The Occasionally-Examined Life

Airexe to Melide – 22 Kms, 32,077 steps

My walk to Melide was long but the weather was just about perfect. I left in the cloudy, pre-dawn darkness and didn’t see another pilgrim for an hour, which was very nice, given the crowds of the past few days.

Tomorrow is the “National Day of Spain”, a big national holiday here. They’re celebrating Columbus discovering the New World, resulting in Spain becoming an economic and military powerhouse. I’m told lots of stores, schools, etc. will be closed. Some cities even have parades. How this will affect pilgrims remains to be seen.

The path took me through small towns and farm fields today, alongside busy highways, and through underpass tunnels. Generally, the path surface has been smooth, packed dirt and dried mud or crushed stone. Nonetheless, “my dogs are barking”, i.e. my feet are taking a hit from all the kilometers. I’m using my bag of footcare essentials daily to ensure that my feet will get me to Santiago.

I’m recognizing a lot of places and landmarks from 2019 as I go along, and it’s fun to “fill-in-the-blanks” when I encounter them. It’s also surprising how much I do, and don’t, remember accurately.

One of the nice Camino traditions is that any bar will refill your water bottle with tap water for free. They’ll do it even if they sell bottled water.

Melide is a larger town with a main drag, and all manner of trucks pass right through it. It really needs a truck route around town. The main street has one roundabout and, while I ate lunch, it was entertaining to watch big freight tractor-trailers negotiate it. Then there was this, which happened right before my eyes:

I stayed at an albergue with private rooms, the same one I stayed at in 2019. I saw a couple there with their medium Schnauzer, and I remember seeing them alongside the path with the dog earlier in the day. The dog hadn’t looked happy. At the albergue, they were tending to the dog’s foot: he cut a foot pad on the path. That’s an interesting challenge if you bring your dog along on the Camino. I wonder how they proceeded.

Tomorrow is a short 14 Kms to Arzua. Santiago draws ever nearer. Only three days until I reach it.

Portomarin to Airexe – 18 Kms, 23,488 steps

I was amazed when I opened my blinds this morning to find that it was not raining, and there wasn’t even any wet pavement to be seen. So much for the forecast! I quickly redressed for a dry, even warmish start, and headed out with the pilgrim horde at 8:00 AM, 35-minutes before sunrise. No need to worry about seeing in the the dark: the line of pilgrims was continuous from my hotel, through town, across a bridge, and up into the hills.

It was quite pleasant for about an hour, then just as I stopped at a handy cafe, it started to rain. I was able to put on my poncho under cover without hurrying, which was fortunate.

It rained pretty steadily for an hour, drizzled for another hour, and then was damp and misty. Nonetheless, I got the full steam bath effect under my poncho and was completely soaked. However, the pilgrim horde was reduced and spread out, my feet were dry, and the hiking wasn’t too bad. I’m very glad it’s over now but it could have been worse.

What a wide variety for rain gear I saw! Everything from the expensive over-the-pack ponchos like mine to trash bags. Some pilgrims could have been in real peril if it had rained and turned colder. Of course, maybe they planned to call a taxi in that case. I admit the idea came to my mind this morning at least once.

I’m amazed at how inconsiderate pilgrims can be. From those who stop right in the middle of the path to consult their cell phones, to those who wear their dripping wet rain gear right into a bar or cafe, they remind me of one of my mother’s favorite questions: “Were you brought up in a barn?”

Airexe is nothing more than a bend in the road, with an albergue and pension, and a bar. But it’s just the right distance between Portomarin and my destination tomorrow, Melide. I stayed at the pension here in 2019, so a reprise was good strategy. Since then, the pension has made improvements including adding vastly better WiFi.

Tomorrow is my last long walk, 22 Kms to Melide. It’s generally downhill and a pleasant walk. The weather (if the forecast is to be believed) will be cloudy but dry. Only four more days until I reach Santiago!

Sarria to Portomarin – 22 Kms, 30,840 steps

The weather today was spectacular and most of the path to Portomarin was just lovely. It was an idyllic Fall day in many respects. It took me six hours, with 40 minutes of breaks to get here, which was what I estimated.

The glut of “pilgrims” was amazing though. I ran into a woman I met the first week of the Camino and she called today’s crowds a “real shit show”. It’s Sunday so perhaps that aggravated things.

Almost immediately this morning I encountered what I think was an elementary school class trip, with parents and kids with matching day packs, on the path. Then there was the town shortly thereafter where two tour buses unloaded 80 high school kids and set them loose on the path.

My least favorite of them was the kid with a portable boom box in his backpack, blasting rap as he walked. People walking with poodles and dachshunds, we had ‘em. With 9-year olds? Yep. With the old and infirm? Yes. It looked a little like Disneyland at times.

This was in addition to the other real pilgrims just joining in. As you can imagine, every cafe and bathroom for miles was overrun. I didn’t eat at all until 10:30. And the newbies had awful trail manners, to boot.

We crossed the 100 Kms-to-Santiago point and it was a popular photo stop (also known as a “choke point”).

At last, after a really ugly, long, paved road descent, I arrived outside Portomarin and enjoyed the sight of the long bridge into town.

Portomarin was having a local fiesta and the streets were full of booths, vendors, and people. And pilgrims. This was quite a contrast to the other towns I passed through that were closed up tight for Sunday.

Portomarin is similarly overrun with pilgrims and high schoolers, but perhaps things will thin out with tomorrow’s rain.

Actually, it’s supposed to start raining here in about an hour and continue on and off overnight. I’m prepping my rain gear and will forge ahead, come what may. I kind of prefer leaving in the rain, with the opportunity to gear up at the hotel rather than in a rush along the side of the trail.

I have 18 wet Kms to walk tomorrow, to a little crossroads called Airexe. My photography tomorrow may be limited by the rain. Only five more days until I reach Santiago!

Triacastela to Sarria – 18 Kms, 26,307 steps

Today’s walk started with a steep climb out of the valley, resulting in some beautiful views of the area ahead.

As we left town, the Camino divided: left to Samos and 25 Kms to Sarria, or right to San Xil and 18 Kms to Sarria. Despite the guidebook’s hyping of the “more scenic” Samos route, I turned right and it was plenty scenic for me.

The weather was cool and, if not for the extensive descents, the walk would have been perfect. However, as we descended that enchanting distant mist became the cool, damp fog that surrounded us. Rain gear wasn’t called for, but I kept my windbreaker on far longer than in recent days.

We passed through several small towns, which were pretty quiet for a Saturday morning. Not many cafes were open, despite the pilgrim traffic.

After four and a half hours of walking, with a 30-minute break, I arrived in Sarria.

The Camino path winds through town, goes up a hill, and then goes up this 62-step beauty:

At the top is another steeply inclined street to climb to get to the albergues and hostals. What a way to end a day of walking, with a figurative kick in the teeth. Sheesh.

I’m in the very nice Aqua Rooms Sarria hostal, and there’s no nautical or swimming pool theme, so the name’s a mystery.

As mentioned earlier, Sarria is 110 Kms from Santiago, the minimum distance required for a pilgrim to receive a Compostela, the sacred document of achievement. So it’s here that tour groups and others looking to do the minimum join the Camino. The Brierley guidebook even has a paragraph asking pilgrims who started much further away to look kindly on these short-distance walkers.

I mentioned earlier that some restaurants generously give you a full bottle of wine when you order the Menu del Dia. Not so fast! I’ve just noticed these are often bottles of something called “Light” wine, which clock in at only 11% alcohol content. Interesting.

Tomorrow’s walk is a long 22 Kms to Portomarin, with a 200-meter climb in the middle. The weather is forecast to continue to be nice. Cheers.

O Cebreiro to Triacastela – 17 Kms, 31,197 steps

Today’s walk promised to be “mostly downhill” and much of it was on nice wooded paths with friendly walking surfaces. However, it was not without its ascents and my legs, still tired from yesterday, were sluggish by the end of today. There were also long descents that punished the toes and knees.

I’m filling in a lot of my memories from 2019, places I remembered but not where they were exactly. At my halfway point cafe, a huge tour bus pulled up and disgorged 40 German tourists, who were then given the option of getting back on the bus or walking some of the way on the Camino. About half of them chose to walk, further clogging up The Way in an already very busy season.

That kind of thinking won’t serve me well starting tomorrow, when I arrive in Sarria. It’s the town just outside the 110 Km requirement for receiving an official Compostela (Camino completion document) in Santiago and is where a lot of short-distance walkers and tour groups join in.

The weather continues to be glorious and the Fall colors are appearing. There’s a low chance of rain a few days next week but I hope that will disappear.

Earlier I saw the German lady with her dog Alma (not Greta, as previously reported) and she was about to take a taxi to the next town because there was no place here that would take a dog overnight. She’s also reluctantly flying back to Germany from Santiago; a first for the dog and requiring the purchase of a big “air kennel” for her. It turns out that buses and trains in Spain do not accept dogs as passengers. Seems like a key piece of pre-trip research missed.

A lot of my 21 Kms today was along lovely shaded lanes, perfect for walking except for the relentless downhill slope that was killing my toes and knees. I have to use my hiking poles to take some of the load, and take really small steps, which slows down progress.

My room tonight at the Pension Complexo Xacobeo costs two Euros more than last night’s room and is twice as large, with first-class fixtures and amenities. I shall sleep well tonight and recover a bit, I hope, from my journey to and from O Cebreiro.

Sometimes when the Camino goes through a small town, we’re walking on roads used by farm animals. This means that the pavement is often splattered with stuff you don’t want to step in and you have to be vigilant while walking. The aroma is pretty bad, too.

Tomorrow is the start of my last week on the Camino, just seven days to go. As we get closer to Santiago, as I remember it, we’ll all anticipate the finale, and all loads will become lighter. Cheers.

Trabadelo to O Cebreiro – 17 Kms, 27,146 steps

Wow! Today was hard. The flatish part of the morning walk went by quickly but the rest was really difficult. The distance is deceptive, climbing 900 meters added about 1-1/2 hours to my walk. I was all right aerobically but my legs are so very tired.

I got a pre-dawn start and walked pretty quickly through three small towns. After an hour, I had a snack in Ruitelan. The weather was great and I was walking mostly on paved roads or shoulders. The path wound around beneath some of Spain’s excellent “flyover” motorways.

I walked a little bit with the German woman walking with her Dalmatian. She seems pretty responsible and has good command of the dog, Alma, who appears to be enjoying herself.

Finally, I got to the hard part of the path, which left the road to descend to cross a stream, then went up. And up. And up!

The path surface is a mix of rocks and dirt, but so steep that use of my hiking poles was mandatory.

Horses are available for rent in one town so that pilgrims can ride up this trail to O Cebreiro. The horses apparently know the way and it’s all sort of automatic. The owner collects them at the top. Unfortunately, the horses crap all over the trail. So, in addition to the steep grade, the clouds of gnats and flies, and the uncertain footing, walking pilgrims have to dodge large, fresh deposits of horse shit. Delightful.

I came out of the woods and soon reached the little town of Laguna and, mistaking its outskirts for O Cebreiro, set myself up for bitter disappointment when I found I had another 30 minutes or so to walk.

Interestingly, a rancher on horseback came along behind these cows and admonished me not to take their picture because it would upset them. Of course, I already had and they didn’t seem to notice.

I did eventually make it O Cebreiro and, though I was sweaty and tired, I was in so much better condition than when I arrived in rain and fog in 2019. After checking into my lodging and showering, I went out for lunch: a bowl of the Galician specialty, Caldo Gallego, a tasty soup of beans, potatoes, and turnip greens. I have officially entered the region of Galicia.

Don Elias Sampedro was the parish priest who, in the 1980s, revived a moribund Camino by traveling the country and painting the yellow directional arrows that guide pilgrims to this day and are now a symbol of the Camino. He’s buried here and his grave has become something of a shrine:

Tomorrow’s walk to Tricastela is a bit longer, 21 Kms, but it’s almost all downhill. Tomorrow will also mark one week until I reach Santiago.

Cacabelos to Trabadelo – 20 Kms, 24,350 steps

My room last night was not good. The establishment was not staffed (check-in was elsewhere) and the yanked-out common area fixtures and furniture gave it the vibe of a ghost town. Except for the loud construction noises right above me (drilling, hammering, etc.) that went on through the afternoon until about 7:00. Add to that burnt out lights, a view across the alley to a disgusting rooftop patio littered with trash and mangey dogs, a strong cigarette smell (pehaps the workmen?), and a sewer aroma in the bathroom. Definitely NOT recommending this place (Hostal Santa Maria).

I calculated my walk today as 20 Kms but it sure went by quickly and my step count seems low. A happy accident, perhaps, but it only took me 4 hours, including a 30-minute break, to get here. A lot of the way today was along roads and roadside paths and the ascents and descents were mild.

I took the old “original” Camino route at one point today, instead of the newer “recommended” route which is 2 Kms longer, and I remembered it quite accurately fom 2019.

At my halfway point break in Villafranca del Bierzo, I shared a table with two 20-somethings from Italy who were bicycling the Camino. We had a very enjoyable conversation, even discussing their thoughts on the rise of fascism in Europe and the recent far-right Italian election results (they weren’t happy about it). They spoke English and Spanish quite well, so we didn’t have to rely on my tourist Italian.

For most of the second half of my walk today, I was on a paved area separated from the highway by a Jersey wall (see above). Asphalt is not the greatest surface but it sure beats rocks, and the highway ascent angle was gradual and made for easy walking.

When I finally arrived in Trabadelo, the town mayor came out to greet me, just as he did in 2019. Fine fellow!

Speaking of dogs, I met a woman yesterday from Germany who was walking the Camino with her Dalmatian. We talked about her decision to bring the dog and she told me she had consulted her veterinarian about it and he had given the OK, even encouraged her. So, my feelings that bringing your dog along was irresponsible and hard on the dog were assuaged a bit.

When I got to the very nice Albergue Camino y Leyende, they asked me if I wanted lunch. Albergues usually offer a communal dinner, but a personal lunch was a new twist. After we discussed what I wanted, the cook went out to the garden and picked the vegetables for my meal! And it was really tasty (and included a copious quantity of local wine). I’m looking forward to seeing what we have for dinner.

The weather has been just perfect. Right now, it’s 75-degrees F with low humidity and a clear sky. I hung my clothes on a rooftop clothesline and they were dry in an hour.

Tomorrow brings a challenge: the climb to O Cebriero. In 2019, it was steep and raining and it was a horrible experience. I arrived at the top looking and feeling like a drowned rat. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. Here’s the elevation profile:

It’s only 17 Kms but, as you can see, it’s a tough climb. I look forward to reaching the top and seeing the statue of Don Sampedro, who’s buried there. More about him tomorrow. Wish me luck. Cheers.

Ponferrada to Cacabelos – 14 Kms, 23,732 steps

After a good night’s sleep in my luxurious room, I was ready to go, and I joined the tide of departing pilgrims at 8:15. The path took us through the center of town (of course) and then through a nice riverside park, past the Museum of Energy and some interesting public art.

I passed quickly through the Ponferrada suburbs, on nice, flat paths of packed dirt and gravel. Very pleasant walking!

An hour and a half later, I arrived in Fuentes Nuevas, my halfway point and 30-minute break. Another cafe con leche topped me up.

I’ve seen, and mentioned previously, some of the interesting modes of Camino transport I’ve seen. For example, the guy with the unicycle. Today I saw a handicapped guy in a wheelchair created from a Segway! Remember the Segway? The two-wheeled, self balancing, scooter-like device, that was going to replace walking? Well, this guy was in one fitted out as a wheelchair. It looked so weird because there were no front wheels. The guy just zoomed along in it. I wish I’d taken a picture.

Let’s talk about storks for a moment. They build big, unsightly nests on tall objects. Almost always on church bell towers here:

However, the town of Camponaraya did a smart thing to protect their churches: they gave the storks another option:

The days and kilometers are going by. Only ten more days until my Camino is over.

I’m not sure how I feel at the moment. I’m kind of ready to see my Camino end. Spending a week on the couch sounds pretty good. But, who knows what the next week will bring.

Tomorrow is a long 20 Kms into a narrow valley, with some gentle climbs. It’s a set up for Thursday’s killer climb into the mountains. Cheers.

El Acebo to Ponferrada – 17 Kms, 23,65 steps

No taxis were involved today, but the first half of my day involved more of the incredibly difficult, toe-banging descents of yesterday. I shouted out “Hallelujah” when it was finally over.

I remember this stretch of the Camino from 2019 and not fondly. There were a lot more level areas and areas of packed dirt today than yesterday, but the concentration required to pick my way down the steep descents was the same.

I slept really well las night, due to fatigue from yesterday and a good mattress, in a hotel that listed numerous amenities online: a swimming pool, a steam room, a massage service. Well, yes, and no. The hotel was at one end of the village and, at the other end and half a kilometer away down a pretty good hill, was a brand new albergue owned by the same company. The pool, steam room, etc. were all down there, and hotel guests were welcome to go use them. Right. No one wants to walk down there and then walk back. How do you say “bait and switch” in Spanish?

I’m meeting more Camino veterans this time, people who have walked it multiple times, like me. For example, I met a nurse from Toronto the other night who was on her fourth Camino. She said, “some people go to their beach house every summer, I go on the Camino”. Doesn’t seem quite the same to me, but okay if it works for her. Sadly, I think this increased frequency of vets relates to the large number of Camino know-it-alls I’ve encountered. I see these folks pontificating and remind myself again not to be one of them.

The term Buen Camino (have a good [walk on the] way) is the universal pilgrim greeting, regardless of your nationality. It’s the polite thing to say when you pass another pilgrim or get passed. As an effort at good PR, I make a point of saying hello to every single local person out for a stroll that I encounter, and 99% of them have wished me a buen camino in return.

I finally made it to Ponferrada, and it only took me four hours. That was pretty good considering my snail’s pace down the descents and a 25-minute halfway point break in Molinaseca. Some of the stuff I’m remembering from 2019 as hard or long is turning out to be easier and shorter, and that’s a nice result.

I’m in a very nice hostal, with a great private room. My bathroom is huge and the shower has nozzles at all sorts of heights. In addition, there’s a great laundry room in the basement. Yes, I stayed here in 2019 and it was too good not to come back.

Tomorrow, I have a relatively short day of 14 Kms, and a fairly flat route to Cacabelos. That will let my feet and legs rest and recover. The weather continues to be what we’d call Indian Summer back in Virginia: clear and cool in the morning, sunny and 70 by midday. Only 11 more days to go.

Rabanal del Camino to El Acebo – 17 Kms, 24,247 steps

I’m not having a good Camino day. My walk today took me over the highest point in the whole Camino and down some really awful descents. In the middle of one descent from Hell, I was cursing the idiots who administer this segment of the path and think it’s acceptable. It’s not, and I wonder how many foot and knee injuries happen here as a result. Shame on them!

The day started cool and sunny, and warmed up quickly; I was in shirt sleeves within an hour. That was good because I had a lot of climbing to do. Here’s today’s height profile:

After the initial climb to Foncebadon, I took this photo back over the valley behind me:

The Cruz de Ferro is where pilgrims leave a stone they bring from home, representing something they want to remember, or to forget.

My halfway point break was at a nice food truck, featuring homemade coffee cake and Irish/Galacian music. Cows across the road contributed to the ambiance.

Then came the descents from Hell. Loose rocks and steep descents that demanded I pay 100% attention to where my boots and hiking pole tips were going, for 35 minutes. Forget the scenery, forget taking photos, just look down and try to avoid stumbling and falling! Really bad stuff. I can’t imagine anyone negotiating this in the rain.

And then, near El Acebo two idiots on bicycles come down the path, barely in control, nearly hitting me. Twenty yards on, they had to dismount and walk their bikes. What were they thinking!? They should have followed the road, which is the bicycle route.

I’m safely in a nice hostel now, washed and fed. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same! Taxi, anyone?