Camino de Santiago, Part 6. From Ponferrada to Santiago and the end of our Camino.

In the Galician hills.

We now left Ponferrada, moving through the undulating terrain of the Western Spanish Province of Castilla y Leon and rapidly approaching Galicia, the last province we would enter. Forecast heavy rain did not materialize in the morning and we made good progress to Villafranca del Bierzo, a 24 kilometer day. It finally began to rain pretty hard at the end of our walk. We trusted in our guide book and took a dirt road into the town which proved to be good advice, and got beds in a nice municipal albergue which was on the outskirts of town. It was still a pretty good walk into the Plaza Mayor for a meal, but we managed.

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The next day started out in a steady but thankfully light rain. We followed a trail which largely followed the highway which ran through a river valley. Along a part of this way we couldn't see any waymarks, and the only other peregrino we met, (another American), was a little unsure too, but there really didn't seem to be any other way to go so we continued. In the end, we were, in fact, on the Camino, it was just not well marked: there really wasn't anywhere else to go along this long river valley. By (late) lunch time, we entered Vega de Valcarce. Here, I wanted to call it a day, although Shelly wanted to go a little further. It didn't really look like there was anything nearby so we stopped for the night. The albergue here was a large one, (72 beds),  there were almost no English-speaking pilgrims. An Italian family were in or dorm, we had met them before. When we were going to do our laundry, the matriarch of this group insisted we use her detergent instead of the baby shampoo we had been using! We didn't refuse!  We did run into Thomas in town, otherwise not too many familiar faces here.

The previous day's rain was all gone the next morning and we began our day's walk under clearing skies. As we climbed to O'Cebreiro, the wind began to pick up, and by the time we reached this beautiful mountain village, it was roaring! Here we saw some lovely architecture in the form of the Galician palloza, small cottages with conical straw roofs.

Palloza

O'Cebreiro is on a mountain top so now we get to enjoy going downhill for a while. Well, for a short while as we are now in Galicia, the mountainous region of northwest Spain. Galicia can be compared to our own Pacific Northwest, with ample rainfall and rugged terrain. After dropping downhill we were again climbing, pushing up a series of climbs, finally reaching a summit at Alto do Polo. We stopped for a break at the nice cafe here and decided to call it a day, getting a bed at the small private albergue that was attached to the bar, which turned out to be a very nice place indeed. Our young Korean friends were once again sharing our albergue. This group of young people were fast walkers, but they seemed to often end up in the same town we did at the end of each day! We got to recognize several of the kids and it was always fun to run into them.

Selfie at the Galician border.

The next morning rain was falling! We had a long muddy slog to Triacastela where we lunched. After lunch it was another climb up to the Alto do Riocabo then back downhill heading for Calvor, which would put us only about 4 kilometers from Sarria. Along the way we met up with old Thomas, napping on the side of the trail. Interestingly, he said he had been walking with David and Debbie earlier that day! We thought that they were way ahead of us by now. We eventually stopped at an nice looking albergue at Calvor. Strangely, nobody was around but the doors were open. We, and a couple of other pilgrims looked around, used the facilities and waited. Finally, a lady showed up and checked us in but was anything but hospitable! Still, it was a pretty nice albergue inside with good facilities. We had to walk a little ways to get dinner, but it turned out to be a very good place to eat. It was here that we met a nice young couple from a Dutch protectorate in the Caribbean, (The ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao). We had expected to see old Thomas check in here too but never did.

We also never saw the lady proprietor of the albergue again, so we took advantage of that and slept in, not departing until 8:45, probably the latest start we'd had yet! Ahead was Sarria, a big city which as far as the Camino is concerned, is best known for its ancient steps, Escalinata Maior. for me the most memorable thing about these steps was the cafe at the top where Shelly and I enjoyed a hearty breakfast of ham and eggs!

Entering Sarria

As we walked through town, we witnessed the start of the Camino for many tourists. Literally busloads of hikers began their walks here. One of the rules of the Camino is that you must walk at least the last 100 kilometers. Sarria is the closest large town to that distance, so thus, you begin to see an increase in peregrinos for sure! Many fresh walkers with very small packs begin here. We were a little concerned that the increased numbers would reduce the number of beds available, but there also seems to be an increased number of albergues on this last stretch.

Leaving Sarria.

We continued past Sarria, passing the 100 kilometer post. This is one of many distance posts erected across Galicia, starting at around 150 km's. Actually, because of changes in the routes over the years, the distances on these posts aren't exactly accurate. But they remain sentimental favorites and the 100 km one is about the most favorite of all!

100 kilometers to go!

We stopped at the small village of Mercadoiro for the night, about 5 km's short of the large town of Portomarin. We now try to stay in the smaller towns because of the increased number of peregrinos on the trail.

Next morning found us walking through Portomarin in a thick fog. After finding an ATM and picking up groceries, we started a long steady climb finally breaking into the sunlight late in the morning. We had a very tasty bacon and cheese sandwich at a tiny cafe in Castromaior. A peregrino there suggested the homemade yogurt there, and it was indeed very good, (and was made by the owner's mother!).

We made it to Palas de Rei at day's end and checked into a large albergue. It was located next to a resort-like place with a very nice bar/restaurant where we dined that night. This day was the longest of our Camino, walking 29.4 kilometers in a little over 8 hours.

We started relatively late again the next morning and still went 27 km's to Ribadiso, where we had dinner with several folks we had met along the way; a couple of ladies from North Carolina, two other American couples and Dave from Australia.

We then walked  about 23 km's to O Pedrouzo, our last stop before Santiago! Searching for an albergue, we ran into Jim from Ireland who was relaxing at a cafe; he recommended the Porta de Santiago, and it turned out to be very nice, it even had an atrium!

Albergue's atrium in O Pedrouzo

Now began our last day's walk from O Pedrouzo. 23 km's to Santiago!  We walked through the countryside

Approaching Santiago.

We came to a large Peregrino complex, which contained some places to eat and a large albergue and a large sculpture monument.

A monument at the large complex for Peregrinos.

We had planned to stay at this albergue, but it seemed like a really long way off the main road. It also seemed to be a little far out of town, so we decided to plod on, eventually making our way into Santiago proper!

Welcome to Santiago!

I wanted to stop immediately, there were a few albergues in the area, but Shelly wanted to go further, Eventually, after a bit of searching we did find an albergue closer to the cathedral. Not a bad one either, the Albergue Acuario had a new-age vibe to it. We had a small 4 bed cubicle. Eventually we were joined by an older gentleman. This guy had walked a much longer Camino, beginning in Italy and camping along much of the way! He probably did twice the distance we did if not more. He was 81 years old! I made a mental note to myself not to complain about my feet at all around him!

In the last albergue!

After checking in, we walked to the Cathedral, still a few kilometers away! We found the crowded Peregrino Office and got our compostela's, we were done!

Over the next couple days we wandered through town, staying in a hotel not too far from the Cathedral. We would run into several friends we had made over the past five weeks. We had been having trouble with our feet and it seemed like many other walkers had encountered some sort of physical problem towards the end of the walk. In the end, most of us made it, but were a little humbled by the physical challenge it turned out to be!

It was sort of bitter-sweet to realize we were finished, we had been in the Camino mode for such a long time now that it was normal and comfortable for us. Actually being in Santiago was kind of a let down! I missed the easy daily routine of getting up, getting ready, eating, walking, checking into the next albergue, eating and going to bed! A simple life! My favorite memories are of just walking through these regions of rural Spain without knowing where I was going to rest that night! May you experience that joy someday! Buen Camino!

Another day on the Camino.