Liz and Linda and El Camino de Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage 2017

Would I do this again? Yes!  I will probably do the French section next from Le Puy to St Jean Port de Pied which is also 800k. Then the Portuguese Camino, then from Switzerland, and then tackle Norway. After that... Did I mention the Camino can be addictive? When? I think spring and fall for the Camino Frances is probably best: less crowded and the temperature is better. I couldn't hike it in 40+ degrees C. Many people hike for a week or two, then come back the next year and continue on. You don't have to do the whole 800k. Packing   A couple of people asked if there were things I wished I had taken or things I wished I left behind. There isn't an easy answer for some things as it can depend on the weather, but here is what I would change or add or definitely bring to my list next time: - umbrella. I ended up buying a good quality one that I used mostly to cover me from the sun. The shade made it so much more comfortable to walk in the sun! Of cours

    There was a street party last night lasting well after 3 a.m. It had to be locals as pilgrims were too tired and used to being in bed by 8 or 9. Yesterday, the BBC website had an article on drinking a Galician special drink called the Blue Fire. Drinking it after a special incantation will purify you.  http://www.bbc.com/travel /gallery/20171030-galicias- mythic-drink-of-blue-fire  And the one night that is special for drinking this was last night, All hallows eve or All Saints Day eve. We slept in until past 8am. In clean sheets. For the second night in a row! We finally got active after 9 and headed out for café con leche and a pastry (looked like a sausage roll but with tomato sauce and cheese). Then off to The Camino office for the final credential  - parchment paper written in Latin stating we had completed the pilgrimage with our names on it. I saw Brian in the lineup, met Simon from Quebec and Melissa still in her yellow crocs, coming out of the office clutching her

Byron and Melita were quiet as church mice and I woke to the only sound they made - the closing of the door as they left around 6:30.  What a great feeling to sleep between sheets. Mats and I are off to a slow start. I let him sleep until 7:30 and we were on the road by 8:15.  We can either only go 18k to an albergue 4.5 k outside of Santiago  or go the whole way. It's beautiful day if we can walk all the way today we can beat the forecast for rain tomorrow. We decide to push for going the whole way today. Heck, it is only 22.5k. The guidebook shows an elevation profile of mostly downhill yet I keep seeing uphill trails. 'Mats, This is the last hill!' 'Ja. Then it is all downhill.' 'Oh, oh'. I spot a watering trough. I have seen a pattern and pointed it out to Mats- whenever you see a watering trough for feet or animals, especially those where humans can sit and recharge, then you just KNOW there is a hill coming up. I have tested this theory

A day to break all records! First, I am sleeping in a bed with sheets! A pair of sheets, I.e. One on top of me and a sheet below me! In a real bed, not a bunk bed. And it is a double size mattress. Whoppee! And there is towels for the shower! Real towels made of soft cotton loops! Paradise. The fact that there are three other beds and three other people in this room is immaterial. Heck, I have slept in a room with 30 strangers. Anyway, I know all three. Mats of course, along with Byron and Melisa from Winnipeg.  We ended up here in a Hostel, not an alburgue, because the last two were already full and two others had closed for the season. We ended up going 39k! 39k We are up in Thomas's league. We started at dawn and got here just as it got dark. That was a record breaker for walking.  Strangely my legs don't feel 39k worth of being tired. Most of the day was spent on trails through wooded areas. We stopped twice for a picnic, passed the Berliner and his godchildren a

We had chosen the albergue closest to the Camino coming and leaving town, but 7 am found us having to hike an extra .5k into town and back for coffee. But in the grander scheme of things, what is 1k extra? This was the earliest we had ever started out and all because my watch somehow jumped an hour ahead. I woke Mats up and he checked his iPhone as per usual and in his disheveled state sitting on the top bunk he looked down puzzled, 'Why, Liz?' I thought that was a silly question, 'because it is almost 7:30!' 'But why does my phone say 6:30?’ Oops. By then it was too late. He was wide awake. As we entered town in the predawn fog, we met Byron and Melita on their way out of town. They always seem to start an hour before us. We keep leapfrogging each other. We got to Palas de Rai but it was only 2pm so we stopped for a drink, 'Aquarius' for me. This was a drink to replenish your salts, a non-alcoholic drink Rob had introduced me to. Very refreshin

Goodbye shoes. We had aimed to stay at the monastery at Sarria but after going up and up through the old town we stopped near the top, and the end of the town and had decided to go no further and walked into the next albegue. It was perfect. We got our own room with four beds (two bunks), access to a spin dryer and clothes line on a roof top. Isabel and Judith were there too. Linda woke up with a deep chest cold which didn't bode well for the upcoming hills, so she opted to go on her own and take her time.  We would stay in touch via our phones. Today Mats and I said goodbye to my shoes. The Hokos had the best soles for rough ground. No wonder ultra marathoners wear them. I, unfortunately could only wear them a week before I could go no further with the blisters I unfairly received from them.  A bit big for me but luckily for Mats, they fit him. A bit tight but it gave him another pair of shoes to change into during the day. Foot options are good. Mats has done marathons, h

We choose to take a longer route via a river and past a Benedictine monastery. And extra 6 k but more scenic and less steep. At some point I find myself far ahead and when on a steep part of the trail I stop to check behind to see if I see Mats or Linda. Once spotted I continue on but at one point, past a tiny village with 4 chicken crossing signs and a lot of feathers within 500 ft on a very narrow road, I keep looking but not seeing anyone. I pull out my phone and open it at the exact time that Linda phones me wondering where I am. Mats is up on a road i crossed five minites ago, looking for me when Linda remembered she could phone me. It's unusual for me to be in the lead. Once gathered together again, we continue on.  There are very few people on this trail, most have gone the shorter route but this is a pretty hike despite some charred areas shoeing where a fire had recently been through. Yesterday at one of our rests at a bar café, Brian had told us about his new fou

The German volunteer turned on the lights at 7, a not so subtle hint to get up. Five minutes later she was checking each bed to make sure people were awake. Another five minutes and she was examining the white walls alongside each bunk bed with a sticky piece of tape. I saw her press it to a wall and examine it. I thought she was exhibiting the German penchant for cleanliness until someone pointed out she was checking for bedbugs. I noticed the Basque Blue Bull was ready to go but he kept hanging around, probably wanting to walk with someone. People seemed to match themselves with others. Mats's 'future wife ' seemed to be hanging out with the handsome Frenchman. Martin had blisters and was walking slowly and walked with Melissa who was wearing crocs to avoid rubbing on her heel blisters. I don't think I have mentioned Mats's future wife before. He met her near the beginning. A slim fresh looking young Frenchwoman who was wearing 5-toed shoes. Each toe is e

We left Villafranca and soon ran into Dave and his new girlfriend who were walking very slowly. He seemed very happy to see us and I overheard him say he was going to walk with us to get some exercise. She soon called him back and adjusted her sweater which was hanging from his pack and then he caught up with us. 'We tend to walk slow when she has to concentrate and translate into English.' Dave's natural pace was much faster and I think he enjoyed the pace of a few kilometres with us. Strange blue trees along a section of highway. We soon left the highway (and Dave) and followed a meandering river while all around us mountains mocked me as they knew I would eventually have to climb one of them. Up high were incredibly tall bridges crossing from one mountain to another. A high tech world way up there while we hiked on centuries old pilgrim trails. Many of the pilgrims we talked to had decided to stay at the bottom of a mountain but we decided to spread the elev