Muxia

Muxia...the last stop on the Camino. Tom and I walked here Friday, Cindy walked in on Sunday.
Muxia is a small village on a spit of land on the west coast of Spain north of Finesterre. It has the ocean on the west side and a bay and port on the east. We´re in a pension with a view of the bay and the small beach and it couldn´t be a better place to end a long, long walk. Muy tranquilo.

With the walk to Muxia we´ve completed 975 miles on the Camino and that doesn´t count the walking around in towns on days off, or getting lost, or sight-seeing off the trail, so I´m saying 1000 miles. My feet are saying AT LEAST that! My feet are  amazing--no blisters, no problems. My boots are worn out and will become planters or some other  "objet d´art" upon my return.

Tomorrow we´ll bus to Santiago and catch the plane to be home late Wednesday night. I´m looking forward to being in one place for awhile, and of course can´t wait to see the pets and our human friends.

I´ll post photos once I´m back to familiar technology.

Thanks for sticking with us through the challenges of our journeys. If any of you get the itch to have your own camino experience, let us know and we´ll answer your questions as best we can.
Buen Camino!
Robyn

Santiago and Finisterra

I walked into Santiago on Tuesday, June 24th, at 8:15 am.  My early arrival resulted from a 3:00 am departure from my albergue.  Robyn had called the evening before to tell me a dear friend from Norway would be leaving Santiago at noon and I wanted a chance to see her.  The dark walk was beautiful until 4:15 am when my headlamp went out.  I stood in the middle of a very dark forest, looked skyward, and said, "you´ve got to be kidding."  Luckily, every time I hit the on button it came on for about 6 seconds and I wasn´t forced to sit until the sky lightened.

Santiago was a blur of hellos, bittersweet goodbyes, visits to the pilgrim´s office for my compostellas, etc.  My own room in a hotel was a treat after so many nights sleeping with dozens of my closest walking companions.  A highlight of my time in Santiago was finding a young French woman who we had met on our first night of walking in France.  What a treat to get to hug her again, have dinner, and share our camino experiences.

After two days of goodbyes I took the bus to Finisterre and met Robyn and Tom.  It was so great to see them again.  We walked to the end of the world and have spent a little time catching up on our respective adventures.  Saturday they walked to Muxia where I will join them Sunday...either by taxi or on foot. 

It´s hard to believe it is finally over...great friends, difficult moments, and wonderful, wonderful memories.  But really, the camino is our whole lives...and the next stage lies ahead.

Buen Camino...Cindy

Santiago...and beyond

Indeed, Tom and I did walk in to Santiago on Saturday. We spent the weekend having farewell coffee, farewell beer, farewell wine, farewell dinners with friends we´d made on the Camino del Norte as well as reconnecting with some friends from the Camino Frances. Cindy is right about forging friendships that probably end with the Camino making it a bittersweet experience but I wouldn´t trade it for anything.

We stood in line and got our Compostelas--the certificate that says we walked the Camino. Tom got an extra one that says he started in LePuy and walked 1522 kilometers. We also got a special one that they are giving to peregrinos this year to mark the 800th anniversary of St. Frances of Assissi´s pilgrimage to Santiago.

Monday morning was like the day after any other weekend: we got up, ate breakfast, and went to work. We´ve walked 22k toward Finesterre. It´s quite hilly and there are few other pilgrims. I´m guessing fewer than 100, probably fewer than 50, left Santiago for Finesterre today. The weather pattern may be changing toward rain, as we´ve had heavy downpours the last two evenings. The temperatures are still reaching into the high 70s in the afternoon.

Ultreia, Cindy! Tomorrow you reach Santiago and your feet will get the rest they deserve (except for all that beach walking at Finesterre and Muxia...).
Buen Camino!
Robyn

Santiago

Robyn and Tom arrived in Santiago on Saturday morning and are taking a rest day on Sunday before leaving for Finistere on Monday.  They found the cathedral covered with scaffolding which supports my belief that, in Europe, all important buildings come with scaffolding.  Their walk will take four days.

I´m in the final day frenzy that accompanies the camino.  By walking the last 100 kilometers, a person can earn the Compostela that  proves the pilgrimage has been completed...that means many people, including many families, walk the four days.  So many people, so much juggling for rooms and restaurants.  The challenge is to remember what you have learned on the camino and maintain the calm state you have cultivated for weeks.

It is exciting to know that only 40 kilometers remain but it comes with its own bittersweet moments. Extraordinary friendships are forged on the camino, friendships that are intense and deep but that will probably end with the camino...and so there is a little sorrow that these people who have been so important in our lives will be gone.  Luckily, their words and memories remain...part of the camino legacy.

I´ll enter Santiago (if all goes well) on Tuesday, spend Wednesday visiting the sites and saying goodbye to friends, and then leave on the bus for Finisterre on Thursday.  Seven weeks ago I promised my feet that, if they would actually get me to Santiago, I would ask nothing extraordinary of them for the rest of the trip.  That´s a promise I intend to keep so I´ll meet Robyn and Tom on Thursday somewhere in Finisterre...we have a little catching up to do!!!!!

Meanwhile, I am getting ready for the final two days...25 miles into Santiago.  Wow!

Buen Camino...Cindy

100K and counting....

Robyn, here. Greetings from Arzua, the town where the Camino del Norte joins the Camino Frances. We´re a few days ahead of Cindy so we won´t see her till Finnesterre (and I apologize for my spelling as I don´t have the guidebook with me). We passed the 100-kilometers-to-go mark 2 days ago, Cindy passed it today. She´s in Sarria.

Tom and I walked along the north coast until we reached a town called Ribadeo on the eastern edge of Galicia. There were ten of us in the alburgue that night so we fixed a big pasta dinner and then hired taxis to take us out to the Cathedral Rocks, a geologic formation of arches and columns and caves that are only accessible when the tide is out, and since it was nearly full moon, we had a great time exploring. Since then we have been walking inland toward Santiago, through eucalyptus forests and ranch (mostly milk cows) land. There are tons of gardens. It´s obvious why they feed us fried potatoes at every meal but we have yet to figure out where all the collard greens go!

The weather has been foggy in the mornings, with it burning off about noon. It´s magic to see the huge wind turbines appear out of the mist, turning lazily and generating Galicia´s power. The afternoons are getting pretty warm--low 80s I think--which is warmer than I like for walking. At any rate, we joined the Camino Frances today so our lazy days of not having to compete for a bed, of stopping for coffee (and beer) along the way and enjoying the relative solitude are over. Our alburgue was full by 3:00, but tomorrow night we´ll stay in a hotel in a town not pinpointed in the guidebooks and Saturday, solstice, we´ll get to Santiago.

We´ve been watching the World Cup, which is made much more interesting because of the diversity of people in the bar cheering for their home teams. Team Spain is on their way home....and they´ll come home to a new king since the old one abdicated 2 weeks ago and the new one took the reigns today. The only people who seem to care much are those who would prefer Spain get rid of the monarchy completely. We´ve see a few protest marches but nothing with much energy.

We´re off to have dinner with our Camino del Norte friends. After a rest day in Santiago we plan to walk to Finnesterre where Cindy, who arrives in Santiago on Tuesday, will meet us on Thursday.

Buen camino!

La Cruz de Ferro and Beyond

The heat has been increasing as I travel west so today I was on the path by 5:30 am, walking by the light of a beautiful moon, in order to beat the heat that arrives by 9:00 am.  Unfortunately,  it was already warm when I arrived at the Cruz de Ferro at 7:30.  The Cruz de Ferro is a small iron cross mounted at the top of a long pole at the top of a hill.  For centuries pilgrims have left something symbolic or important to them...to either celebrate an event/person in their lives or to release a burden.  I added a small rock I´ve carried from the family farm in Minnesota to celebrate our family´s history and to acknowledge that it will need to be sold soon.  I also left a St. Jude medal for a friend who will never walk the Camino herself.  I hope she felt her burdens being lifted!

The walk has continued to be beautiful although today contained a long, brutal descent that had me longing for a good uphill or a flat road.  Perhaps tomorrow.  Tonight I´m in Moninaseca, near Ponferrada.  I said goodbye to my German friend, Petra, shortly after the Cruz de Ferro and will now need to leave a little later in the morning...Petra was one of the few people I´ve met who thought leaving at 5:30 am was perfectly normal.

Robyn and Tom continue to walk in morning fog (I´m a little jealous at the moment) but as they make their way south/west they´ll acquire my weather.

For now...216 km to go (134 miles)...buen camino...Cindy

Galicia

Robyn blogging here....though it looks like I should have had Cindy do it the whole time as her entries are much more descriptive and interesting than mine! Tom and I crossed into Galicia today after one last walk on the beach in Asturias (both are ¨regions¨in Spain). From tomorrow on we head inland toward Santiago. The sign this morning said 226K to go. I feel much more relaxed in the sea breeze without the competition for a bed haunting me. There are fewer people, but also fewer amenities so this may be the only blog entry from me till we reach Santiago.
Buen Camino del Norte!
Robyn

Leon

I walked away from the meseta today along a busy road and into a major urban area...a bit of culture shock after the peace and quiet of the meseta.  Yesterday I saw the first field that had been harvested and enjoyed a morning of bird songs.  Today, the smell of diesel fuel and highway traffic.

Leon is a beautiful city with one of the great cathedrals in Europe.  The stained glass windows are breathtaking.  Just down the street is a museum which houses a collection of medieval manuscrips and frescoes.  Leave it to a former librarian to find a library housing centuries-old books.  E-books just can´t compare.

Robyn and Tom continue on the northern route.   They walked within sight of the sea much of today and are staying in an albergue that is free because someone stole the donation box...certainly some bad karma connected to that action.  The town is Tapia or something close to that (she told me to remember Tilapia) but in the noise of the city while I was talking to her...that´s the best I can do.  You can figure it out if you´re trying to track them...they are doing fine and will be in Santiago about three days before I get there assuming everything continues the way it is now.

I´ve passed the 200 mile mark today...I think about 185 miles to go.  I just read about a man who never spoke of kilometers or days, only the value of walking a camino.  He was unconcerned with the details.  I must admit that I´m counting them daily.

Tomorrow starts the final section of the camino.  Less than two weeks to walk. 
Buen camino.  Cindy

The Meseta and the Beach

Four days after our separation, Robyn and Tom are heading west along the northern coastal route.  They are finding it much less crowded, but technology is scarce so blogging may be intermittent.  I just talked to Robyn and they are in the town of Ballota...at the moment she´s on the beach so all is well.  When we bought phones they gave us free calls between us which is proving to be extremely convenient.

I´m continuing on the Camino Frances and have spent the last four days on the Meseta...beautiful farmland that some pilgrims hate for its lack of variety but I find comfortable.  The first two days reminded me of eastern Montana, great rolling hills of beardless wheat still heading out and occasional fields of bearded wheat that is turning (winter wheat perhaps) adding color and contrast to the vista.  There are some fields of barley, sunflowers, and sugar beets and a few crops I can´t identify.  I´ve walked early in the morning since shade is nearly nonexistent and it´s pleasant to have the roads to myself and the few others willing to get up at 5 am to take advantage of the morning coolness.  Birds and the smell of ripening grain and freshly mown hay make great early morning companions.  Today the landscape changed to flat and reminded me of my home area in northwestern Minnesota.  We had 17 km without water or towns but morning drizzle kept it from becoming uncomfortable.  Tonight I´m in the village of Terradillos de los Templares, one of the last strongholds of the Templars, and officially at the halfway point of the Camino Frances...387.5 km to go.  That number should thrill me but there are fewer days to do the second half of the trip than there were in the first half so I guess longer days are in order if I´m going to keep to the "schedule" created by the camino gurus.  For now, I´m well, walking better than I have been, enjoying the healing silence of the meseta, and trying not to think about the email from Expedia that says there´s a problem with one of my flights home.
Buen Camino everyone...Cindy 

A Change in Plans...

We walked into Burgos yesterday and I decided I have had enough of the crowds in the alburgues, of the walking contest this has become, and of the noise. The pension in Burgos is actually a welcome change from all of this, but after a good night of sleep I still felt DONE. Tom wasn´t interested in continuing if I wasn´t and Cindy didn´t know what to think. After a call to Expedia (who booked our tickets) we realized we´d have to mortgage the house to change our flights so Tom suggested we bus north and walk the northern route along the coast. It gets much less traffic and would be new to him.

So. We bought a guidebook (in Spanish) and will head to the bus station tomorrow to catch a bus to Santander, which is on the map above. We´ll then bus west to a small town called Gijon to start walking again on Wednesday. Cindy has elected to continue on the traditional camino. We each have phones and calling each other is free so we´ll keep in touch. She´ll be having more of the ¨real Camino experience¨walking it on her own but if she decides there are too many people for her taste she can bus north and catch us. Either way, we should all reach Santiago at about the same time.

Martin Sheen´s movie has had quite an impact as far as the number of Americans walking. We´ve met 3 from Albuquerque and have seen another with a New Mexico flag sewn to his pack. And that´s just New Mexico! Plenty of others from California, Texas, Virginia, Michigan.....

Enough for now. I´ll try to include info about both routes as we progress.

BTW, I suspect Expedia was wrong in their estimate of the cost of changing our reservations, and since they put me on hold for 15 minutes with an overseas call I won´t be using their services again. That´s my rant for today.

Buen caminos!