A SPECIAL CAMINO - SLOW WALK FROM SARRIA TO SANTIAGO

Last year my younger brother and his wife Gail were supposed to fly to Rome with Finn in July to meet me after I'd lead my group on the Via Francigena. (Gail walked with my Caracoles group on a Slow Walk from El Ferrol to Santiago in 2014). The plan was to spend a night in Rome and get a train to Viterbo the following day.  We would then do a slow walk back to Rome on the last 100km.

My brother was unexpectedly diagnosed with an illness in May that required surgery and months of post-operative treatment, so he and Gail had to cancel their walk at the last minute. Finn, Jenny, John and I did the walk without them.  I promised them that I wouldn't book myself to lead any groups in 2017 so that I'd be available to walk with them on any route in Spain, France or Italy.  

Due to a heavy workload my brother has decided to wait until next year to walk the Camino but Gail, desperate to get away and walk the Camino again, decided that she would like to do a short walk before the end of May.    We leave South Africa on 9th May and arrive in Sarria the following day.  We will take 12 days to reach Santiago where we will spend 2 nights. We have booked train tickets to Ponferrada, Burgos and Logroño.  From there we fly to Madrid on 27th May for our flights home

This will be the 10th time I walk to Santiago.  I walked to Santiago in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011 (twice) 2013 (twice) and 2014.  (In 2015 I walked the meseta with an amaWalkers Group, served at an albergue for 2 weeks then flew into Santiago.) 

This is the first time I'm not walking for me, or leading a group.   This is a special walk, for a number of reasons.  I am walking in memory of a wonderful woman who was, and still is, well-known on the Camino, who passed away at the age of 92 in 2002.  I will request a memorial Compostela for Felisa when we arrive in Santiago and will take it to Maria and her daughter Feli in Logroño.

Felisa used to sit under a sprawling fig tree outside her modest home on a sandy path leading to the outskirts of Logroño.  She offered passing pilgrims figs, love and water and her special stamp was much sought after.  Since she passed away her daughter Maria continued serving passing pilgrims and although not in good health and 83 years-old, she still sits under the fig tree offering pilgrims figs, love and water

I will also be carrying the photograph of Wayne - son of a friend killed by a hit-and-run driver a few weeks ago.  His mother, a Camino pilgrim, always hoped to walk the Camino with her son.  I will light a candle for Wayne at all the churches we visit including the cathedral in Santiago.

Gail and I will also be doing a recce walk in preparation for a family Camino next year.  Mark and Tammy want to walk the Camino with Emily in July.  Mark is in a wheelchair, Emily has fragile bones, so this is going to be a challenge!  Gail and I are going to write lots of notes about the route and where the difficult sections are for someone in a wheelchair.

Besides the fact that I am walking with Felisa and Wayne close to my heart, and doing a trial walk for Mark and Emily, this is primarily Gail's Camino. She has had a tough year and needs this time-out with nothing to do but walk, sleep, eat, drink and walk again!  We know that the Camino in busy, especially from Sarria, but we are going to embrace the crowds of pilgrims and if we get the opportunity to sing, or dance with groups of pilgrims, we will join in!

Counting the sleeps - 3 to go and we are off!

Day 10: Melide to Castaneda

Adrian suggested that we start walking a little later in the morning when it would be warmer. It was very cold until about 10am - sometimes just 5°C.  So, today they set off at 10am to walk to Castaneda.
The arrangement was that he would phone me about half an hour before they arrived in Castaneda so that the Irish lady and I could join them and walk the last km or so with them.
When we got the call they had already arrived at Castaneda which was at the top of a very steep and difficult hill and 4 of them were on their way back to the hotel in a taxi.
Our taxi took us to Castaneda and we found Adrian at a café-bar on the roadside.  There was no way she would have managed that hill so I just followed her as she walked the few dozen meters down the road as far the incline and back again.  It wasn't as much as she had wanted to walk but there were no other flat, even sections to walk so I called a taxi which dropped Adrian and me off in the town city. 
Reinette and I walked to the parish church and then I searched for an electronic shop that might have an adapter with a USB port for my tablet - but no luck.  We sat with the Irish lady and had a drink and then I followed her back to the hotel, stopping at a sport shop and a small supermecado on the way.
I was sitting updating the blog when 2 peregrinas walked in. One was hobbling. They asked for rooms for 2 nights but the hotel could only give them one night as they were full for the weekend.
Bob, Adrian, the Irish lady, Reinette and I had dinner at the hotel. The 2 Canadian girls were there and I chatted to them.  One had a really sore foot and the other aching shoulders.  I offered to give them a massage after supper.
Barbara is an emergency nurse in a hospital in Calgary and said that she has helped many pilgrims on the Camino. I massaged both feet and then did Linda's shoulders. We shared emails and hope to keep in touch.

Day 9: Rest day - Melide

22 May:
Patricia had suggested a rest day, and with the few extra km they have walked, and a bit of tweaking the mileages from now on, we chose today as our free day.
We would leave Bolboreta to go to Melide so we got Angela to organise two taxis for to take us to Pambre Castle after breakfast. Built in the 14th c it is one of the few military castles that survived the Irmandinos uprising of 15th century.  The Irish lady decided to come along after all so we had a full complement in the two taxis.

The castle gates were closed when we got there but at 11am a car arrived and a woman opened the gates so that we could go inside. One can only imagine the power of the nobility over the peasants and the hold they had over agriculture in Galicia from these castles, built on high bluffs looking over hills and valleys for miles around.
An interesting finding for me was a mason sign in a stone right next to the entrance that I have also seen in Santiago cathedral. Was it the same mason?  Was it his son? The registered signs were passed down from father to son and were unique to each mason.  This was Bob's favourite outing on the walk and he said afterward that it was a highlight for him.
After exploring the castle we dropped Adrian back at the albergue together with Malcolm from Australia who we had invited to join our outing. Then we were taken to Melide and the Hotel Carlos which is run by a friendly family who have been there since 1996. Our rooms weren't ready so we sat outside in the sun and ordered a snack for lunch.

Pat and Janet like to have their main meals at lunchtime. (Pat says that they have their dinner at about 4h30pm at home in Texas.)  So they don't usually have an evening meal.  Reinette doesn't like to eat at night either but she will join the group and once she sees what they eating, she will relent and have something to eat. Bob needs to fill his tall frame so he can have breakfast, lunch and dinner. He says he used to eat twice as much as he does now and that as he has gotten older he has become about 3" shorter.  Adrian likes to have breakfast and will have dinner most nights. The Irish lady often eats in her room and does a lot of grocery shopping but she enjoys having lunch and/or dinner with the group when possible.  I rarely have the Spanish breakfast which is mostly bread and coffee but I like to have dinner with the group at night.