeys gobbling, chickens crowing and even a cow penned across the road. There is no running water, no WC and no electricity so it was the closest thing one could get to a medieval pilgrim refuge. Tomas arrived back in the afternoon and we helped carry things inside as the rain came down. I gave him the painting and the photo album and he was really chuffed with both. The young people there cooked our dinner and we all sat at a long table - about 10 of us - eating in lamplight. I helped wash up and then we found our way to bed.

Monday:
We had a good sleep in Tomas's barn last night and we were on the road by 7h15 this morning. The scenery was spectacular - the best on the whole camino says the guidebook. We reached the highest point of the camino at 1500m and stood singing the 'Hills are alive with the sound of music' while I took a short video of the scenery. The hills are covered in Heather and Erica and lots of broom and other fynbos type plants. From the highest point we started coming down on a very rough shale path all the way to el Acebo, a village tucked into the lee of the mountain. There is a bicycle fixed to a pedestal outside El Acebo, which is in honour of a woman who died there in 2005.

From El Acebo we walked on to Molinaseca and had a lovely hot chocolate at a cafe bar. On the way out we peeped into the albergue where Georgette, Clare and I slept on mattresses in the kitchen in 2002!

We arrived in Ponferrada at about 2:30pm and booked into the albergue here. It is a huge albergue and sleeps almost 200 people. The whole place is run on a donation basis. A Swedish religious group sponsors it. Marion and I walked into town to have a look at the castle (Joy-belle, you will remember the castle from 2004) and also to buy food for supper, which we made in the refuge kitchen. It had started to rain again but we were able to have our washing dried in a tumble dryer for 3 euro, which is a great help.

Tomorrow we will walk to Villafranca del Bierzo where I want us to stay at Ave Fenix, another rather basic refuge with Jesus Jato and his family. We just hope that it doesn't rain as our plastic ponchos are already coming apart at the seams.

Only three more days walking till Finn arrives and then we will stretch the last week out as much as possible.

Love to all,
S A M

God took all the rocks in the world and scattered them across the camino

We are now in Astorga - about 11kms ahead of our schedule - having passed through the little village of Santabinaz at about 11am, which is where we had planned to stay. The path followed the road again for a while until we reached Hospital de Orbigo. This little village boasts one of the oldest (and longest) bridges in Spain. It is a low stone bridge with 20 arches spanning the Orbigo River. In 2002 when Georgie, Clare and I arrived there we had been walking all day and suddenly heard music and pipes, saw horses attired in full medieval costume, men in armour and ladies in long flowing medieval dresses. As we approached the bridge we could see hundreds of colourful tents with flags flying and a jousting field on one side of the river where horsemen were charging each other. We thought that we were hallucinating but it was the day of the fiesta commemorating the legend of a knight who was challenged for the hand of his lady and offered to defend the bridge against all comers - which he did, successfully, for a whole month - thereby winning the hand of his lady. This morning all was quiet and we stopped for a coffee and toast at the Cafe-Bar next to the bridge.

On leaving Hospital de Orbigo one can take a 15km road route or 17km walker's route to Astorga. The road route is along the original way between the two towns and the walker's route is a fairly modern path over the hills and through some unspoilt shrub land. We were tired of the road so took the walker's route. It was through truly beautiful countryside but, as Anneliese commented, she thinks God took all the rocks in the world and scattered them across the camino because the paths were, at times, like walking through dry river beds. Marion didn't mind them but Anneliese and I rocked and rolled our way along the paths trying to find the route of least pebbles and rocks. At times the path became sandy and you would not believe what our socks look like when we arrive at a refuge at the end of a walk!

Astorga is a charming little town with a beautiful cathedral right next to a Gaudi Palace. It is all circular corners, with Walt Disney like towers ending in pointed clown hat tops, turrets, crenulated walls and pretty little windows. People either love it or hate it! Everything in Astirga is closed until 5pm so we will visit the cathedral and, perhaps the chocolate museum just now. Whilst Annaliese rested we went looking for a post office (closed at 2h30pm) then we looked for an Information office (also closed) then we looked for a supermarket to buy food and, hey presto! we found a little general dealer still open! On our way back to the refuge we came down a side road and in front of us was a schoolyard. Joy-belle, I'm sure it was where we had lunch three years ago! I can remember us sitting watching the grannies coming to fetch the little children from school.

Now that we are a bit ahead of our planned schedule, we will do shorter distances the next two days. This is OK because we are now heading into the mountains of Leon. The guide says: As you leave Astorga you are heading into the mountains, a welcome relief from the Meseta. The stretch between Astorga and Ponferrada is one of the most interesting and beautiful of the whole camino. It is a long hard 50km across the mountains and the route goes up to 1500m. It is virtually uphill for 30km and then steeply downhill thereafter.

So, we will be spending the next two nights in very basic albergues (no WC and no water) and, I am sure, no internet. We will let you know how that all went when we come back to civilisation. Tomorrow night we will stay in El Ganso and then on Sunday night we stay with Tomas the Templar of Manjarin. I will give him Sandi's painting and the brag book of photos collected from the internet.

Love to all,
S A M

And .... well, nothing really much after that

We are now in Villadangos del Paramo. Yeah, I know it sounds like a swear word and it could well be as the rocky, dusty, noisy path to here from Leon was all along the side of a busy main road. They have tried to keep pilgrims off the road my creating narrow, stony paths alongside the road - sometimes crossing over, sometimes passing through a tunnel under a spaghetti junction type overpass and sometimes short cutting through overgrown fields. Always the rocks which makes one mutter under one's breath - Villa-dang-gos!

Last night we tried to find a place in Leon to have an early dinner. Now Leon is a lovely city with a wide main boulevard (a la Paris) with shops, sidewalk cafes etc. but - a la Paris - nobody serves meals until after 9pm. We eventually found a Burger-King type place, full of noisy young people, and sat there eating salad and fritas (Anneliese had a burger). We decided to go to bed at about 9pm and asked the receptionist to wake us at 11:30pm. Three sleepy, shivering pilgrims (it is cold in the mornings and during the night) were about the only people - besides the street cleaner with his hosepipe) waiting in the plaza for the stroke of midnight for the magical stained-glass window 'luminair' to begin. The bells rang four times. (To mark the hour). Then a deeper bell rang 12 times. All the streetlights and spotlights on the cathedral switched off. And .... well, nothing really much after that. We couldn't see any lights on behind the rose window or the other stained glass windows in the front of the cathedral so we walked around the side where we could see that there were indeed lights on inside but not enough to show the ground floor windows or even make much illumination through the upper stained glass windows. It was all rather disappointing. We went back to the hotel at about 12:15am and we were on the road again by 6h30am this morning.

We were the first pilgrims at this refuge and caught the hospitalero as she was leaving. "This is your casa" she said, "until I return at half five." So we chose a bed each, had a shower, washed our clothes and will make a foray into the town to find food. Tomorrow we should walk about 21kms to Santibanez but one guide says that it is 15kms and the other says 20.7kms. If it is 15kms we will continue to the next town 8kms further on. This is day 22 and next week we will meet Finn at Sarria. We can't believe that we only have 2 weeks walking left. We are hoping that the wonderful weather holds - cool in the mornings and evenings but hot during the day - it was 30oC in Leon yesterday.

Will mail again soon,
Love to all
S A M

It was bliss to find beds! Real beds! With sheets! And with pillows!

We are in Leon - one of the largest cities along the camino (there are only four) and we have booked into a hotel so that we can see the lights being switched on in the cathedral at midnight. They switch all the lights off in the square and all the lights on in the cathedral. Leon cathedral has the most magnificent stained glass windows - reputed to be the best in Europe - so it should be a magnificent sight.

Last night we made our own supper in the kitchen at the refuge - salad with a bottle of mixed veggies added, cheese and tomato and fresh bread. It was delicious. We had a good sleep and found the 20km walk to Leon quite un-inspiring - a bit like walking through Pinetown into Durban, with lots of panel beaters, scrap yards and heavy morning traffic most of the way. For the past week we have been walking through the Meseta, the high open food plains. Some people skip this section because it is flat and can be monotonous. I think it is beautiful in Spring when the winds ripple the waist high wheat fields that spread from horizon to horizon. This time the wheat has been harvested and huge acres of bristly blond stalks remain with the occasional ochre, ploughed fields breaking the blond. We have passed a few cornfields but they too are ready for harvesting and soon the Meseta will look like a wasteland with no cereals or corns to break the landscape. It is quite disconcerting to leave the fields and walk next to highways and the usual conglomeration of civilisation on the outskirts of cities.

The Hotel Albany is very close to the cathedral and it was bliss to find beds! Real beds! With sheets! And with pillows! And - an en suite bathroom with a private loo and a large shower. And - guess what? Little soaps and shower gels and even a comb each! When you wash hair, body and clothes with the same soap, little things like a small body soap mean a lot!!

We unpacked and took stock of our backpacks, not something you can do very easily in a crowded dorm with no space to spare. Marion and I walked into the new town to find the main Post Office where I collected the painting of Tomas the Templar Sandi Beukes did for me before we left. I had posted it onto myself from Pamplona rather than carry it the last 450kms. They had a bit of a search but eventually found it and I have managed to get it into my backpack and will carry it for the next 4 days until we reach Tomas's refuge at Manjarin in the Irago mountains. I also have a brag book of photos to give to Tomas so hope that he is there when we get there. Tomas was a businessman in Madrid until 20 years ago when he had a dream that the Archangel Michael visited him and told him that he was the last of the Knight Templars and that he should be caring for pilgrims on the camino. He left his job, moved onto the camino (500kms north of Madrid) and set up a ramshackle refuge close to the abandoned village of Foncebadon and the Cruz de Ferro (the Iron Cross) in the Irago mountains. He has been offering love, Gregorian chants and care to pilgrims ever since. He is one of the few precious personalities on the camino and his refuge has no running water, electricity or toilets and pilgrims sleep on the floor - I can´t wait!!

We have about 320kms left to walk. We passed the halfway mark a few days ago when we walked through Ledigos. It was quite daunting to think that you have walked over 380kms and have to start all over again! Anneliese´s blisters on her heels are quite painful. Mine keeps filling up even though I drain it each night so we are both walking on our toes on our left foot! Marion has a tiny blister on her heel so she has now joined the club!

It is the same time in Spain as in South Africa so at 17h45 we are ready to start looking for somewhere to have dinner. It will only get dark at about 20h30 so we can do some window shopping and then we wait for the cathedral lights.

Thank you to those of you who have posted comments on the Blog (http://ama-walker-walker.theboys.co.za/) or who have sent messages. It is great to hear from home.

Love to all,
S A M

They had seen my SA Flag shorts fluttering on the wash line!

We are in Mansilla de las Mulas about 18kms from Leon - the next big city on our route to Santiago. The 27kms seemed to fly this morning after starting at about 6h40 from Bercianos in pitch darkness but a sky brilliant with stars. There are few street lights in Bercianos and no road lights once you leave the village. We walked into a market so registered at the refuge and then went shopping, buying salad ingredients, cheese and breakfast for tomorrow.

Yesterday started off as an 'out-of-sorts' day for me but ended up magically. Two days ago I hurt my rib cage trying to get off the top bunk without putting my feet on the bottom bed where someone was sleeping. I didn't realise that there was a chipboard under the mattress and the bottom ribs caught on the board. It didn't bother me too much until the night before last when I tried to pull myself onto another top bunk and felt as though the rib was cracked. So, I didn't sleep very well. Also, I have stopped using the sponges on my heels and the day before yesterday decided to wear the thinner sock liners rather than the thick hiking socks. There is a little ridge at the back of my sandals and this must have rubbed on my heel because when I had a shower I felt a bubble blister about the size of a 10c. Bugger!

So, We started off yesterday with me limping along with a blister. I was to deliver 3 Amarula dinkey bottles to a friend in Moratinos - a tiny non-place with only one main street and I couldn't find the flipping house because the numbers started with 2 then jumped to 5 then showed 3 and 6 further on. Anyway, I eventually found the house and left the bottles on top of a car parked next to the house. The strap on Anneliese's sandal broke and we waited in Sahagun for a sport shop to open so that she could buy new sandals.

The walk to Sahagun was on a rocky little path next to a busy road so it was not conducive to camino-magic having car carriers and panetchnikons hurtling past you. Sahagun is a grey, dusty, tired town that had a more illustrious past but is now a graffiti covered, weary looking place.

When we arrived in Bercianos we were less than impressed with the look of the refuge. It was a large square barn constructed, like many of the buildings in these villages, of straw and mud. A wooden floor and staircase has been added to turn it into a refuge. The beds and bunks were old iron and springs and the mattresses were compacted foam with no covers on them. A pilgrim told us that the place had to be closed two weeks ago as it was infected with bed bugs. We were just too tired to walk on so covered ourselves in my musk oil and hoped for the best.

While Anneliese slept, Marion and I sat outside while I treated my blisters. A couple of cyclists arrived and asked if we were the South Africans. They were from Cape Town and having walked the camino last year to Santiago, are cycling it in reverse this year. They had seen my SA Flag shorts fluttering on the wash line! They told us that this refuge was the best and most memorable of their whole camino last year.

Marion and I just stared at them and we had another look inside to see what we had missed. Actually, it was the kindness and generous hospitaleros that have given it its reputation. At about 8:15pm they asked us all (about 50 pilgrims) to walk outside and sit on the bank at the back of the building to watch the sunset. The French pilgrims were humming tunes so I asked them to sing the Chant de Compostelle and soon the fields were ringing with the harmonious sounds of the old pilgrim song - Ültreya, ultreya, e sus seisa...¨. Everyone clapped and then we were ushered into the dining room where two long tables had been set for dinner. Amor, the lady of the house, had cooked an enormous pot of lentil soup, served with bread, salad and freshly cut red melon for desert. Water and wine was put on the table. All of this was gratis - or for a donation only. Marion and I are constantly amazed at the generosity of the local Spanish people who provide these places of refuge for the pilgrims - strangers from all over the world - and provide food, dinner and breakfast. So, a rather poor start for me ended on a special note.

Tomorrow we will walk 18kms to Leon where we have pre-booked a hotel so that we can stay up until mid-night to see the lights being switched on in the cathedral. More about that in a days time. All well, loving every minute of this camino. Marion and I sing a lot and marvel at everything around us. Anneliese is less expressive but I'm sure she is also having a good 'camino' experience.

Love to all,
S A M

The scenery along the way is beautiful.

We had a good night at the Convent of Santa Clara and left at about 7am this morning, walking through quiet, sleepy streets - only the local Panaderia with lights on and a corner Cafe-Bar doing a brisk trade with pilgrims in cafe-con-leche and pastries. We walked over the river Carrion and past the Benedictine monastery of San Zoilo that is now a hotel and museum. I saluted when we passed Don Trigo´s poster and pile of stones and picked one up that I will post to Pieter for him to lay on Trigo´s grave.

After more than 2 weeks of walking we have fallen into a general routine. Marion, being the fastest walker is usually up ahead with me in the middle and Anneliese bringing up the rear. Every now and then Marion will slow down so that I catch up and we walk together, sometimes chatting, sometimes singing, sometimes just enjoying the scenery. Then she slows down and walks with Anneliese for a while. After a couple of kms she will pass me again and take her place up front. I hardly ever stop or even slow down and when I am in the ZONE - a part of the camino itself, I don't even hear other pilgrims passing me. I have been singing songs long forgotten - heaven knows where the words have popped out from! Ke Sera Sera: Pack up your troubles: GI Blues etc. When my heels were really painful, I sang the Open Air School song over and over again. Marion and I belted out All Things Bright and Beautiful the other day and we now have an official camino song, sung to the tune of the American ditty - I've been working on the railroad. Our words are:

"We are walking el Camino,
all the live long day.
We are walking el camino
along the ancient ways.
When we get to Santiago,
we will hug St James.
And we'll get a Compostela,
to prove we've walked the way."

The scenery along the way is beautiful. Different from the meseta in spring when the wheat fields are waist high and ripple like waves in the breeze (very similar to the sugarcane fields back home). Now all the wheat has been harvested and only a very neat stubble is left so that it looks like mowed lawns in a highveld winter. Some fields have large piles of manure - awaiting ploughing. There are the late remnants of sunflowers - Marion calls them 'Granny faces' because they are all wrinkled and brown like giant walnuts!

From Carrion to Calzadilla - a 17km stretch along a rocky, stony path, we managed to walk about 12min per km. We stopped for a cafe-Americano (large coffee cup instead of small Espresso) and then continued on to Ledigos where we had planned to stay. The albergue was closed and being Sunday, there wasn't much open so me decided to continue walking another 2.5kms to Terradillos de los Templarios. On the way, a guy on a motorbike drove up to us and handed us a brochure on a new albergue called Albergue las Templarios. We saw it on the side of the road as we approached the town and checked in. We had a hot shower, and we are now in the cafeteria using one of two Internet facilities.

I have been carrying miniature Amarulla liquer bottles and will leave 3 at the home of Rebekah Scott in Moratino tomorrow. It is only 3km away so they will probably be asleep as we pass but I will leave a message with the bottles when we pass. We now have a slightly shorter day and we will walk to Bercianos de Real Camino. We will pass through a fairly large town called Sahagun where I hope to post another package of brochures home.

Love to you all
S A M

How many people are there in the world like us?

THURSDAY: We left SanBol while it was still dark and had to follow the arrows by starlight and torchlight. The sun always rises behind us as we are walking forever westaward and it is quite beautiful to look back and see the sun rise over the hills in the distance. We had a fairly easy walk to Castrojeriz - 14.5km cross-country and then the last bit on a tree lined road. Castrojeriz is a long village that hugs the lower portion of a high 'koppie' with a ruined castle on top. We left our packs at a refuge and walked about 1.5km to the closed convent of Santa Clara to buy biscuits from the nuns. One of the nuns suddenly opened a door and we were quite surprised to see her as they are never usually seen. Annaliese explained that a few might be public nuns and can show their faces. We had a photo taken with her and walked back to the town. We had a drink at the El Meson (where Joy and I had dinner in 2004. I remembered that the refuge where we stayed in 2002 was like mattresses on cold, stone slabs, so we took our bags up to a different albergue and booked in there.

Marion and I climbed up the Camino de Castillo - the steep, winding road up to the castle on top. I wanted to fly the SA flag so I took off my shorts and we took photographs with my SA flag shorts flying proudly! Marion said, "How many people are there in the world like us?" Instead of our usual rallying reply - "Too damn few!" We shouted, "ONLY TWO!" We were the only pilgrims to climb to the castle.

We had dinner at the La Taberna and have ordered some special olive oil, which we will collect when we go back there on 2nd October. The beds are in a large room - some bunks, some mattresses on the floor. Marion and I were on top bunks and neither slept very well because the streetlights shone on our faces.

FRIDAY: We left Castrojeriz at 6h30 in the pitch darkness. I remembered from 2002 that we had to climb a very steep hill and although it was a tough climb, we felt exhilarated when we reached the top and could look back at the distant lights of Castrojeriz with the morning star and a sickle moon above the silhouette of the hill and castle.

Once we reached the summit of the hill we were on the Meseta - the vast flat open plains of Castille y Leon. We walked for hours on rocky paths that go on and on - something like driving through the Karoo. We spent last night at a delightful refuge with an oasis like garden. It has a swimming pool and local ancient rocks in the garden. We had almost first choice of beds and chose bunks with few other pilgrims around us. I was able to have a long chat in Afrikaans with a couple from Belgium. We had a very nice pilgrim meal there and went to bed at about 9pm.

SATURIDAY: I have been walking in sandals for the past 10 days and have been taping my heels with plasters and foam. Today I decided to try them without all the plasters etc and they seem to be fine. We had a LONG walk today - about 25kms - from Boadilla to Carrion de los Condes. We booked into the first refuge we came to in the convent of Santa Clara and, for a change, we each have a bed (instead of a bunk) in a four-bed room. It is really cold in the morning when we start walking so we have long pants over our shorts, a shirt, fleece and chill cheater. Our hands feel especially cold but once the sun comes up - around 7h45 - it warms up and by 10ish we start to moult! First off is the chill cheater, then the longs, then the fleece, and then Marion puts on her sunscreen and bandana to protect her sunburned ears and Anneliese and I put on our hats.

Marion and I walked another half hour out of town today for me to put a laminated picture of a pilgrim dog called Trigo onto a tree. In 1987 Trigo was a stray who followed a pilgrim from Holland all the way to Santiago. Piter couldn't bear to leave him so he took him home to Holland. Don Trigo de Carion delos Condes became the mascot of a web forum called Santiagobis and was quite famous around the world. Sadly, Don Trigo died last year and has a grave with head stone with scallop shell on it. Now, I have put his picture and story on a tree outside Carrion de los Condes. We collected a few stones to place at the base of the tree. I buried a little box with a shell and a photo of Don Trigo under the stones. I painted his name on a log and an arrow on the road to mark the spot. Now, all Santiagobis members can salute Don Trigo as they walk past or, they can add their own stone to the pile under the tree.

Marion and I are sitting in a crowded bar whilst I type this email. It is 7:30pm and Anneliese has gone to mass in the church of Santa Maria. There is a fiesta day today for Santa Maria so all the shops are closed. Sunset is at 20h42 and sunrise tomorrow is at 7h50. We will have a 17km walk to Calzadilla de la Cueza, the next town tomorrow before we can buy anything to eat or drink. We then walk on to Ledigos a further 6km - 23km altogether. We will email you again if we find another Internet cafe.

Ultreya!
S A M

From a hot and sunny Castrojeriz

In Burgos we decided to find a small hotel so that we could sort out our packs, have some laundry done and, perhaps get a good night's sleep. Anneliese saw a HOSTAL sign and we checked into the Hostel Acacia at 60 euro for a 3-bed room. Anneliese had the single bed and Marion and I shared the Matrimonial bed! We then found the main Post Office to send some stuff home and then off to the cathedral. I didn't want to go through it for a 3rd time so I walked around the outside practising my new hobby, looking for Mason signs in the stones. There were master masons and builders who walked all over Europe finding work on various churches and monasteries and one can find their marks in the stones if you look hard enough. I have bought a book (in Spanish) called "The Signs in the Stones" and I have been able to identify a number of master mason signs. On the way back to the Hostel we had a menu-meal at the Alibaba Cafe - a sandwich (which was a wrap) chips and a drink for 6.50 euro.

Next Day:
Yesterday was a strange day from the moment we awoke. At about 5h30 Anneliese told us that she had been killing insects in her bed all night. The tick like creepies were on the walls and crawling over our bedding!! YECH!! We don't think they were bed bugs because none of us was bitten but they made our hair crawl so we quickly packed up and left without making coffee or having our yoghurt and fruit as planned. On our way into the city Anneliese discovered that she had left her precious waist bag behind so we walked back to the hotel and had to wake the owner as the front door had locked behind us. Once Anneliese had retrieved her bag we set off again through the dark streets of Burgos trying to find the yellow arrows by the light of the moon and streetlights.

About 9kms down the road we came to a little village and stopped to have coffee and something to eat. When we left we failed to see an arrow pointing to the left and took a right turn. It wasn't until we reached the next village about 4kms away that we realised we were not on the right road. I asked a local how to get to Hornillos and he told us to continue on the road for 7kms and then take a right turn and walk on that road for 4kms. Our little detour meant that we walked over 30kms yesterday instead of about 26kms. When we got to San Bol we were really weary and footsore and even though there didn't seem to be anyone about, we agreed that we could not walk another 5.6km to the next village.

Now let me tell you a little about San Bol. There are ruins of a medieval village in the fields, an ancient spring that miraculously brings ice cold water to the surface - in the middle of this arid landscape - and the waters are said to be healing. San Bol is remote building about 100m off the camino path. It only sleeps 10 pilgrims and consists of a two roomed building - one room is the sleeping quarters and the other the living. This one is shaped like a beehive with a high curved ceiling. The outside walls are covered in murals of the Knights Templar, the wind God Triton and a rather weird Madona who seems to rule over all the fields. There is no running water, no electricity and no toilets. One drinks from the healing stream, washed from it and the toilet is an open field at the back. Inside, the living room ceiling is painted black with little silver stars and the walls are stone - except for one which has a Madonna coming out of the sea with little sperm tadpoles floating through the blue sky from her hair! Apparently it was set up by a New Age group some years ago but is now owned by two young Italians. The Hospitalero is a 22 year-old Austrian girl who started walking the camino but fell in love with San Bol and hasn't left yet. Anneliese's face was an absolute picture when we entered the rooms and found dirty dishes from the night before waiting to be washed, beds with rumpled blankets on them - and a cat sleeping on one of the double bunks - and a wooden carving of Christ with feathers, chains, beads and artificial flowers stuck all over it! The hospitalero told us that there is a mouse in the house so the cat is kept to keep the mice population down! Bravely she swallowed hard and stayed the night! The young Italian - rastafarian hairdo and all - cooked the dinner - salmon, roasted peppers, risotto, salad and oranges with walnuts. Marion and I agreed that we had the best night's sleep so far on the camino. It was pitch black, there was no traffic and no one dared get up in the middle of the night to wee in the field!

We slept soundly until after 6,30 and had a wonderful 15km walk to Castrojeriz. I will tell you about our day here in the next email as there are pilgrims waiting to use the Internet.

Love to all
S A M

From a hot and sunny Castrojeriz

In Burgos we decided to find a small hotel so that we could sort out our packs, have some laundry done and, perhaps get a good night's sleep. Anneliese saw a HOSTAL sign and we checked into the Hostel Acacia at 60 euro for a 3-bed room. Anneliese had the single bed and Marion and I shared the Matrimonial bed! We then found the main Post Office to send some stuff home and then off to the cathedral. I didn't want to go through it for a 3rd time so I walked around the outside practising my new hobby, looking for Mason signs in the stones. There were master masons and builders who walked all over Europe finding work on various churches and monasteries and one can find their marks in the stones if you look hard enough. I have bought a book (in Spanish) called "The Signs in the Stones" and I have been able to identify a number of master mason signs. On the way back to the Hostel we had a menu-meal at the Alibaba Cafe - a sandwich (which was a wrap) chips and a drink for 6.50 euro.

Next Day:
Yesterday was a strange day from the moment we awoke. At about 5h30 Anneliese told us that she had been killing insects in her bed all night. The tick like creepies were on the walls and crawling over our bedding!! YECH!! We don't think they were bed bugs because none of us was bitten but they made our hair crawl so we quickly packed up and left without making coffee or having our yoghurt and fruit as planned. On our way into the city Anneliese discovered that she had left her precious waist bag behind so we walked back to the hotel and had to wake the owner as the front door had locked behind us. Once Anneliese had retrieved her bag we set off again through the dark streets of Burgos trying to find the yellow arrows by the light of the moon and streetlights.

About 9kms down the road we came to a little village and stopped to have coffee and something to eat. When we left we failed to see an arrow pointing to the left and took a right turn. It wasn't until we reached the next village about 4kms away that we realised we were not on the right road. I asked a local how to get to Hornillos and he told us to continue on the road for 7kms and then take a right turn and walk on that road for 4kms. Our little detour meant that we walked over 30kms yesterday instead of about 26kms. When we got to San Bol we were really weary and footsore and even though there didn't seem to be anyone about, we agreed that we could not walk another 5.6km to the next village.

Now let me tell you a little about San Bol. There are ruins of a medieval village in the fields, an ancient spring that miraculously brings ice cold water to the surface - in the middle of this arid landscape - and the waters are said to be healing. San Bol is remote building about 100m off the camino path. It only sleeps 10 pilgrims and consists of a two roomed building - one room is the sleeping quarters and the other the living. This one is shaped like a beehive with a high curved ceiling. The outside walls are covered in murals of the Knights Templar, the wind God Triton and a rather weird Madona who seems to rule over all the fields. There is no running water, no electricity and no toilets. One drinks from the healing stream, washed from it and the toilet is an open field at the back. Inside, the living room ceiling is painted black with little silver stars and the walls are stone - except for one which has a Madonna coming out of the sea with little sperm tadpoles floating through the blue sky from her hair! Apparently it was set up by a New Age group some years ago but is now owned by two young Italians. The Hospitalero is a 22 year-old Austrian girl who started walking the camino but fell in love with San Bol and hasn't left yet. Anneliese's face was an absolute picture when we entered the rooms and found dirty dishes from the night before waiting to be washed, beds with rumpled blankets on them - and a cat sleeping on one of the double bunks - and a wooden carving of Christ with feathers, chains, beads and artificial flowers stuck all over it! The hospitalero told us that there is a mouse in the house so the cat is kept to keep the mice population down! Bravely she swallowed hard and stayed the night! The young Italian - rastafarian hairdo and all - cooked the dinner - salmon, roasted peppers, risotto, salad and oranges with walnuts. Marion and I agreed that we had the best night's sleep so far on the camino. It was pitch black, there was no traffic and no one dared get up in the middle of the night to wee in the field!

We slept soundly until after 6,30 and had a wonderful 15km walk to Castrojeriz. I will tell you about our day here in the next email as there are pilgrims waiting to use the Internet.

Love to all
S A M

After dinner we all climbed into the attic - no kidding

Hi all,
Tosantos was amazing! We walked the 5 kms from Belorado after sending the last email to the refuge, which is run by St Franciscan monks in a very old double story house. The hospitalero - Luiz - welcomed us by taking our backpacks and showing us the room upstairs where we would sleep on the floor. He then told us the 'traditions' of the refuge. Everybody must help cook dinner which would be at 8pm. Then we will have a blessing in the small chapel upstairs and then we must all help wash the dishes. In the morning, we are not allowed to get up before 6h30 because the wooden floors make much noise and we will wake everybody if we try to walk on the floors. The male pilgrims took over the kitchen and cooked a traditional 'bread' soup that consisted of potatoes, carrots, garlic and onions poured over old bread broken up into small pieces. It was quite delicious and the salad they served made of left over potato, tomatoes and onion was made especially for me - being the only vegetarian in the casa.

After dinner we all climbed into the attic - no kidding - which wasn't high enough to stand up in but we all took off our shoes, crawled through a half sized door into a small room with benches around one side, a small statue of St James and a crucifix. We were all given a prayer sheet in our language and each one had to read a section - in German, Italian, French, Spanish and English. Then we were each handed a small piece of paper with a special prayer written by different pilgrims. The one I had to read was asking for God to help her son who has a kidney disorder. Very touching. Sleeping was a different thing! The snoring was awful and we got very little sleep. Breakfast was also provided by the priest - who I forgot to mention was a very young man who was ordained only 2 months ago. These 'donativo' refuges are run solely for pilgrims to Santiago and we find it amazing that people are prepared to volunteer to cook and clean up after us, out of the goodness of their hearts. There are so many groups - church, municipal, associations like the Amigos of SantÍago - that work behind the scenes to keep the camino accessible for pilgrims from all over the world. There are as many reasons for walking the camino as there are pilgrims but it is up to the individual what they get out of it. I thought we would want to stay in the newer more modern albergues but I now feel that we will seek out the small, volunteer albergues which are more basic but far more spiritual.

Today we had a spectacular 25km walk through the forests of Monte de Oca. Since Najera, we have been climbing - from 485m up to 1 135m. We are in a little place called Atapuerca and will walk 20km to Burgos tomorrow. The weather has been stunning. Coolish mornings, clear skies from about mid-day and cool nights. Anneliese had a better day today although her feet are still quite sore. Marion is in her element! She gets into a zone where she just goes and becomes a part of the camino. Before I left, I posted a short Hasidic prayer on the blog - "When you walk through the fields with your heart pure, then the souls of all the plants, and the stones, and all the living things, come out to make a holy fire in you". The first few days were so wet and muddy that there wasn't much chance of any fire, let alone a holy fire, in any of us! The last few days, however, we have felt the Holy Fire of the fields, the vineyards, the forests and all the living things. I have taken photos of a slug, a snail, a spider, a field mouse and even a little squirrel. Our paths are mainly cross-country and we are really getting into the ZONE now. It is almost a pity that we have to walk into a large city tomorrow but I need to post a few brochures home, find a telephone that works and we will then walk back into the countryside.

From Burgo to Leon the camino almost flat lines at about 850m after which we will climb to the highest point just after Leon at the Cruz de Ferro which is about 1500m. (In 2002 Clare, Georgette and I left a stone in memory of Hansie Cronje who died in the aeroplane crash the day before we arrived there), I will tell you more about the tradition of leaving stones at the base of the cross in another email.

Love to all,
S A M

We have been in the most rural areas

We have been in the most rural areas with no internet and antique telephones so communication has not been easy.

I think that we last mailed from Najera? We walked through the most beautiful countryside between Najera and Azofra - very much like the Cape wine lands with deep green vineyards stretching as far as the eye could see to low hills in the distance. In between are fields of sunflowers, many now dark faced. Some pilgrims have artistically picked out the seeds to make eyes and mouths on the larger blooms and every now and then we have a sunflower with a wide smile or a turned down frown!

From Najera we climbed very steeply into the hills and were accompanied by dozens - maybe hundreds - of vultures flying overhead. Someone said that they circle the pilgrim road waiting for one to fall! The municipal albergue in Azofra - 5 euro - was like a large university campus with showers for men and women, two beds to a room and a large refectory with a fairly well equipped kitchen. We decided to club in and pay to have our washing done in the machine - what bliss to have really clean smelling clothes again!

We found a supermecado and bought pasta, veges, eggs and ham and made a delicious dinner in the kitchen. After supper we went to mass - the third mass so far and, personally, one of the best. The mass in Roncesvalles is very beautiful and is a special pilgrim's mass. The mass in Logrono was a simple mumbled mass with no music or singing. This mass was a Friday night mass with an organist and hymns sung (and no collection!).

We made good time from Aofra to Santo Domingo de la Calzada and visited the cathedral that has the rooster and the hen in a gilded cage in the back of the church. They are there due to a miracle that occurred in the 15th Century when the Mayor's lunch of two chickens sprang to life after St James saved an innocent pilgrim from hanging.

The walk to Granon was through vineyards and acres of beans. Granon is a little hilltop village with a refuge inside the bell tower of an ancient church. It was renovated by a local friend of St James group and now has two rooms where pilgrims sleep on thin mattresses on the floor, cheek by jowl with backpacks at the foot of your mattress. We climbed up a narrow stone staircase and the 'Hospitalero' told us that we could register, have a shower, a group dinner at 8pm but that we would have to vacate the rooms by 21h45 because there was to be a play in the church and the actors needed the rooms to change in.

Dinner was amazing. 26 people sitting at a U shaped tables being served soup, salad, lamb and fruit - all for a donation. The donation box has a notice saying "Give what you can - take what you need." Amazing place with very kind, caring volunteers looking after the pilgrims. We sorted out our beds on the floor and I opened a small side door to see where it leads. Imagine my amazement when I saw that we were sleeping high up above the church interior, just a wall between my head and the nave! For the first time I felt like a medieval pilgrim!

Anneliese decided to watch the play (we were warned that it was all in Spanish and once you were inside you would not be allowed out) but M and I decided to sit outside, have a hot chocolate and wait for 11.45 when we could go back inside. Our room was packed and there was a large Canadian woman who snored like a truck all night! Breakfast was also provided for a donativo and we left this morning at about 7h30.

The scenery started changing from vineyards to wheat fields yesterday and today we passed from La Rijoa into Castilla Y Leon. From here we will start climbing until we reach the high platteau of the Meseta, which we will walk between Burgos (which we reach on Tuesday) and Leon.

Anneliese and I are still wearing sandals. Blisters are healing but not dry enough to try boots just yet. Thankfully the paths have been good gravel, dirt and asphalt with little rock climbing. Happy birthday to Joy for tomorrow (our OLDE friend)!

We will stay in Tosantos tonight, a refuge with no beds, mattresses on the floor, run by Francescan monks, with a donoativo dinner and breakfast. We are just hoping that our snorer will not be there!

Love to all,
S A M