(this has been posted the morning after, because of slow internet speeds last night…) 

Today we walked into Santiago de Compostela –
We completed our walk.
Some 260 kms in twelve days.
And the relief, and sense of achievement for our group, was huge!

Bart arriving in Cathedral square

It was a particularly pleasing achievement for Marilyn Workman and Stella Kinniburgh – both women in their 70s who found it tough going these past few days. Today on the last day’s walk there were many hills that women half their age would have struggled up.

Marilyn and her sister Laurie

Alistair and Stella

But they made it, and they each now have their Compostela – their certificate of completion of the Camino.

Laurie Hilsgen too completed the walk, with huge blisters which for the past several days have caused her constant pain.

Laurie arriving in square

It’s stories like these, of people overcoming pain and adversity, which to me symbolise the power and mystique of the Camino.

It was a long day’s walk today – about 22kms – under overcast skies with a slight drizzle. Perfect walking weather.

Here’s Ruth powering through her last day. I remember on the first day, she was so anxious as to whether she would make it. She has been of the major success stories of this tour. (There have been many!) But just look at the radiance in her face.

Ruth on last day

Alistair, Stella and Ruth left early – about 7am – so that they could take it easy, take photos, and enjoy the last day of the walk. It meant that those who left later, and walked faster, caught them up towards the tail end of the day, which was perfect – as we all wanted to walk into Santiago as a group.

Jennifer meanwhile took Jan and Vivienne back to Padron, so they could climb those steps and see St. James’ preaching spot. They said later that it had been well worth doing, and a highlight of the trip for them.

I walked out front with Ian a good deal of today – and we kept a swift pace. We talked and i learned more about this extraordinary man, who with his wife have devoted their lives to the upbringing of their handicapped son.

Ian on last day

Ian to me epitomises the ANZAC spirit – strong in character, loyal, dutiful yet compassionate. And he also epitomises the Kiwi spirit too – honest, solid, no BS, totally reliable… In other words he’s a good bloke – except he tells too many jokes about underarm bowling for my taste… 🙂

(For those of you in other countries who don’t follow cricket, here is a Wikipedia link to what’s been described as “the darkest day in cricket history,” involving a game between Australia and New Zealand in 1981.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underarm_bowling_incident_of_1981

Today’s walk with Ian might have been a bit too swift for me because halfway my knee started to pain me in disturbing ways – like shards of glass digging into the kneecap.

We came across Alistair and Stella, who had set off early and were taking their time, taking  photos. They are both wonderful photographers – former professionals – and even with their iPhones they can produce stunning images.

(yes, I know Steve…)

Here they are with Jennifer walking into Santiago –

Stella, Alistair and Jennifer talking Weird & Whacky

Even though they are High Anglicans, Stella and Alistair have Weird and Whacky tendencies. That’s why they enjoy hanging out with Jennifer.

By Camino Frances standards this Portuguese Camino is a short walk – about a third of the Frances – yet it’s no less demanding and no less an achievement. Have a look at the faces of father and daughter Bart and Merissa to see that sense of achievement…

Bart with his daughter Merissa in square

We then made our way to the Pilgrim’s Office to get our Compostelas,

Ian with Compostela

Just one day more, a ceremony at sunset on Cape Finisterre, then we sadly have to say goodbye to these amazing people…

L-R: Ian, Jennifer, Vivienne, Jan, Alistair, Ruth, Neville

I can’t quite believe that tomorrow we’ll be walking into Santiago.

It’s all happened so fast.

Soon, these wonderful people that we’ve got to know these past two weeks will be going their own separate ways. There will be no more shared Camino experiences.

It will be very sad for Jennifer and myself.

This morning we left Caldas de Reis and began walking the 22kms to Padron. The walk took us along some wonderful trails.

In the afternoon we finally arrived in Padron – a place of enormous significance on the Camino. This is the place where St. James is said to have preached on a mount or hill above Padron.

And later, his relics were returned to Padron briefly before being transported to Santiago de Compostela.

We all walked into Padron today – had lunch – then a after lunch Jennifer and I walked up the “1000 steps” to the mount where St. James preached.

It’s a place that carries a huge energy – quite palpable. Jennifer and I sat for quite some time in amongst the rocks where St. James preached.

For me, it’s been the highlight of the pilgrimage so far.

Sorry folks.

For the first time in four Caminos I missed a post last night.

I had no internet in the hotel, and stupid me put the wrong SIM card in my iPad and I couldn’t figure out why I had no internet connection in Spain.

So I had an early night and it was great!!

Anyway, let me now combine two days into one…

With both days there was intermittent rain. But today, coming into Caldas de Reis, the rain finally stopped. Both days were glorious walking – coolish, everything around us so green and lush, water spilling from rock crevices by the side of the road.

There are a lot of German pilgrims on the track now. And because we’re within the 100kms to Santiago zone (which enables you to get your Compostela), the crowds have increased. There are many more pilgrims walking each day now than when we first set out from Porto.

This morning Laurie, her sister Marilyn, along with Bart and his daughter Merissa and Vivienne too left early – about 7:15am – and got quite a few kilometres under their belt even before we left at 8:37am.

They walked at a brisk pace too – and it wasn’t until about midday or later that some of us caught them up, only about 7kms out of Caldas de Reis. (Today was a 22km day)

Yesterday the highlight for me was having lunch with Antonio. One of the best steaks I’ve had on the Camino, washed down with a cheeky Rioja.

The second bottle got even cheekier.

Later we were joined by Bill the filmmaker. We had a lot of laughs together.

The highlight today was walking with Alistair for a bit, and talking about religion versus spirituality – one of my favourite topics – with me expounding on my thesis that religion is like a Fatburger.

(Here is the post that explains what I’m talking about… Religion is a Fatburger)

This arvo, after getting into Caldas, Jennifer and I went for a walk and stumbled upon some of our group on the terrace of a bar overlooking the river. We joined them and had Sangria and Padron Peppers.

Everyone is having a fabulous time, and we’re starting to get sad that soon we’ll be going our separate ways.

Tonight at dinner I gave a little talk to the group about walking into Santiago, which will happen now in two days time. And I spoke about how when I did it the first time, I was completely underwhelmed.

I told them not to expect a major epiphany, or for a moment of transcendent profundity. Chances are it won’t happen. But it might happen later. Maybe weeks, more possibly months later. And it might happen when they’re reviewing their photos, or just recalling wonderful moments on the Camino that might have seemed insignificant at the time,

The Camino works in subtle and discreet ways. You can’t just dial in change and expect it to happen as you walk down those stairs, through those archways, and step out in front of the Cathedral. it doesn’t happen like that.

Life doesn’t happen like that.
Life happens when you least expect it.

Here are some shots I like from the past two days…

Today we left in rain and hence no photos.

It was to be a long day – 20kms +, broken up by a jump to Vigo to meet some sponsors of this walk – the medical firm Bupa.

But first – here is a shot of Antonio waiting for us with the van with snacks and a smile –

Here is my lunch in Redondela – freshly made tortilla with potato, accompanied by Spanish ham and cheese. Total cost: €3.

We then had to meet up with Antonio to get the van to Vigo, for a meeting with the Bupa people. Antonio said he was under the iron bridge, near a Froiz (supermarket chain), beside a park that had a river running through it, next to a big carpark.

We followed the iron bridge to a park with a river running through it, with a Froiz adjacent, next to a big carpark.

No Antonio.

I called him, he insisted that that was where he was.

I couldn’t see him anywhere.

After nearly an hour, I discovered that Redondela has TWO Iron bridges, each beside a park with a river running through it, each near a Froiz supermarket, each next to a big carpark. One is up one end of the city, the other up the other end.

We finally met up, laughed, and went to Vigo where Laurie and some of the carers on the tour met with the lovely people from Bupa.

They’d put on a magnificent spread for us, consisting of sliced ham and chorizo, red and white wine (beautiful wines) some chocolate goodies and soft drinks.

Laurie did a tour of their facility, we took some photos for media purposes, and then we all drove back to Redondela to complete the day’s walk. We got into Arcade about 6pm.

This is a shot outside my hotel window just now after dinner.

Hopefully this will presage a day without rain tomorrow…

Today was 22kms in the rain, largely – although according to my Fitbit I walked 25.23kms.

My Fitbit tends to boast though

A bit like me…

We left Valenca via the old fort. It was wonderful walking through without any tourists.

We then did the requisite photo-ops on the bridge crossing from Portugal to Spain – before we headed across the bridge though everyone broke out into song, led once again by Alistair and Stella… an old song about wandering with a backpack on my back…  tra la lee, tra la la… We all joined in. And laughed… Then we crossed into Spain. 

Today was a pleasant but longish walk. And at times it bucketed down. But it never dampened our spirits…

Now after seven days I’m starting to see a real blossoming in some of our pilgrims.

There are some who have discovered capabilities within themselves that I’m sure they didn’t believe possible.

There are some who have, for the moment, discarded their worries and sorrows. You can see the sadness lift, and their true unburdened nature begin to shine through. You can see it in their smiles, in their shining eyes, in their joviality and laughter.

There are some, I suspect, who will make some fundamental changes to their lives when they return home.

This Camino is not a long pilgrimage, but it’s powerful. I’ve seen it work its magic in swift and discreet ways.

It’s doing so with our group.

We positioned Antonio with the van today at a couple of points along the way where there was some confusion as to which track to take. Antonio is doing a fabulous job in ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

Later in the day he took one of our group to a foot specialist in town. Nothing serious, just some soreness.

We’re not eating in the hotel tonight. The food in the dining room here is crap. We’re eating in a nice family-run restaurant severing fabulous local food and the best wines.

To finish this blog, here are some portraits I took today.
Look at the shine in these faces.
That’s the Camino shine…

Ruth – Day 7

Merissa – Day 7

Marilyn & Laurie – Sisters – Day 7

We left our beautiful Casa Rurale in the rain this morning, and the track was muddy and full of puddles.

Everyone though was in good spirits after a wonderful meal last night, and the prospect today of a short walk – some 13kms or so.

After a short while, and a very pleasant walk, we came to a cafe that I remembered from my previous Portuguese Camino. On that occasion I had taken a photo of a young girl with purple glasses. Here is the photo I took two years ago –

The girl was there again, and so I took another photo of her –

The glasses have changed…

Inside the cafe were Bart and his daughter Merissa, and Laurie and her sister Marilyn. The four of them powered today.

We weren’t there long before Alistair and his wife Stella joined us –

After a coffee and a toasted ham and cheese sambo, I headed off with Alistair, Stella and Jennifer.

A couple more hours of walking and we came to a large market in a town called Cerdal. The market was a bit like the market in Barcelos, it was full of stalls that sold clothing, local produce, and live animals to eat.

I stumbled across a BBQ chicken stall, that at first I thought was just selling grilled chicken for takeaway.

The chicken and the grilled pork ribs looked yummy…

I then realised that there was a large marquee attached to it, and inside there were tables and chairs for a sit down meal.

So I sat down and ordered a meal.

I was soon joined by a group of young men and woman who it turned out came from Bolivia. They were fascinated to learn that I was walking to Santiago.

Their meal came before mine. I was starving, and they must have realised this, because they game me food from their plate – several pieces of yummy grilled chicken. It was so sweet and generous of them.

They put their chilli sauce on their chicken with a paint brush –

Later, when my meal came I repaid the gesture.

Today I walked a lot with Alistair and his wife Stella. Stella has worked as a counsellor for those with mental health issues. They are both High Anglicans, in Christchurch. I didn’t know what a High Anglican was until I met these two.

I thought it was an Anglican that was stoned.

I don’t think Alistair or Stella have been stoned in the time that I’ve spent with them. They are always very happy though so you never know.

And when Alistair breaks out into song at dinner time then I do wonder if he’s been sniffing the daisies a wee too much, as they say in New Zealand…

Here’s what my favourite reference guide – Wikipedia – says about High Anglicanism /

The term “high church” refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality and resistance to “modernisation”. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originated in and has been principally associated with the Anglican/Episcopal tradition, where it describes Anglican churches using a number of ritual practices associated in the popular mind with Roman Catholicism.

We arrived at Valenca in the afternoon. The rain had stopped, and everyone skipped across to the old fort. Valence is the northern most part of Portugal won our Camino.

Jennifer and I met up with Marilyn first…

Then we bumped into Neville and Vivienne. We introduced them to the Spanish delights of Churros – which are like stick donuts covered in sugar.

Jennifer and I then wandered around and I took some photos of the fort. Soon I will be going to dinner with our group and no doubt they will show me their photos taken with their pissy little iPhone cameras, and I know it’s going to upset my digestion dreadfully because they’ll be way better than any of my shots…

Yes I know… that’s not exactly pilgrim talk…

Tomorrow we cross the river into Spain – and onwards to Santiago!

Today my full-sunshine reputation went totally down the toilet.

It rained.
Not a drizzle, but rain.

Well, at times it drizzled, but I guess when it drizzles constantly and in buckets, then you could arguably call it rain.

We left Ponte de Lima with threatening skies, walking over the magnificent Romanesque 22 span bridge.

We then made our way to the Last-Stop cafe before the big climb up to Rubiaes. Before I began the climb I had my requisite two Coke Zeros.

I remember last time I did that climb it was a struggle. It was hot, and I was knackered, and my mate Steve helped me along.

Today it was a breeze. I scampered up the climb no sweat. Probably because it was cooler, I was stronger from some solid training beforehand, and last year I did the Via de Francesco, which made today look like a cake walk.

I’m not sure what a cake walk is, but I suspect it’s a walk you do when you want to go get some cake…

Our group did well today.

Some jumped the hill climb, because they’ve developed injuries. The others did the climb without difficulty.

Bill the filmmaker was up top documenting it all.

I’m getting to know them.

The front mob consists of Jan, who is lithe and fit and clips along with her mate Marilyn at a solid pace. Vivienne walks with them too – and they natter as they walk, often chortling with laughter.

Walking with them for a bit, they reminded me of the three Witches of Eastwick –

Cher
Susan Sarandon
and Michelle Pfeiffer

(Ladies, you choose which one is which!) (or witch one is witch… haha)

Walking with them often is Ian, who walks without poles, wears shorts even when it’s bloody freezing, and makes walking 6kms per hour look effortless.

Today Bart was our front runner – and his daughter Merissa and Jennifer officially took the title of the back mob. The two of them had a lovely walk in the rain, Merissa taking photos which she showed me later. She took them on her smartphone and now I hate her too. She has a really good eye.

There are a lot of good photographers in this group. Maybe it’s a New Zealand thing.

Or rather, thung.

Today I walked up the mountain with a lady who is not with our group. Her name is Linda. She is in her 60s, although she looks younger, and her husband works for the UN.

I walked with her because yesterday she’d gotten talking to some in our group and she had expressed some nervousness about doing the climb today. She’s carrying some serious injuries from a broken neck sustained in a horse riding accident.

She can’t use poles, she can’t carry a backpack, and she was worried about the climb. So I thought it might be handy for someone to accompany her.

As we began the climb we chatted, and she told me that her husband works for the UN as an investigator. Like a detective. He chases down bad guys within the UN – at the moment those in the peace-keeping forces that are allegedly involved in illegal activities, such as rape, misappropriating funds, selling their firearms and weapons to the insurgents, etc.

He’s currently in a remote part of the Central African Republic, and she’s worried about him because she hasn’t heard from him for a while. I said that surely in his job, he would be a target. His life would be in constant jeopardy. She agreed, and said that he usually has security guards around him, but on this current assignment they didn’t show up, and so he called in for backup but because it’s so remote it’s taking a while.

Linda had a brief communication from him this morning before she set off – and said that she was a wee bit worried because he was worried. Later this evening she still hadn’t heard from him.

She handled the climb ok. It turned out she was a strong and accomplished walker.

At the point at which you cross into Agualonga, there is a large cross which has accumulated many more stones and mementos since I was last there…

I always find it a very emotional experience to think about the stories behind some of the photos left at these crosses.

We got to our Casa Rurale in the mid afternoon, and everyone was wet, cold, and bedraggled. We all had warm showers in rooms that are quite luxurious. Later we had a gorgeous home cooked meal which began with cod cakes and Padron peppers.

Towards the end of the dinner Neville, who is a supreme raconteur, told us a joke:

A man had to be an MC at a wedding, and so he went to a friend and said – Look, I have to be an MC at a wedding and I want a quick joke to break the ice. But I don’t know any jokes, and I don’t tell jokes particularly well, so can you help me out?

The friend said sure. Okay. Here is a quick and easy joke:

A Spanish fireman got married, and his wife bore him twin sons, so he called the first one Jose, and the second one Jos-b.

They both laughed, and the man said – Thank you, that’s perfect.

So the day of the wedding came, and the man stood in front of the assembled throng, and began by saying: I have a little joke for you. A Spanish fireman got married, and his wife bore him twin sons, so he called the first one A-hose, and the second one B-hose.

When Neville told this joke we all thought it was hilarious, but then again it could have been the White Port…

Knee Update: 

I’m sure there are many of you who follow this blog who are anxious to know how my knee is going. I decided not to bring my brace on this Camino – believing that if I took it, it would only set an intention for my knee to give me problems.

(A MRI taken a while ago showed that the cartilage in my right knee has completely left the building, and I am technically bone-on-bone. My orthopaedic surgeon told me I had to wear an elaborate brace when walking any distance, and said a knee replacement was not a matter of “if,” but “when.”)

Ha!

So I’ve been walking 5 days now, and done about 100kms, without the brace, and the knee is holding up ok. I’ve had some twinges, and today was a real test, going up that mountain, but particularly coming down the other side, which put a lot of stress on the knee.

I checked my knee this evening and noticed that it’s quite swollen. So I put some Voltaren cream on it.

I hope it gets me to Santiago ok. I don’t wish to go on Ibuprofen again…

Today it rained.

It finally destroyed  my record for rain-free days, but the farmers needed it.

That’s how I rationalised the crushing disappointment.

It was light rain, barely rain really, but given that I had to put on a rain jacket, I could no longer call it drizzle.

With mist hanging in the mountains, and glowering skies, it made for a very beautiful walk. Particularly with Spring flowers everywhere.

It was a longish day – more than 20kms – but everyone was in good spirits. The day remained cool, and after lunch the rain stopped – so it was wonderful walking weather.

Jennifer hung out as usual with the back mob, and they meandered in late – having had a relaxed and fun day.

Walking into Ponte de Lima is one of the highlights of this Camino. It has to be the most beautiful entrance to any town on this route.

This evening we all went into the historic centre to have dinner.

the town was all lit up for festivities…

Jose, the wonderful agent who has helped organise the tour, lives in Ponte de Lima and popped in to say hello – and connect up with Antonio.

After dinner, we walked over and looked at the Romanesque bridge and the church beyond… Tomorrow we will be crossing that bridge and heading up into the mountains for the toughest day of the tour.

Today wasn’t a particularly long day’s walk – 21kms – but it was hot (up to 38C), on cobblestones pretty much the whole way, and hard work.

The heat made it difficult for most of us. Radiating up off the cobblestones, it was enervating.

Before we started, I took some portraits.
This is Antonio.

Antonia is our driver / assistant / our helper / fixer. He is our Caterina. Some of the ladies think he’s good looking. Antonio isn’t just a pretty face. He’s an architect. Taking out time from a high powered internship to do this tour.

This is Merissa. Merissa has allergies, and so she has to walk with a mask.

Cool look.

This is Merissa’s father, Bart. Bart used to be in the US Navy. His specialty was electronics. Bart is handy when we get lost.

He’s out of the Forces now and works for Intel.

Bart and Merissa come from Portland Oregon – one of my favourite parts of the world – and they are a fascinating couple. At the age of 14 Bart pulled a car apart and reconstituted it.

This is Ian leaning on Bart.

Ian works for Air New Zealand and he’s fleet of foot. He’s a solid walker.

Bart and Ian and I walked together today. We were the front mob.

Jennifer had a languid breakfast with the back mob –

I have named them the Laggard Womens Breakfast Club.

Later Jennifer redeemed herself as a true pilgrim by walking into Barcelos –

We had dinner at my favourite grilled chicken joint – the Furna, in Barcelos.

This is one end of the table –

This is the other end of the table –

This is both ends of the table joined together…

This is the staff watching the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City. (The tv in this exposure is blown out, however trust me there’s a footy match being played…)

Real Madrid won.

Meanwhile I was having an interesting conversation with Bart, being an American, about Donald Trump, seeing as how today he became the presumptive Republican party nominee.

This is Donald Trump –