Day Fourteen - Ashford - Home!

Fantastic sleep!!!  Thanks, David and Olive for the comfortable bed, and also for being our Companions on the Camino!!  What a never to be forgotten adventure we had!!  :)

And so our last trip of the holiday!  We packed our bags into our car, waved farewell, and we were off home!  Except that we saw the sign for Canterbury!!!  On an impulse we took the road to Canterbury as final flourish to our trip!  The sun shone and we enjoyed walking the streets taking in the atmosphere of this historic town.  The impressive Cathedral waiting for our re visit!  Gothic grandeur at its best! ( We thought of the time Joy and Brian lived here!  How wonderful to be in this town every day! ) inside this masterpiece of architecture the air was cool and soft.  We left a flickering candle.....................

Photo from internet.

Day Thirteen -Poitiers to Ashford

A very solid sleep!  yay!! Our room number 11 BIS !  There is an 11  and an11 BIS, apparently no one wants to sleep in room 13 thus two elevens!!!  Lol. 

We'd decided not to pay the nine euros each for the breakfast available at the hotel, but to buy some food at the supermarket opposite and some fresh bread at the patisserie next door!  So this was our first port of call!  We were very surprised to find it was pouring with rain!!  So we donned our macs for the first time this holiday and braved the rain and puddles!

Our purchase made, we packed the car but decided we would park in Poitiers and have a coffee and take a look at the 4th century Baptistry and cathedral.  There are actually two large cathedrals in Poitiers, the one near to the Baptistry, St. Jean, and the one considered to be the biggest one in the centre of the town, Notre Dame.  We found a parking place and went to see the Baptistry which unfortunately didn't open until 10!  Next door was a gallery with an intriguing exhibition, and outside the Baptistry was a modern sculpture that seemed to link the Baptistry with the Gallery.

We found a little cafe open, and we enjoyed coffee on the kerbside with the rear of the Romanesque Notre Dame in front if us!  The temptation to view the front was too much, and besides my coffee was far to hot to drink, so I wandered round the church to see the front!  It was extraordinary !!  A great example of 13/14th century stonework and sculptures.   Unfortunately once again we were too early to go inside as it was too early! But we could see that Poitiers was a pretty place with its wide river running through it, cobbled streets and interesting buildings.

Image from internet! (romanesque notre dame poitiers image)

Time to get on our journey to catch the Euro tunnel!   Along the route we stopped at several services, eating the goodies we had purchased at the supermarket at Poitiers.

We had a lovely ride through Rouen! What a great city!! 

Photo of Rouen Cathedral from the car window as we drove by!

 The sat nav then seemed to take us off track into woods and countryside!!!  We seemed to be going round in circles!!  LOL.  Eventually we found the main road, and we arrived in good time for our crossing, even managing one earlier than booked!

It had been a long day, exacerbated by detours!!  We were glad to get to our friends, we enjoyed our beans on toast, and soon we were in bed out for the count!!!   Lovely!! ;)

Day Twelve - Burgos - Poitiers

Not much to report today, except for driving around 400 miles to get to Poitiers in France.  It was a hot day and a long drive.  We had a nice coffee stop this morning on the sea front of San Sebastián, which was nice to get the sea air!  Tomorrow  more driving, another long journey to Calais to catch the Euro tunnel!

Day Eleven - Santiago - Burgos

Time to say farewell to Santiago, our time of revelling in the glow of achievement and enjoying the status of peregrino is over!  By 8.00 am our bags had been packed into the taxi that was to take us back to our friends car at Sarria where we had started our Camino six days ago.  As we sped along the 90 minutes journey, we could retrace the Camino from the window of the car, watching the peregrinos making their way to their goal....Santiago!

It was brewing up to be another scorcher of a day, but by three in the afternoon we had booked into our overnight hotel in Burgos, and we were ready to go and explore!!

Only a few steps away and we were in the square standing looking up at the truly enormous Cathedral, looking even more incredible against the blue of the cloudless sky!  This giant gothic cathedral commands a central position in the old city.  

Our tickets paid we went inside this ancient building!  So many aspects, 
treasures, features to see!  Enormous, ornate gold altarpieces, so many of them they almost became commonplace! Totally over the top in decorative design, which is described as 'horror vacui' or 'cenophobia' meaning the fear of empty spaces.  These altarpieces and chapels certainly fell into this category!  There was so much that it left the visitor overwhelmed  I'll be honest I didn't liked a lot of it!  The atmosphere in this Cathedral was like no other we'd visited recently.  It felt 
like it was a show piece, a museum rather than a church, at least that's how I felt.  But awesome it truly was, especially the dome!  

The summer warmth embraced us as we left the cathedral, and went to find somewhere to eat.

We have a long trip tomorrow, so we intend to leave early.  Our next destination is Poitiers in France which is 420 miles away!

Day Ten - Santiago - Finisterre

Fantastic sleep in our room in the Eaves of the hotel!  To be honest when I woke the whole awesomeness of this trip left me feeling quite overwhelmed and a little tearful!  Happy tears not sad!  But it didn't last long, as we had decided to hire a car and take a trip out to Finistere. It is another glorious day, and we were relishing the thought of a day of sea air, beaches and the beautiful Atlantic sea!  We were not disappointed!  The temperature soared to nearly 30 degrees and it was wall to wall sunshine and wide blue skies!  Our first port of call was the harbour in Finstere with its colourful boats and harbour houses and buildings.  It was here we enjoyed our coffee break. Then a ride following the coast road, with stunning sea views up to the lighthouse.  We passed a Camino signpost with 0 Kms !  Finistere has become a place where many peregrinos continue their walk after reaching their goal of Santiago.  It is here where the tradition is to burn the clothes you have walked the way in, a symbol of not only ending the pilgrimage but all associated with the old life and to continue with the new.  We were quite amazed at all the stuff left.  Garments were  tied on to a huge mast making it look like a modern totem pole.  Trainers, boots, hats, sticks, clothing and so much more!  Here were several sites if blackened rock and soil, where fires had taken place.

We managed to dip our feet into the Atlantic, and stroll along the waters edge letting our tired feet soak up the refreshing warm waters!  We picked up shells (as if we need any more!) and sat on the white sand and enjoyed a picnic of cheese and ham rolls, (a kind of staple diet !!!  lol)   We drove round this picturesque coast, stopping for ice creams and long cold drinks.   Our coast ride took us  to pretty harbours, white sandy beaches, the blue Atlantic sea and even a waterfall!!

Back in Santiago we found somewhere to eat, and wandered the streets, enjoying the buskers, the tourist shops full of trinkets and kitsch, and went into the large square, when the sun was still shining on the ancient yellow stone brickwork of the enormous Cathedral. Peregrinos were arriving all the time, ecstatic to have made their goal!  Photos and dancing and congratulating each other!  :). Another day in this lovely place is nearly over!  Just time for a night cap and then to make sure our bags are packed for our trip to Burgos tomorrow. 

Day Nine - Rua - Santiago de Compostela

Woohoo!  Have just received my Compostela  !!!!   Wow!!!   

Now sitting outside a little cafe waiting for our lasagne to arrive!   What a day!!
(Continued writing later!!)
We had set the alarm and woke very early with the intention of getting an early start walking last twelve miles into Santiago de Compostela.   We'd packed our bags the night before so they were ready for Macsadventure to transport them to our next hotel in Santiago.  We were out by 6.30 am the moon still 
shining brightly, the first signs of daylight, and the dawn chorus in full song!  The freshness of the day was lovely as we rambled through woods and countryside the changing terrain complementing the hills and valleys!!!

It was a very long 'last twelve miles in fact by the time we were in Santiago we had walked 15.49 miles!  We have had a glorious day with a cloudless blue sky, and very intense sunshine!  Once again we walked through a forest of tall eucalyptus trees, and many ups and 
downs!!!!  I'd like to say we've got used to hiking the hills but for me at least they always present a physical challenge!  The downs are steep too, so glad for the sticks!!

This is the last part of the Camino, today we will arrive in Santiago, the Pilgrims goal!  As the day wears on there are more and more walkers and cyclists on the way.  Always there is a cheerful greeting!  'Buen Camino'!  Complete strangers chat, and offer to take photos of us so we can both pose together!   I'm not sure there is another walk like this one, with so many 
different aspects to it, and such cameraderie!  I can see how people want to repeat the experience!   It has been interesting to see how many people do this solo!  Many of them in their prime and setting out to complete the whole 800 Kms.  One such person was a lady from Australia, no spring chicken, but she was 'nearly there'!  We met two German ladies, one struggling with her pack and six blisters on the bottom of her 
feet!!  But they were in good spirits, amazing!  An ice cream stop, and an 
exchange with a German lad who was completing his second Camino, we chatted to him and two girls from Peru! Nearing Santiago we caught the excitement of a girl from Brighton who was running (!!!) in the opposite direction from us to find her friends who unlike her had yet to complete their pilgrimage in Santiago!  There are definitely language problems, but this doesn't seem to present barriers!  At last we could see Santiago!   Our initial enthusiasm was dampened as we had to walk a long way through the streets 
of the City, at one point losing our yellow arrow signs, and having to double back to get back on the Camino!  Enough!!  I had to stop and have a cold drink!!  We sat on a kerbside cafe drinking (for me) ice cold water, and enjoying green olives, as the steady stream of walkers passed us!  Ones we had met on the way and a lot we hadn't but all seemed to be happy that the culmination of their journey is only metres away!!

And so it was that we wound our way 

round the streets of Santiago, and came to the place of the Cathedral of St. James!  It is enormous!!!!

A fellow walker took this photo for us!

We found inside the Cathedral it was cool and vast!  Apart from the solid stone structure, there is much  gold gilt  baroque type decoration, typical of the kind seen in Spanish churches.   We wandered round, and went up behind the altar where there is a place you can look over 'St James's' shoulder into the church.  We went down to the crypt to 

see the silver coffin where the Saints remains are said to be!  It was the stone steps that really fascinated me!  So many people had walked this way evidenced by the scoop in the step worn by zillions of feet!  We saw the tree of Jesse where for centuries pilgrims had placed their hand on the stone, and had worn grooves into the marble just by this act being performed by so many!  It is all quite amazing!

Out into the piazza in front of the Cathedral and into to bright unrelenting 

sunshine (so glad we invested in those hats!!). We made our way to the Compestela office to claim our certificate.   We had to wait a long long time over an hour and a half, and during that time, I felt as though I might collapse!  But we ruffled in our rucksacks and found cakes, and a banana which we shared, and master find a pack of M&S Percy Pigs!!  We fell on the sugar and scoffed like crazy!!!   That perked us up! Thanks Percy!!!  

In the queue we met up once more with people we had talked to and met on the 

way!  Lovely!!!   It was our turn to go into the office and collect our certificate.  We had to fill in a form, where we had come from and why we had wanted to walk the Camino!  He filled in my name on my Compestela, stamped my pilgrims passport, congratulated me, and I became the proud owner of an illuminated certificate!  (Going to frame it and hang it in our downstairs loo!!)

As we came out of the office, standing waitng in the queue was the girl from Dundee!!  She could see the happiness 

in my face, and hers was one reflecting back to me the sheer awesomeness of having completed this trip.  Her journey much longer, and she had given up everything to tread these paths!!  We joked and enthused together, finally 

embracing and bidding our adieus!!   

Out again into the streets we all realised we were starving!  (Well not 

literally).  We must have food!!  We enjoyed our vegetable lasagne and long cool drink, chatting to other pilgrims who sat around us enjoying their meal!

By about 6.00 ish, still in our walking clothes, our day rucksacks stashed away in a locker, we were to be found 

back in the Cathedral.  We were prepared to wait until 7.30 pm when the Pilgrims Mass would commence.   Besides it was quite novel to actually 

sit!!! ;). The church filled with people, walkers, pilgrims, tourists and the faithful, filling up the 1000 seats and spilling over along the sides where 

there was standing space only!  The Spanish service commenced and we were treated to he most beautiful solo singing from a nun!  Her voice rang out in this vast place, calming and 

enthralling her listeners! (Well that's how I heard it anyway). She had the most equisite voice!  She taught us some responses, so we could join in 

when the Mass commenced!  (Such a Joy for me to sing with such a voice leading!!!). The Mass was coming to a close when as a final flourish in this incredible place the largest censer in the world was hoisted aloft by eight men (they reminded me of bell ringers!!!) and with powerful movements they controlled the swinging censer as it swung over and down the aisle wider and wider, spilling its incense over us!  It was truly Awesome!!  And.... It was right above my head!!!   I definitely won't forget 

that in a hurry!!  Afterwards, once again we met up with people we had seen walking the Camino!  Two ladies from California, Margie and Loretta, Margie being the voice who had joined in with me whilst we were walking and singing 'The Rhythm of Life', and how we had laughed and sang 'it's a long way to Santiago' was there smiling away, tears in her eyes, telling me how wonderful the whole experience had been !  She was certainly right with that one!!!

The thousand plus spilled out of the church into the square with the fountain!  David and I sat on the steps for a while just soaking it all up, and pinching ourselves that after all these months of preparation we had indeed 'done this'!!!  We found our friends in the crowd and walked down into the town.   We were thrilled to hear Eine Kline being played, and when we looked, we saw three Russian musicians playing on balalaikas!!  Had to buy one 

of those!!! (Don't be silly, I mean a CD!!!;))

Back at our hotel!  There was nothing for it but to celebrate with a glass of wine!  Cheers!!  What a day!  Certainly an experience that I'm not going to forget!  

Night night!!  Pretty sure we will sleep tight tonight!!:) 

Day Eight - Arzua - Rua

Slept well!!  Pleased to find that limbs still actually work!  Nothing so daunting today as yesterday's marathon, today a 'comfortable' twelve and a half mile walk to take us one day nearer to Santiago :)  We enjoyed a cloudless blue sky all the way on our Camino today.  Again we were treated to lovely countryside, the sunlight dappled on us as we walked through a forest of tall eucalyptus trees, their branches shading us from the intense heat of today! It was beautiful!

The Camino path seems to be getting busier with even more pilgrims/walkers as we are getting closer to Santiago!   One of the walkers a girl about Becky's age seemed to fall into step for a while, and I discovered she came from Dundee!  We had a short exchange, but later when we had stopped for a rest and drink, I bumped into her again!  We chatted!  She so wanted to walk the Camino she decided to sell her flat and car, resign from her job, and just walk and take as long as it took!   She joined the Camino at St Jean Pied de Port on the 1st April and has been walking six days every week.  I asked her about blisters!  Personal I know, but this is a shared topic on the Camino.  She said she had suffered with them after her first week of walking, and discovered that it was caused by wearing socks that were too thick, and carrying a backpack that was too heavy!  This combination seemed to cause her blister problem, and once she had changed these two things she became blister free!  :). I admired her, she was travelling on her own, and now she was getting near to Santiago she felt that she really didn't want to get there because it would herald the end of her Camino!  She hadn't booked anything up, just stopped and stayed in places available!  Along the Camino, there are many places for pilgrims/walkers to stay very cheaply in Alberges.  Her other decision was to walk no more that 25 kilometres a day, but as she is got nearer to Santiago, she has reduced to 20 kilometres a day, so as to  extend her experience.  After Santiago she plans to continue to Finistere on the Spanish Coast and believed by the Romans to be he end of the world!

Meeting fellow walkers is an integral part of the Camino experience.   Lost in my own reverie, singing along the way, (the 'rhythm of life' :) ) I was joined by another voice!!  One of two American ladies from California fell into step next to me!  We then spent quite some time chatting and singing along the way! I felt very re-energised by this!  Especially as I discovered a common interest in art history!

Today's high temperatures have enforced a more leisurely pace, and required that ice cream be consumed at regular intervals!!  ;)   

Our hotel tonight is quite isolated in a hamlet, I was really pleased to see a double bed and a bath :)   We relaxed outside under white cotton sail like drapes enjoying a long cool drink, our meal was excellent,  we both chose Galician Hake, it was too good to top with any dessert!!   

The heat of the day had taken it's toll, and so an early night!  Sadly due to a local fire we have no internet or phone connections!!   Writing this offline and will be posted when possible!

Tomorrow is our last day of walking!  We only have approximately twelve more miles before we reach Santiago!  Planning for an early start in an attempt to beat some of the heat of the day!   

Day Seven - Palas de Rei - Arzua

It certainly has been one of those days!  I have just written up the whole of day seven and lost it!!  Grrrrrr!  Here goes 

again!

Not an easy day from the outset !   We enjoyed a reasonable night, and set off quite early as we had heard the temperatures were going to soar today!   About fifteen minutes into our walk, 

David discovered the hotel key in his 

pocket, so he had to go all the way back and we waited!   Back on track, we walked through beautiful woods with streams and stepping stones, glad of the green canopy to shield us from the cloudless blue sky and the intense heat!   A loo stop proved to be frustrating, and put me in a bad mood!  :(   I found I 

was not only locked into the toilet area, but also the bar!  The owner seemed surprised to see me trying to get out!  And he jabbered on in Spanish as he unlocked three doors, and allowed my freedom!   I'm afraid I ranted at David!  poor bloke!!  Once again we were on 

the Camino trail following the yellow arrows, and beginning to recognise many of the fellow walkers/ pilgrims, and as always lots of 'buen camino' salutations,were exchanged.  We stopped for lunch at another bar along the way!  Delicious Spanish omelet and 

amazing salad!  Refreshed once again we hauled on our day rucksacks and joined the Camino.   I am so glad I have two sticks to aid my walking!  I love them, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do this walk without them.

During our walk today, we visited two little wayside churches, and met a young man who was selling his t shirts and stamping our peregrino passports by a pretty river with a stone slab type bridge, it appears he was at the special Olympics last year and won a bronze for throwing the javelin.

Today as the heat intensified and there were so many ascents and descents, we found the walk very challenging and hard going.  Punishing even.  Our legs and hips ached.  We carry our water in camel packs, and soon that was drained!  Another drink stop we discovered a couple from East Leake a village nearby to where we live!  It was nice to chat to someone in English!

We had expected our walk today to be around seventeen and a half miles, but instead it was 20.24!   The last part 

especially challenging as we had to climb a very steep ascent into the village of Arzua to find our hotel!  We eventually arrived absolutely exhausted.  I was so looking forward to a long soak in the bath.  Sadly the bath was not to be, as there were only en suite showers  :(. I could easily have slumped onto the bed!  But instead, showered and changed, we all walked into the little town, and sat in the square in the sunshine a ordered our tea!  I had egg and chips and David had a pizza.  We were glad to find a pharmacy open, and so we were able to get Olive some relief and healing ointments for the blister that has appeared under one of her toenails!  :/

Back at the hotel, we sat in reception and had a drink before bed!  I ordered a hot chocolate.   A cup of hot milk arrived with a huge sachet of hot chocoate. David's attempt to mix the hot chocoate was only partly successful as came be seen from a photo that Olive kindly (ahem) took!  A challenging day in many respects, but we made it!  And before turning in we also ended up having a laugh together! 

Below is Olive's photo!

,

Day Six - Portomarin - Palas De Rei

Today's challenge!

Thank goodness!  We both slept well!  Hurrah!!  When we awoke it was still dark, so plenty of time for a shower and squeezing our stuff into our case!  Yes you did read right! we are sharing a case!! Even though we haven't bought anything extra, each day it seems more difficult to pack our things in and we have to strain the zip to make the case close!!  So much for travelling light!   

Breakfasted, we got our Peregrino passport stamped and we were ready to start our day!  Outside the mists and fog had covered the water, but the air was crisp and held the promise of a lovely day!  Once again the first part of our walk was a long slow ascent!  It wasn't long before we were shedding our fleeces, and soon the sun was shining!  We were all surprised at how good we felt, afterall, this was day two and another long walk lay ahead of us!   Today we have had another beautiful walk through woods, and countryside very akin to our own countryside and woods at home!  We have met and talked to other pilgrims on the way, from all over the world.  The cameraderie on this route is genuine, and yes, everyone does seem to greet fellow walkers with 'buen camino'!   

Our lunchtime was spent beneath shady trees outside one of the pilgrim rest places.  We all ordered a mixed salad which was piled high with fresh and delicious ingredients, and all for about 6 euros!   On the  way again and we came upon a rest place that was being run by a group of young Brazilian volunteers who had come over to Spain especially to provide a place of rest and refreshment for Camino walkers! They were lovely!

And so our day wore on and we became accustomed to the sound of the crunch on the path and our shadows before us!!  The miles slipped by, and then we had to make a decision, should we include a detour of about four kilometres to visit an ancient church once the seat of the Knights of Santiago.  The church is built upon Roman foundations and the more modern part dates back to the tenth century!  We decided we couldn't let the opportunity of this gem to slip by!  Another ascent!!!  Was this a good idea?  It was!!   We were greeted by the enthusiastic old gentleman who looks after the church, his name Jesu!  We couldn't understand a word he said, but somehow he managed to convey much of the symbolism in this wonderful church!  There were effigies of the knights and unique and beautiful frescoes dating from the 14th century.   There was also a heavy influence of Gallic symbols, reflecting the links between the cultures of Galicia and the Northern Gallic countries.  we were all so glad we had bothered to make this detour.  

We had almost arrived at our stop for the night when David realised he wasn't carrying his camera case which had his small binoculars attached!!!  He retraced his steps in his mind and decided there were two possible places where he could have left them.  We decided not to worry too much about it, but talk to reception when we'd checked in!  All's well!!!!  The reception rang the two places, and the missng camera bag and binoculars had been discovered and have now been returned by taxi!  Amazing care!  A reflection of the Camino Spiriit!

So we arrived at our destination, Palas de Rei, having walked about 20 miles today, and found our lodgings, log cabins with all mod cons at La Cabana.

Tomorrow we have our longest walk!  But with our added miles today, we think that tomorrow will be similar!  However, the weather today has been idyllic for walking!  Tomorrow the forecast is for 24 degrees, which is much hotter!  Another challenge in store!

  Tarte Santiago !!  :). Enjoyed this today!  It's gorgeous!  :)

Day Five - walking from Sarria to Portamarin

Murphy's law!!  The night you want to have a lovely solid sleep you achieve anything but!!!  So frustrating but sadly I hardly slept a wink last night, and David didn't sleep well either!  Our friend Olive had problems too, but her husband seemed to be the only one of the four of us who got his beauty sleep!!!  Anyway, we were up and ready (minus being 'bushy tailed') to start today's walk to Portamarin.  Our first challenge of the day was to ascend very steep steps to take us into Sarria old town.  That took our breath away, and seemed to set the tone for the day!  We were very fortunate as the morning low cloud and mist made way for a beautiful day with virtually perfect walking conditions!  We followed the famous yellow arrows of the Camino, walking through beautiful rural countryside, along many winding country paths, literally uphill and down dale!!!  Babbling streams ran by our footpath, and some we had to cross using stepping stones.  Panoramic landscapes, alpine type wild flower meadows, wild flower hedgerows, charming rustic farmyard buildings, all made our walk special. This beautiful green pastoral landscape reminding us of our own 'back yard' !  It was a tough walk though as there were many steep ascents and descents!  The steepest descent of the day rapidly dropped us from the hillsides into Portamarin, where we crossed the river and had to climb more steep stone steps into the old town to find our hotel!    

Tonight we are staying in a lovely little hotel right on the river, which is actually a giant reservoir!  We're so pleased as we both have a balcony overlooking the waters!  We felt much better after a bath and a change of clothes!  The Spanish omelet for tea in a little restaurant in the old town went down well!  Now we are hoping for a good nights sleep, as tomorrow we have to do it all again!  :)

Section from our walk book showing the ups and downs of today's walk!  I put my MapMyWalk on to record mileage.  It grumbled a bit, but recorded 14.3 miles today

View from our hotel!  

The steep stone steps greeted us at the end of our walk!!!  How mean!!!!!! Pant!!!!!!!

Day four. - Leon to Sarria

We had a leisurely start to the day as we don't have so far to travel today!   After a huge continental breakfast we decided to go back to the Cathedral.  This was easier said than done, as all the gates seemed locked, but eventually we found a side entrance that took us into a large chapel where the morning mass was underway.  It was good to sit quietly with others, and soak up the atmohere in this interesting unique place.  I'm sure the mass wasn't in Latin but it may as well have been because only a few words of Spanish made any sense!  After the service we made our way out through the most fantastic cloisters, and decided to pay 4 euros to go to see the inside of the Cathedral.  We were even given an audio!  I have to say the impact on me of the interior of Leon's gothic Cathedral is one that will stay with me forever!  The stained glass windows are absolutely extraordinary!   Breathtakingly beautiful!  Like gems with the light shining through them!  Totally Awesome a building built in stone and light.  For me it surpassed Chartres!  I felt the same WOW I felt the first time I had visited Sainte Chapelle in Paris, but Leon was of course much much bigger!  Ok enough of my enthusing about Leon Cathedral!  Out in the sinshine (fortunately it seems a bit cooler today) we went back to pack our cases and to check out of our hotel.  It's been a great stay, very comfortable, reasonably priced and near to the centre of the old city which is where we wanted to explore!

The wonder continued as we drove through the most spectacular countryside. Swathes of wild flowers, yellow and white broom and trefoils, French lavender, white poppy like flowers, purple orchids, poppies, heather, cornflowers and many more we don't know the names of!!   The backdrop was equally spectacular, mountains with snow on the peaks!  We wound our way round the roads, seeing the pilgrims walking the route! We noticed along the walkers path that many crosses had been made out of simple sticks and tied into the netting fences.   We stopped for coffee in a quaint little village, a pilgrims resting place, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, and sat in the sunshine enjoying.... just enjoying!!  Then along the road we came to the Iron Cross, a Pilgrims place of great significance.  Tradition is to carry a stone and leave it at the cross.   It was so poignant!  A hill made of stones, stones with messages written on, and other personal bits of 'stuff'!  I really didn't think I would be affected by this but it did move me!  It was the sheer volume of people's thoughts, hopes, gratitude, prayers, whatever .... that really got to me!   Time for a picnic, and to continue on our way through the glorious countryside in the sunshine on to the picturesque town of Ponferrada with a river flowing through it and an ancient stone foot bridge linking the road to the town!  Back in the car, we came into a mountainous region, winding our way round the hilltops, we suddenly came across a huge statue of Santiago against a vast panoramic view!  Another photo opportunity!  We arrived in Sarria about 5 o'clock.   A lovely hotel, again by a flowing river!   I sat and chatted to a couple of ladies from Korea who had been walking since the 1st May when they commenced their walk at St.Jean Pied de Port. They are part of a party of 26.  When I asked how they had got on, they were enthusiastic!  When I asked about their feet, they told me that everyone of their party had had troubles, three of them having to go to hospital!  This walk is not one for the faint hearted!   

We found an Italian pizza place, and enjoyed our meal outside near the river!  David was so thrilled as he saw a dipper!  We had a brilliant sighting, watching this little bird dipping in and out of the water for 10 minutes or so, until he had decided he had entertained us enough and flew away!

Soooo.......tomorrow is our big day!   We must be ready!  We've sorted our bags out as we shall be leaving some of our stuff in the car!   This is what we've come to do!  It has been so wonderful travelling down the Camino route,  parts of it look really very challenging!  So it's time to put our best foot forward!!  ;).  Hope there will be wifi tomorrow night, and I won't be too exhausted to write up the day!  Night night xxx

Day Three - St Jean Pied de Port - Leon

After such a full day, our nighttime drink in the bar of our hotel, and a bowl of blackcurrant ice cream (!) we were more than ready for sleep!  This was achieved very easily, and we were away in the land of nod by 10.30 pm!  Very early for me!!  Unfortunately we both woke around 3.30 am and sleep eluded us!  We made two cups of tea, chatted and soon it was time to get up to shower and dress!  After a most satisfying breakfast chatting to two people who were commencing their Camino that morning,  we packed the car and were ready to roll out of beautiful St Jean Pied de Port to ascend into the hills on our way to Spain.   The scenery was so spectacular we had to stop two or three times just to soak it all in and to take photos of the lush green trees, the sparkling rivers and waterfalls and the outstanding panoramic views!  It wasn't long before we crossed over into Spain.  Over the hills we came to a place called Roncesvalles where there was a large pilgrims centre for people to stay.   We stopped and wandered around finding a large church within the complex.  A euro in the slot meter and the lights came on to reveal all of the treasures of the church,  all very ornate and typically Spanish.  We took even more photos especially as there were Camino signs and a road sign to Santiago de Compostela of 790 Kms! 

In our car we travelled and realised the heat was turning up!  We passed Pamplona (apparently frequented by Ernest Hemingway) heading into flat countryside with no shade, we could see the walkers on the route!  They looked very exposed to the elements!   We were amused to see a stork in its nest on top of a large chimney type structure on the roadside!  That had to be photographed!  

We had heard the legend about St. Domingo de Calzada, a man who worked tirelessly for the pilgrims, caring for their needs and even creating a hospital back in the Middle Ages, in a town named after him! There was also a myth about a cockerel and a hen, and as a result there is a live cockerel and hen kept in a medieval cage within the cathedral.  We parked intrigued to see what we could find out.  We discovered a quaint old Spanish town with loads of character.  A castellated town wall dating from the 1300's has been taken over by storks!  Their haphazard nests perched on the corners of the turrets!  There must have been at least six storks in their nests busy with their young!   An excellent sight!  

We parked and walked down a little medieval lane with ancient buildings either side of us, on the ground a series of Compostela shells showing us we were on the pilgrim route!  The lane opened out to a square and the most ornate enormous Cathedral, its sandy golden bricks basking in the sunshine!  Three euros each secured us tickets to visit the Cathedral.  We entered by way of a side door which directed us through the most extraordinary display of incredible Renaissance altarpieces and sculpture!  I really did need more time, but had to make the most of enjoying what I could in the time we had!  

Inside the church itself, several outstanding pieces of interest!  A huge ornate altarpiece, the alabaster tomb of St Domingo de la Calzada set aside in an area all of it's own, and of course the live hen and cockerel !  Whilst we were in the Cathedral outside we could hear a band blasting away!  We realised there was something happening because as we had parked the car we had seen people scurrying along dressed in colourful outfits!!  We just got out of the Cathedral and into the bright sunshine, when an almighty bang went off!  I jumped!!!  Then the Cathedral started chiming its bells in the most excited fashion.  People were scurrying to the huge square!  We rounded the corner to find the band and crowds of people many dancing, amongst the crowd were giant figures including a king and queen.  More bangs and much merriment!   It was great to be caught up in this Spanish festival celebrating May!!  The first day of the 'holiday', and these celebrations will continue for five days in total!

Time to leave St Domingo de Calzada, to get out before the crowds!!  We drove out of the little town stopping at a picnic spot by a river and ate our picnic, alongside three men who were walking the way!  

And the heat kept soaring!!!  By 4.30 pm the temperature had reached 28 degrees and we are beginning to get a bit anxious about starting our walk on Monday!   Maybe it will cool down by then?!  Who knows!!!

Because of all the fun we enjoyed en route, we arrived at our destination Leon at around 5.30.  We checked in and put our bags in our rooms, and went out into the town to explore!  Another enormous ancient Cathedral!  It was closed, so we have decided we will visit in the morning.  we went to the Tourist  Board and got another stamp for our pilgrims passport, then found a table in the Cathedral Square for a tasty meal outside in the sunshine.

Today has been a day of storks!  The first one was very special, then we saw several at St Domingo de la Calzada, but many more were waiting for us fields full of them!!!  Also saw black kites!   Tomorrow sees us heading for Sarria in preparation for our walk!  

Day Two - Tours to St. Jean Pied de Port.

We slept well!!   Out early we set off from a damp Tours driving through France, stopping off at a Lidl to buy rolls, cheese, strawberries, bananas and biscuits for a picnic en route!   We travelled
through a lot of showers, but the further south we got the warmer the weather, and by the time we got our first glimpse of the Pyrennes the sun was out to welcome us!   A picturesque ride into the quaint beautiful town of St Jean Pied de Port!   We were so delighted!   It is lovely!   We could stop here and not go any further!!!  We booked into our hotel, which we all love, and within ten minutes of arriving had met a couple from Edinburgh who are cycling the Camino, an elderly man from New York and a lady who completed the Camino last year and has come back to do it all again!  This is a popular commencing place and these walkers will have to walk 800 Kms to reach Santiago from here!

We literally dumped our bags in our room to make the most of the time in this interesting picturesque little town.  First port of call was the Camino office to obtain our Compostela passports!   We waited until one of the officials was free then we filled in the relevant  questions, and we received our first stamp!!   

Out if the office (we were a bit excited tbh) we strolled round the town!  It is hilly and has an ancient
wall that we walked and looked at the views!   We found a little restaurant with a Pilgrims Menu and decided to go in!  Excellent value and very tasty!  Starter of a salad, main course chicken and potatoes with a very nice sauce, and apple crumble for pud!!  David and I had a glass of red with our meal too :) Back at our hotel, we sat chatting and drinking coffee!  

In total we've now travelled approximately 650 miles!  They have sped by!!   We are in such good companionable company!!   :).  We mustn't be late to bed, as we anticipate an early start to travel on to Leon in Spain in the morning!

Day One - Ashford - Chartres - Tours

An early 6.25 am start from Ashford, we boarded the Eurotunnel at 7.49, it wasn't long before we were in France travelling through rain soaked countryside and little villages, stopping for our picnic, which we ate in the car as weather was bad! By the afternoon it had stopped raining and we parked our car in the Cathedral car park at Chartres, to visit the  enormous Cathedral which dominates the town.  Long before we got to Chartres the Cathedral could be seen from the road! We speculated how the ancient pilgrims would be heartened to see such a sight, Chartres Cathedral being part of the Pilgrim Route.  If the outside was impressive so too was the vast interior.  There is currently a cleaning process going on, but it seems they are doing this in stages as the scaffolding had all been taken down, and the difference was clearly visible between the parts that had been cleaned and the main part of the church yet to be cleaned!  A huge job!!     

So many jewel like stained glass windows depicting nearly 1200 scenes, including St. Jacques and a life cycle of Mary Magdalen.

On the floor an 861 and a half foot long Labyrinth, created during the dangerous times of the crusades when Pilgrims could not safely visit Jerusalem.  Instead this labyrinth acted as the same number of days journey to Jerusalem.

A little gem before we left!  David was in the Cathedral shop talking to the shop assistant, who fetched a large postcard of the statue of St. Jacques for a euro, with the instruction to go and see the person on the desk who would stamp the card with a Compostela stamp!  So we've started our 'passport' collection of Pilgrim stamps today!  :)

Back in the car and another journey to Tours, a lovely town!  Hoping for a good sleep!  Tomorrow another long journey to St. Jean Pied de Port. 

Will add some photos when I get a chance!  

May Day Challenge

By way of limbering up for our Long Walk, we've signed up for the Woodhouse Eaves May Day half marathon run/walk!  Have never been involved in this event before as we're usually in Suffolk!  The worst bit will be at the beginning, as the walk starts with a long slow ascent!  Good bit is the WI are providing refreshments!  :)

Better have an early night tonight!!!  :)

Fun Run Website

Preparations underway for the fun run tomorrow!

We did it!!!  We had a glorious day, and the route was very beautiful!  We did find it challenging though as we are used to stopping for a cup of tea and rest in a tearoom!  There were over 400 walkers and runners, and also a route for families to follow.  The whole event was arranged amazingly well, and we enjoyed hog roast and tea and cakes supplied by the WI on our return.  The scouts did a fab job manning the refreshment stops en route.  We were also given a quality walking t shirt!  Loved the sign in Swithland around the 11 mile mark which read 'Go Mary!  Go!!'  Not sure who it was for, but it definitely worked for me!!!  :). I found the last bit really hard but we were in it for perseverance and endurance rather than competition!  We were both delighted with our time!  13.5 miles in 4hrs 25 mins!!  Andy and his team are already advertising for next year!  The day after, and you know what?  I think I'd go again!  Crackers?!!!  ;)

Oh what a beautiful morning!! :)

Briefing in village car park!  Ready for 8.30 am start!

Fabulous Charnwood!!  :-)