Astorga and el Ferrol - 10 June

After Kathy left I updated the blog, sent a few emails and sorted out my ticket to Astorga and el Ferrol. I had to drag the pink bag over the river pebble bridge, picking it up to carry it over the worst of the stones. 

I got to the bus stop on the main road in time for the 10 am bus. It was a 20 min ride to Astorga and i decided to walk around the cathedral rather than drag the case up the steps between the Gaudi Palace and the cathedral.
I visited the tourist office and sat down at the outdoor cafe next to the cathedral for breakfast. It costs more to eat at outside than inside but I wanted to be visible for Kathy when she arrived. Janet from the Uk saw me and stopped for a chat.  Just then Kathy arrived.u
She had toast and coffee and then we walked to the bus station.  Who should we bump into there but Patty from Portland and Sharon. Patty had to rest a couple of days so they are playing catch up and will tak a bus.
The bus was 20 mins late and each time an Alsa bus pulled in I asked the driver if this was the bus to Ferrol. Eventually my bus arrived and I said good-bye and Buen Camino to Kathy.  Her bus to Villafranca was leaving after 2pm so she didn't have long to wait.
The bus was half empty. Soon we passed  Villafranca and I recognized the castle from the road. We had a 20min stop at Ponferrada where many people got off.

We stopped at Lugo and I was able to take a photograph of the walls through the window.
 We made up time and arrived in Ferrol on time at 17h30. I got a taxi to the hotel - just around the corner but I didnt want to drag the pink case up a flight of steps and along the road.
When I got out of the taxi I saw Finn and Uncle Bob sitting in the hotel cafeteria,  then I saw Gail, Marlene and Penelope. We had a happy reunion and Penny, who speaks excellent Spanish, asked the hotel to recommend places to eat. Finn took me to our room, a hot, stuffy, almost windowless room. It is one of those where the electricty switches off when you remove the card to leave the room. After unpacking and rearranging some stuff for tomorrow we went out to eat.
We found a nice little restaurant (that didn't offer a peregrino menu) and then returned to the hotel.

Hospital D'Orbigo - 9th June

Last night we invited Jurgen, a pilgrim from Hamburg who is also staying at the Hostal Central, to join our table at dinner. During the conversation he told us that he walked to La Virgin del Camino then later on got a bus back to Leon. He spent some time there and was going to wait for one of the afternoon buses but decided to take a taxi instead. (He was also overcharged but queried it and the taxi driver relented and charged him €20)
"But there are no buses during the day on a Sunday", I said, fresh and confident from my internet search of the ALSA website.  "There were many buses," he said, "many going both ways".
We had a lovely meal and found we'd met many of the same people on the way. We discussed them as though they were old mutual friends. There is also the "Camino grape-vine and word goes up and down about different pilgrims. I have met pilgrims who have said, "so, you are the lady who broke her arm. We heard about you last week. " Then someone says, "Pete has had to go ahead - he hurt his leg and had to rest a couple of days so now he is playing catch-up".
Back in the room I checked the ALSA website for the bus time table today and guess what? On Monday there are only evening buses from 20h30 onwards.  On Tuesday they start from 6am and run almost hourly.
I wanted to post another box to Santiago and found that the Correos was in a road parallel to the main road. I posted a copy of my book to Isa and a box of stuff to Santiago. Then I decided to wait at tbe bus stop across the road for Tuesday's 9h40 bus to Hospital.

Hallelujah - the bus was on time, not completo, I bought a ticket on the bus for €1.90 and 20 min later I was deposited on the main road outside Hospital D'Orbigo.  It took about 10 min to walk to the famous bridge and once on it, I saw the Albergue La Encina in a side road about halfway along the bridge. As I walked along the bridge I recognized Pete, striding along the cobblestone bridge. He wasn't staying here but just passing through.

It was too early to check in so I took a walk into the old part of the village, had a drink at the Hostal bar at the start of the bridge and met up with a few pilgrims I've seen regularly along the way.  Dan asked if he could take a photograph of me and I asked if I should smile or look sad? "We haven't seen you without a smile" said his wife, Esther. So I smiled and he took a photo of me and my broken arm.
I went back to La Encina and could check in.  This is the most spacious room I've had to date, large enough to fit 4 beds if needed.
Kathy arrived at 2pm. The lady who checked her in thought she was checking in with a man who had arrived with her at the same time. When I told Kathy she said, "Oh NO, gracias, no hombre!" I suggested to the woman that perhaps she had found Kathy a man and should offer them a matrimonial bed!
It had been a long walk for her, 30km according to her GPS watch.  Much too far for our amaWalkers pilgrims to walk. There are 2 routes to here,  one mostly alongside the road and the other (longer route) with less next-to-the-road walking. We might have to let them decide which they prefer to do.

After a rest we walked accross the long bridge to see if there was another way out for me in the moring. I'm going to have to roll the pink bag along the stony bridge and onto the main road (about 15min) to town to reach the bus stop. There are 4 storks nests on the church tower, all with large babies in them. We watched as a stork swooped over the river, probably looking for frogs.

We had drinks at the Hostal overlooking the bridge and we visited the two albergues in town (the parochial albergue still has the waterfall and forest mural on the wall in the courtyard that I first saw in 2002) and the San Miguel albergue where I met Marcelo the hospitalero from Brazil.
Cathy bought a few provisions at the tienda and we went back to Albergue Encina for a pilgrim menu.  I couldnt get the blind to come down in my room so had bright daylight until after 10pm. I should've kept the eye masks that Qatar airline gave us.

Day 4: Portomarin to Gonzar

Day 4:
The Irish lady had a fever and hot sweats and there was no way she could walk in the cold today so I got to walk with the group again, which was lovely.   

It was a long climb up from the bridge, through the forest to where the path joins the road at a brick factory. There is nowhere to stop between Portomarin and Gonzar (8km) so we enjoyed the scenery and the path  which followed the road for most of the way. The heavy rains of the last few days (months?) had made the path very muddy in parts and we did some road walking as well.
Reinette was feeling a little shaky today and could feel a migraine coming.  Janet's knee had started to hurt on the down hills: Pat felt the cold terribly but by dressing in layers she was able to brave walking with the group.

We arrived at Gonzar and all ordered hot drinks and food. David, our taxi-man came to collect us and take us back to Portomarin.

YOUR CAMINO

Your Camino – on foot, bicycle, or horseback – in France and Spain.

After years of answering frequently asked questions on Camino forums, the Internet, Camino workshops and on this blog, I have written a book with the answers to thousands of FAQs in a book called ‘Your Camino – on foot, bicycle or horseback, in France and Spain’.

Besides providing information and maps on the many different Camino routes in France and Spain (with links to Jacobean routes in other countries) it offers advice on the best time to go and how to get there, planning daily stages, budgets and accommodation, pilgrim and trail etiquette.  Last year I enlisted the help of Greg Dedman (Camino pilgrim and backpacking expert) to help with chapters on technology, weather, food and language. Many other experienced pilgrims have shared their expertise on subjects as diverse as disabled pilgrims, cycling, trekking with children, horses, donkeys and dogs.

There are chapters on clothing and equipment covering boots, shoes, backpacks and sleeping bags, as well as medical matters, relics, Santiago Holy Years and pilgrim statistics.

Illustrated with delightful pilgrim characters by Sandi Beukes, this 280-page reference guide covers everything from learning about the Camino on the Internet, books and DVDs, Confraternities and Forums, to taking a donkey on the trail, and how to ‘go’ in the woods!

This will be a must have book for anyone planning their first, or second or third Camino and an invaluable resource for organisations that offer advice and help to pilgrims planning their Caminos.

‘Your Camino – on foot, bicycle, or horseback – in France and Spain’ soon to be published by Pilgrimage Publications.  http://www.pilgrimagepublications.com/