39 kms To Go

Laurie (from Montreal) and her 80 year-old mother ,Wilma, from Toronto.

Beautiful  trails today but still rainy and shin splinty. I actually fell on slippery rocks coming down a hill today.  I did not break my leg and I did not cry.  I almost cried.  A woman Beverly was walking with fell and broke her arm today.

There are birch  trees and oak trees, like home, but also eucalyptus and palm trees.

This dog is walking the Camino with its owner.  I did not get either name yet....The dog actually has saddlebags that fit over its back. The dog passed me a few times today as I was doing my 2 kms per hour.

Came upon a market in Melide today.

Lots of great-looking veggies!

We see many of these wooden structures outside of homes.  We have not yet figured out what they are.  Any guesses?

And here is Little Red Riding Hood today with the Camino dog.  She is a little stiff today due to the damp, rainy weather.

This is a poor picture of a eucalytus grove.

This was another slow, painful day due to injuries.  However, we are getting hyped about being finished in 2 days!  Tomorrow is Santiago  Eve!

More Rain: More Pain

My friend Tony from Germany. We keep running into him along the "way" even though he goes about 39 kms a day. Doesn't he look like Patrick Campbell???

More fence shots.  How do they get those rocks to stand so straight?

Cheryl, doing stretches against the church.  She is SUFFERING with  plantar fasciitis but is VERY  determined.

Breed of dairy cow in Spain? Not a very good photo.

Little Red Riding Hood and I spent yesterday together as we are both on the injured list. It took us 10 hours to do 25 kms.  Not our best time but we HAVE to finish now that we are so close.

The scenery and terrain has been beautiful although it has been raining rather steadily.

And another sighting...Ian from England.  Who does he look like?

 

Rain and Pain

I've been trying to figure out what garden plant this is?  It looks like broccoli but there are no florets on them.  Any ideas?

The fences here are upright flat stones (sort of like tombstones) with wires between them.

 

It rained quite steadily all day.  It was quite warm, though.   The rain would have been ok if I had not been in such pain.

We have 4 more days and 90 kilometers left to go.  At this point, in Portomarin, we have covered 699.9 kms.

115.2 kms; 5 days to Santiago

Old door used as table in Triastela albergue.

Beautiful walk today --cool breeze, improved terrain. However, I think I may have shin splints so the pain detracted from the views.

A praying mantis  on my pole. Pray for me....

Found  some Holsteins.  (one of Emma's first words.  Hi Emma.  Remember me??)

Rock fences.

Marshmallow hay bales.

Barn.

Cow with new calf.

 

Could be in Long Reach!! The leaves on the birch trees are changing and starting to fall.  The landscape is quite similar to NB right now.

 

Tomorrow we begin the 5 day leg of the Camino that must be completed on foot in order to receive a compostela, a certificate of completion, so absolutely no bus or taxi or burro or helicopter.  We plan to walk into Santiago, hand in hand, on October 1st!! 

658.8 kms covered. Triacastela

Staying in an old albergue in Triacastela where they have to "shim up" the beds to compensate for the crooked floors.

Passed through a lot of farms today.

Silhouette of a statue of a pilgrim en route.

The streets are covered with cow dung.  The rich bovine aroma pervades the air... brings back fond memories....I even smell brew!

Cock of the walk and friends.

The churches on this stage are very humble compared to the opulence of the cathedrals in Burgos, Leon and Astorga.

Interior.

Another example.

And another.

We are fascinated by the stone walls and fences with no apparent mortar.

 

Impressive oak tree on entering Triacastela.

Interior of albergue....the Scandinavian corner.

 

Weather has improved....considerably cooler.  The terrain still has its UPS and downs but we now have trees and shade. Much more comfortable.  I was thinking that October may be a better month to tackle this weather-wise, however, the days are shortening.  We could not turn our headlamps off this  morning until 8 a.m.

O'Cebreiro

Here we are outside of the 12th Century Templar Castle in Ponferrada.  We could not get in as it was too early on the morning.  We spent the next hour looking for the bus station.

 

We are now in the region called Galicia. This is a building in the mountain -top town called O'Cebreiro.

This region is famous for a dish called Pulpo a  Feira.  It is octopus with a fiery spice. I had to try it.

And it was pretty good!

We met our "guardian angel", Sandra and her daughter Carolina from Columbia.  Sandra had been a great help to us earlier in the trip.

I rigged up a brace for Cheryl's plantar fasciitis because I am an inventor as well as a doctor.

The sitting room of our "casa rurale" in O'Cebreiro.

Lynne's private room.

Highest Altitude of the Entire Journey

St. James is everywhere, even on the door handles.

And here he is again---a rug-hooking project for Lynne and Cheryl.

Window in the "humble" church in Rabanal.

This church was built in the 12th Century.  Mitch and Marylou walking in the forefront.  We went to vespers in the evening where the 2 monks delivered the service in Gregorian chanting.  The monk challenged the pilgrims in the church to ask themselves why they were torturing themselves.  Hmmmm....good question...

Six women strolling home from vespers. Three of them are Frederictonians.  Can you tell which ones?

The famous Cruz de Ferro where  you leave a token of love in memory of a loved one.  You saw it in The Way.

My Australian friend, Jill on the Cruz de Ferro.

My Canadian friend Lynne on the Cruz de Ferro.

The beach glass from my Long Reach beach left in memory of my parents and my recently-deceased Aunt Jean.  I have been quoting my parents a lot on this trip and thinking a great deal about Aunt Jean.

My friend , Bob, from Brooklyn.

More Cruz de Ferro.

The scenery today.  It was a hard day.  Temperature reached 35c.  We walked 26.5 kms.  Nine hour day. We climbed to 1505metres and descended to 600 meters.  The descents were terrible.

We have now covered 576.5 kms and have about 216 kms left to do in the next 8 days.  We have some injuries in the group. Adjustments are constantly being made.