Mat 23rd-Portomarin to San Xulian

The last few days i could feel my mindset changing, I think deep down i could feel the end of the journey approaching even though i am going to continue on to Finisterre, My mind seems to think that Santiago is the end and my body feels like it slowing down, My wife was meant to meet me tomorrow and since i have found out that she will not be able to make it the journey has had somewhat of a hollow feeling to it, We have been married 21 years and have we shared everything together, This journey will be the first that we have not shared together, I will end the journey alone

Today started off as normal with an uphill walk, Thankfully the weather was better, Dry at least but that would not last and i ended up with a rather damp day with hard rain at times, I have no problem walking in the rain, My gear is good and i end the day feeling good if just a little damp around the edges, You can tell the long distant walkers as they are now the last to leave, I started at 6.40am, Quite late for me, Once again my body was tired, The mindset thing again, I had one thing to do and that was to visit a church off of the Camino, My wife had wanted to visit it so i would do it for her and get some images, It was only 2.3km each way off the Camino, The norm of coffees and cakes along the way fueled the body and soon i was in full stride, I think that i may of been the only pilgrim to have visited there today, A very small church, 14th century with parts dating back to 10th century, The main bits of interest was the stone carvings and early wall paintings, I got my pilgrims passport stamped there as a memento,
I stopped in Palas De Rei to decide if i would walk on and also to grab some lunch, I met with 2 women that i have seen before, We decided to carry on walking as it was still fairly early, Our destination was a village called Casonova but popped into a bar/aubergue in a tiny hamlet called San Xulian, To my surprise there were lots of Camino friends that i have not seen since my leg was bad, I had a very warm welcome and i decided to stay the night here and catch up, Only 60km to Santiago, Today i walked around 33km so i could be at Santiago in 2 days

After talking to the guy at the bar it seems that these are used to dry grain and hams/meats

 The old church in Villar De Donas

 A wet and grey day

 Famous for its stone carvings

Painting on the end walls

 Painting on the walls are hundreds of years old

 Great metal work on the doors

 Happy Pilgrim sculptures in the town

The journey is coming to an end, Everybody is talking about it and the feeling is changing,It seems somehow less relaxed, I wonder how i will feel when i get to Santiago, I guess i will know in a couple of days, My plan is to stay outside Santiago and get in early morning, Get my compostella and visit the Cathedral, The day after start the 90km walk to Finisterre where my journey will come to an end which should also co-inside with my 53rd birthday on May 30th

Dave

Dave

May 22nd-Sarria to Portomarin

I awoke to the sound of rain hammering aginst the window, I rolled over and pulled the sleeping bag over my head, There was no need for a long day so another 45 minutes in bed would not be a problem, It seems that the other 2 guys in the room had the same idea and in the end i washed, packed and left and they were still asleep, It was pretty miserable out and the signs were somewhat lacking, I quickly grabbed a coffee and cake so i could take yet another tablet, My ankle was sore and the left knee was a little swollen after all the hill climbing, As always the blisters needed to be bedded, I do not actually mind walking in the rain, I passed through Sarria and there was quite a lot of pilgrims just leaving, I decided to stay on the outskirts as all the newby's would be noisy and excited, I have been there and done that and just wanted rest, It was uphill from the start, My legs protested, The last few days have been long and hard and its the first time my legs really were not in the mood for climbing, Sarria looked a very nice place but the camera stayed in the dry so no pics of it, The heavy rain thankfully did not last long and it was then either dry or light drizzle, It was a lovely walk through countryside and tiny hamlets, Very old and quaint, The whole journey has been in different terrains and this reminded me of England with stone walls and Foxgloves, I met with a Swiss couple who i have met before and we slowly made our way to Portomarin, The woman has been suffering with a painful hip and has been taking aspirin, I gave her some of my Santiago candy and hoped that would help her, Portomarin is built on a reservoir, The old town now underwater, The took the old church to pieces and relocated in the new town, There is a very different feel to Portomarin to any other Spanish town i have been through, Firstly there is money here, Lots BMW's etc, The place is spotless and has a riviera feel to it, The Aubergue i am in has a lovely bar above with views over the lake as does my bed, It was quite a short day for me today, I could have gone on but there was no need, My body needs the rest and the place looks great so why push it?

 Modern day pilgrim sign with mouth as water spout

 Lots of shell fencing around Sarria

 Foxgloves line the route here

 I believe these are old grain stores

 A sign that this is a very wet and damp area

 The 100km marker, Probably the most photographed of all the markers

 And starting to become something of a shrine

 Water running down the side of the Camino

Pilgrims have a habit of leaving rocks and stones on everything

 More above ground graves

 Another shrine

 This must be very old

 This piece of woodland caught my eye

Lots of old stone built hamlets to walk through

 First view of the reservoir

 Steep stairway into the town

 Steep from any angle-just what you need after a long walk

Sums the day up nicely

 Room with a view

 Nice beer kegs

 The Church that was moved and rebuilt

 The main street down to my digs

The church was shut when i went but will open soon so come back for more images, I went to the church but i have to say that there was very little in there so i did not bother with any images,

Sarria as i have said is where the largest percentage of people start, Its around 110km from Santiago and you have to walk 100km to get your composteller or certificate, If you start from Sarria you have to get 2 stamps on your pilgrims passport everyday to qualify, The stamp or sello can be given at churches, bars or where you stay, As i started at St Jean i only need 1 sello each day, Today i watched a mini bus pull up and a group get out at a bar to get their sello, I also watched 2 Asian women get out of a Mercedes Taxi, put their backpacks etc on, Go into the bar, Get their sello and come out and drive off, Pilgrims? i think not, Its easy to judge especially when you have walked so far and put so much effort in yourself, At the end of the day the only person that they are fooling are themselves, I had 3 personal conditions when i started this journey, I wanted to walk every single step of the way (no buses or taxis) i wanted to carry my backpack every step (some taxi the backpack on) and i wanted to walk the Napoleon route across the Pyrenees, So far i have done all three

Dave