BLOG: Our daily adventures,
Week 30: Santiago de Compostela to Estorde
July 30th to August 5th
- Day 204 to Day 205: July 30th to July 31th: Exploration and resting time in Santiago de Compostela.
Total of 2523 km
- Day 206: August 1st: Santiago de Compostela to Castineiro de Lobo - 12km
Sending paper plane-shaped prayers to the Apostle.
Biding farewell to Alice in the prayer room of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
So much gold in there, I wonder if Jesus would approve.
After witnessing a very moving flash mob in front of the Cathedral with a hundred of people chanting and dancing, we head up to our little accomodation, pack up our last gear and off we go toward the next destination.
On our way to Fisterra, the true end of the camino.
Standing together versus standing alone...
12 km done for a total of 2523+12= 2535 km
- Day 207: August 2nd: Castineiro de Lobo to Portocamino - 17km
This last stretch of the Camino is popular enough (as opposed to the deserted trail we chose to reach Santiago) for the pilgrims to assume that their messages will be read before their decomposition....no doubt that a good samaritan will help the poor guy.
Great , on point, message for us who have a tendency to ignore the pain signals send out by our protesting bodies.
The medieval bridge of Ponte Maceira. Its fame dates back to the legend of the many miracles which happened when the body of Saint James the apostle was transported from the coastline near Fisterra to Santiago...in these tales, the bridge collapsed right beneath the feet of the soldiers who were send by the evil Queen to interrupt the convoy.
The water of the river Tambre was too inviting to resist a little refreshing bath under the radiant sun
Something tells me that our solar panel won't have any trouble to charge our batteries today.
The angelic wings of the extraordinary glowing Sun.
On our way..angels and butterflies.
The small city of Negreira and its castel-like walls.
Both the Spanish and the Portuguese love to garnish their gardens with Hydrangea, often creating long natural fences out of their voluminous bushes.
As we were about to run out of water, this providential fountain appeared on our path...having the same effect on us than a hopeless man lost in the desert when discovering an oasis.
Buen Camino !
We arrive quite late in the village of portocamino where the only source of food is a small cafeteria...a few km earlier, we were already salivating while watching at its menu online...We get there just in time, the kitchen was about to close, and it's with a happy full stomach that we leave the cafe to look for a place to sleep. We opt for a deserted soccer field located next to a small farm...the smell emanating from its undoubtedly giant pile of cow odorant "fertilizer" is so strong that we have to establish camp at the furthest end of the soccer field....As soon as we are all set, tent in place, mattresses pumped up, sleeping bags out and pyjamas on...we hear a unsettling sound of succion coming from the giant pile mentioned here above...the farmer is filling up and about to go fertilizing his crops...the tractor past us at the other end of the soccer field and turn right in our direction and starts spraying the fragrant content of his precious cargo on the farmland right beside us, thus annihilating our efforts to stay away from the stink...after 2 hours of back and forth motion and enthusiastic spread of poop, at last, after having dutifully polluted our nostrils and ruining what could have been a romantic evening, the farmer seemed to have remember that at midnight, he should be going to bed.
Back to blissful clean air at last!
Back to blissful clean air at last!
17 km done for a total of 2535+17= 2552 km
- Day 208: August 3rd: Portocamino to Lago - 19km
Messages collected on our path today:
A wink from my country of birth: Costa Rica power!
Nope!!
A previous pilgrim must have lost one of his/her precious cargo: 2 perfectly eatable chocolate flavoured pastries that we savoured as a heaven-sent gift.
The "menu del dia" for pilgrims is making Casey's day: appetizer, main course, dessert and a Beer for just 10 euros...Casey is definitely happy to pilgrim his way to Fisterra!
The wind picked up and the temperatures dropped quite extraordinarily for an August month...no problem, I was fully equipped and ordered a warm coffee.
19 km done for a total of 2552+19= 2571 km
- Day 209: August 4th: Lago to Hospital - 13 km
13 km done for a total of 2571+13= 2584 km
- Day 210: August 5th: Hospital to Estorde - 19 km
19 km done for a total of 2584+19= 2603 km