Via de la Plata
Monday 7 May 2012
Day 41
Rest day in Santiago
Before starting the Via de la Plata I had run for 100 consecutive days, after that it has been 40 days walking in a row. Today was the first rest day I've had since last December. We had a sort of a long lie-in, I was wakened as usual before 6:00 am but there was no jumping up to get away just settling back with a cup of tea and reading in bed.
It was nearly 10:00 am when we went out, heading down to the shopping mall that was near the albergue where we stayed the time we walked the French route. It was beginning to rain as we reached the shopping centre and managed to get under cover before getting too wet. There was a WiFi zone in the mall and we were able to sit down and check our email, post my blog and download the newspaper. Our next stop was the supermarket in the basement where we bought a barbecued chicken and ingredients for salad to have for dinner in our room tonight. We weren't paying E27 for hamburger and chips again. When the shopping was finished it was still raining so it was on to the Internet again. Moira arranged accommodation for us in Madrid where we fly there on the 15th of the month. We have booked to fly with Ryan Air when we return after the next stage of our walk, to Finisterre, which starts tomorrow.
Our intention this morning was to make it back to the cathedral in time for the peregrinos service but when we started back the rain was lashing down. Even though we had our ponchos with us we were soaked and went back to the room to dry off and have lunch instead. We had been to the mass before and it's all in Spanish, all you wait to hear and understand is when the priest says 'two people from Scotland starting from Sevilla' in his list of those who finished yesterday. So we didn't think we were missing much.
Late in the afternoon the rain had eased and we went out to an Internet cafe. We had to check-in on-line for our Madrid flight and printed off our boarding passes. It took about fifteen minutes and together with the printing cost only 69 cents, I don't know how this business survives on these prices. The rain was pouring when we came out from the cafe so it was back to the room where we later had our meal of chicken and salad followed by strawberries and yoghurt.
We went out again about 8:00pm, the newspapers that we downloaded this morning had 'frozen', so we looked for a bar with WiFi. We managed to download them again and I sent an email to the 'Daily Telegraph' telling them what I thought of their system that we are paying for. On the way back we bought some cap badges and a little waymark plaque as souvenirs of our successful pilgrimage.
It's off again walking tomorrow, the weather forecast says we will have another two days of rain then on Thursday it will be sunny and very warm. We have become used to the rain but it would be nice to get some of the expected Spanish climate.
Camino Finisterre
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Day 42
Santiago to Negreira. 22km.
It was a really horrible day, it had rained all night and it was still coming down when we left at 8:00 from Santiago. It was wet for all of our walk though not lashing, it saved that until the afternoon when we were comfortably settled in the albergue at Negreira. Some of the peregrinos arriving then were soaking and dripping wet and ready for a hot shower. I suppose we were lucky and only had to suffer a continuous drizzle.
It was another case of a very nice route through quiet country lanes and woodland paths, which would have been much improved in dry and warm conditions. We had been walking for about an hour when an Irish girl caught up with us and joined us, chatting for a while. She had completed the French route and enjoyed it so much she said she couldn't stop walking. In two hours we reached the village of Ventosa and there was a bar open, a number of other peregrinos were already having their break there. We had coffee and the barman added a plate with cake, to go with our drink, it still only cost E2.20, big difference to the prices in Santiago. A woman who was there recognised us, the Scots couple in shorts; she remembered us from away back on Day 14 of the Via de la Plata at the albergue next to the reservoir at Alconeter. She was a strong walker and with her husband had finished on May 1, when we were still only at Ourense with 110km to go. They had already walked round by Muxia to Finisterre and were now on their way back to Santiago, she was sick of the rain and glad to be getting finished today.
Shortly after leaving Ventosa there was a long fairly steep hill. It went up through the woods on a wet muddy track that never seemed to reach the top. When it eventually came out on to the tarred road it still went up, to the village of Carballo at the top. As we climbed the forest track there had been seats at intervals for resting on a hot tiring day, but although it was still tiring it wasn't a day for sitting down in the rain. Once over the top it was downhill near enough to the finish, but even with the rain I had to stop to take photographs as we crossed the Rio Tambre by the Ponte Maceira. It was a beautiful little village with this 13th century stone bridge with five arches.
It wasn't quite downhill to the albergue as the town of Negreira was on a hill and we had a steep climb to get there. I recognised the town from when we walked here before and we passed under a lovely archway at the far end of the town to get to the albergue. There were only one or two other people there, so no hold ups getting registered. The woman must have thought we were too old to climb the stairs to the dorm and put us in the disabled accomodation next to the toilets. It was just a two double bunk room and we took the bottom ones.
The first priority was lunch, and while Moira made some soup I prepared the coffee. Once we were fed it was them a nice hot shower. I didn't go out again but later in the afternoon Moira walked back into the town to get some stuff at the supermarket. She got vegetables to go with the chicken we had left from yesterday to make a lovely curry for dinner, she also got strawberries again which was a delicious sweet with yoghurt.
Unsurprisingly there are not a lot of disabled people doing the strenuous walking of the Camino so we didn't have to share our special dorm with anyone else. Any other peregrinos arriving were put upstairs in the normal dorm. The other people in the albergue were a lot younger than we had seen on the Via de al Plata, they were obviously on a time limit for their holiday as they were comparing the distances they walk each day to get finished on their tight schedule. Most were doing 40km a day, some up to 50km. Another thing everybody was doing was to use the hot air hand drier in the toilets to dry their clothes. It was surprising that it was working, they aren't normally, but I followed suit and got my socks more or less dry. Probably when the municipality get the bill for the electricity they will then turn them off.
It was nearly 10:00 pm when we got to bed tonight and it was nice and peaceful in our own room, no snoring etc to keep us awake. It was actually very warm, there must have been some hidden heating system and I had to get up during the night to open window.
Camino Finisterre
Wednesday 9 May 2012
Day 43
Negreira to Santa Marina. 21km.
When we left at 8:00am there seemed to be a break in the clouds and it was looking brighter over to the west. We thought it was promising to be a good day, it didn't turnout that way. Shortly after we started the sky just turned the slate grey all over they we are becoming used to and the rain started again. It wasn't to bad at first and after climbing a long steep hill we were feeling very warm and took off our fleeces, our ponchos keeping us warm enough.
For the first two hours until we had a stop for coffee at a bar in A Pena, it was a delightful route through woodland and forest trails. Underfoot it wasn't so good, it was very wet and after trying to avoid mud and puddles our shoes and socks got sodden, so we just waded through the water which in places was a fast flowing steam rather than a footpath. It was a relief when we reached the village and the bar for a lovely big cup of 'cafe con leche'. The woman there spoke English and said the forecast was for rain until Friday, I thought our prediction from the computer had it sunny tomorrow, we will wait and see.
After our break the route deteriorated as well as the weather. It was a lot of road walking and the rain got heavier with the wind getting stronger and colder. I had thought about stopping to get my fleece out to put on again but I was wet underneath from condensation and I didn't want to get wetter by taking off my poncho to put on my fleece so we must soldiered on. Even when the arrows took us on to farm tracks it was now open country with little shelter from trees and the wind was blowing a gale, whipping our ponchos up and soaking our shorts. It was becoming a very miserable experience. There was a private albergue attached to a bar on our list at Maronas which was just 20km walking today, that was enough in these conditions and we decided to call it a day there. Unfortunately the bar or the albergue wasn't in this village and we had to dig out the list and the Cicerone In the rain with a lot of argument and shouting to try to find the place. We eventually had to stop a car in a deserted village, Santa Marina,to ask directions before eventually arriving there, cold, soaked and frustrated but thankful of some shelter at last.
The woman behind the 'Bar Antelo' seemed confused about what we wanted but eventually she showed us to the dorms in a building next door. We were the only ones there and got the bottoms bunks in a small room with just the two double bunks, upstairs there were more beds and another toilet. We stripped out of our wet clothes and had a shower before lunch, some hot soup and dunking bread. Later more people arrived, German and Swiss and all went upstairs, they must have got all their gear in their rucksacks soaked, going by the amount of stuff they had to hang out on the line, the rain had gone off and there was a good drying breeze blowing.
We went up to the bar late in the afternoon for a drink, it was much warmed there, the hostel had no heating and had a damp feeling about it. More people arrived while we were in the bar, I don't know where they had walked from to be now getting finished at nearly 5:00pm. When we returned to the dorm the two top bunks were now taken and a girl was using the sofa in the lounge for a bed, the one she was allocated was damp according to her.
Dinner was at 7:00pm and we got to the bar a little earlier. We were sitting at a table waiting for our meal when the waitress took the table and joined it with another two, it was to be a communal meal with the other peregrinos. That meant everything had to be shared out between ten people, the food was alright but the wine ran out quickly and the waitress was reluctant to get more, even though we offered to pay extra. The attitude of the staff was as if the customers were an imposition and plates and food were just dumped in front of you. When it came to the sweet, she produced tubs of yoghurt, Moira told her she wanted ice cream, this was a no-no for some reason and after some strong words of displeasure Moira stomped out. It was another example of staff with no interest in the needs of the customer and of the business, witnessing this fairly often in our travels through Spain.
Back at the albergue I had intended to sit up and read a book I had found but the sofa was now occupied by the girl worried about damp beds. So it was off to bed early instead. It was not a good night, the guy above me was a snorer and it wasn't until late into the night that I remembered about ear plugs. I slept better after putting them in.
Camino Finisterre
Thursday 10 May 2012
Day 44
Santa Marina to Cee. 31km.
What a difference the weather makes to a good walk. If we had had to suffer the driving rain and winds of yesterday especially over the high moorland track at the end of the day, from Hospital to Cee, it would have been an absolute misery. Whereas it was the perfect conditions for striding out and enjoying a long day through the best scenery on the Santiago to Finisterre stretch. As we left at 7:30am there was cloud about, but it was light and broken, on the horizon the sky was clear and blue allowing us to see a sun rise for the first time in weeks. It must have been a fine warm night as the road was dry and when we got to the off-road parts these were remarkable water free as well. It didn't become a hot sunny day with lots of blue sky and on occasions some dark clouds had us worried but it stayed dry all day, hurrah!
We started out in our tights which we abandoned in the afternoon, but the ponchos were packed away, hopefully for good. It was much freer walking and there was certainly a spring in our steps. We were also glad to be away from the albergue which turned out to be a very depressing place, with the cold and damp atmosphere and annoying people. I got up at 6:00, went to the kitchen and made the coffee. Moira joined me and brought through all our gear. After breakfast we packed up in the kitchen and were soon on our way, without disturbing anybody.
Our first two hours walking were along mainly country lanes. It was easy going, a few hills to get up but nothing serious and we were enjoying it. There was a large reservoir that could be seen down in the valley as our route took the contours round the hillside above. It was the Embalse de Fervenza, the level was very high after all the recent rains. The route crossed the Rio Xallas by the Ponte Olveira and there was a new albergue there. It was open and had a restaurant where we took advantage and had coffee with toast and jam. It also had WiFi and this enabled us to download again the newspapers which are still freezing after a few hours. This hostel looked very nice indeed, and if the weather had been more favourable we could have comfortably made it here yesterday and I think had a pleasanter time.
It was only about 6km to Hospital where the route splits, one way to Muxia where we went on our previous walk, the other direct to Finisterre where we were heading. There was a bar there, advertising itself as the last for 15km, we satisfied ourselves with just a coffee even though the women was implying that we wouldn't make it to the next 15km without food here. It wasn't that bad as we are always prepared and there was a lovely stopping place at a church, Santuario de Nosa Señora das Neves, with picnic tables that we had our flask of coffee and cheese sandwiches. We met a Swedish couple there and they told us about a pilgrimage in Sweden, St Olaf's Way, that's another one will have to take a look at.
From the church and picnic spot it was a climb up to a beautiful moorland path, the views were outstanding. The surrounding hills now crystal clear now the mist and rain had gone, and the windmills that ran along a ridge were practically motionless. We expect to see the ocean as we crested every hill, only to have the track continue over the heather covered moorland to another hill. It then appeared suddenly as the path dropped sharply away before us, the town of Cee with its houses ringed around the top of a deep inlet cut into the high cliffs. It was the first we had seen of the sea since leaving Conil six weeks ago. It was a steep drop to get down again to sea level and the path was rough and rocky, so it was slow going. When we reached the tarred road there was a signpost saying 150m to the 'O'Bordon Albergue', we decided to take a look. After our experience of last night our intension was to go to an hostal or pension with a double room but this turned out to be a '5 Star' albergue. It looked brand new, tiled throughout, luxury toilets and showers and the dorm was big but the bunks were well spread out and each one had a locker to stow your gear. We were the only people there but later just one guy turned up and slept at the other end, so if he did snore he was too far away to hear him. There was a washing machine and Moira got all our clothes cleaned and was able to put them outside in now bright warm sunshine. Later Moira found a supermarket and used the beautiful kitchen to make a longed for chicken curry, and yet again strawberries. What a change from last night.
Tonight we were able to sit on comfortable chairs in the lounge and read. I still had the book I picked up at the last place and we had a few days of the 'Telegraph' that we downloaded earlier today. It was just after 9:00 when we decided to get to bed, we were both tired after quite a long walk today.
Camino Finisterre
Friday 11 May 2012
Day 45
Cee to Finisterre. 14 km.
It was our usual time of 6:30am when we were up and had breakfast. The other person staying had the breakfast supplied by the albergue but we make our own, having cereal and yoghurt rather than just a piece of toast. Our fellow pilgrim was from Montreal in Canada, and had walked from Le Puy in France. He started at the end of February and reminded us that the weather was surprisingly excellent then, the time when they also had a heat wave in the UK for a month. It deteriorated after that and he said there was a month of nearly continuous rain. Even though we were having sunny warm weather our washing hadn't quite dried overnight but there was a tumbler drier for another E3, so Moira had everything clean and fresh as we began the final stage of our marathon trek.
It was a bit overcast as we set out, and there were a few spots of rain over the next couple of hours but it remained dry and now very warm. The route varied from some road walking to lovely gravel tracks up the hillsides as we had to cross a few ridges and cliff tops that ran down towards the sea. Cee was a fairly large town and had some industry, small ship building yards, fishing and a large harbour. It was a long stretch through the still quiet streets before we cleared Cee and into the next village of Corcubion, a small seaside holiday resort. We were now on the opposite side of the large inlet and the route where we had descended from the moorland top could be seen directly across the water and also our hostel for last night on the slopes above Cee. It was a wonderful panorama with some high mountains in the distance adding to the picture.
We stopped after our normal two hours finding a convenient wall to sit on at the beach in Estorde. We ate an apple and watched the Atlantic surf break on to the golden sands. From there we climbed up to the cliff tops again and there was a pleasant stroll along a path lined with bright yellow gorse and purple heather. From there we had our first view of Finisterre curving along the edge of the peninsula where at the far end the top of the lighthouse could just be seen. Down at sea level again a crazy-paved path took us all the way into Finisterre. It had been the shortest walk of the pilgrimage but one of the nicest, with lovely ocean vistas and good paths taking us high and enhancing these views.
In Finisterre it was argument time again as Moira had lost the leaflet advertising the albergue we wanted to go to. At the bus stop all the peregrinos were waiting for transport to Santiago, some we recognised but couldn't assist with whereabouts of the hostel. The locals were even less assistance and couldn't even direct us to the tourist information office, my attempts at pronouncing our needs in a sort of Spanish got a woman taking us to the local pharmacy. Eventually with a lot of patience on Moira's part and more bad temper on mine we found the place. The guy was still doing the cleaning but there was a double room available, we settled in the kitchen for a cup of coffee until he was finished. There was an American girl there from Seattle and later a woman from Cape Town joined us, so we were able to chat about South Africa.
The room we got was fine and we would have some privacy for a change. We were low on food supplies so headed into town to the supermarket and stocked up for the four days we intend staying here. It was soup and bread for lunch then we went to the gardens opposite the albergue to sit in the sun and read. It was good that
later Moira was able to cook and we could eat what and when we liked, and it was a lot, lot cheaper.
After dinner we went for a walk down to the beach which was about ten minutes over the hill. It was a pleasant warm evening and we paddled our feet in the ocean, the water was cold but if it is as sunny tomorrow as this afternoon I will be having a swim. Everybody else was out when we returned, probably for their meal, and we got to bed. We didn't hear anybody coming in but there was noise from a pub nearby and I had to put in earplugs to block out the sound and to get to sleep.
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