27/5/13 Outeiro ➡ Santiago 17km

27/5/13 Outeiro  ➡ Santiago 17km 

Up before the alarm this morning for the last leg.

Good Albergue last night, really good sleep.

Terrain good and scenery lovely.

So many ups into Santiago, why do they build church's on top of a hill !

The yellow arrows dried up on the way into Santiago, so we just followed the church spires when we could see them.

We had a crowd to walk in with today the Dutch, the German's, and the Australian's woohoo. 

I simply cannot believe that we have walked a thousand kilometres. 

It was so exciting seeing the spires of the church in the distance as we knew we were getting close.

As we found our way to the square and the front facade of the church we saw Janet and the squealing and cheers began. We saw Boje who had arrived the day before and he was our main paparazzi dude. 

All the tourist groups were then taking photos of us as well and one young girl couldn't believe we had walked the kilometres that we did and she had a photo with Jan.

Wow, what a sense of achievement I still cannot believe that we have finally finished and we have made it.

After our photo session we found our accommodation and dumped our bags to run back to the cathedral for the pilgrims mass. The botafumeria was up so that was an extra treat.

Cristy and I then went to pick up our packages that we had sent on from the trail, only to find that the office was unattended so we were stuffing around with what to do when out of nowhere we were reunited with our lovely Giovanni from the beginning of our trip. he was with his daughter and son who had met him in Ourense and they had had a family walking trip. We were so excited as we didn't think we would see him again. 

A yummy lunch of calamaries and cervaza rounded out our pilgrimage nicely.

Around 7 pm we all met up at the pilgrims office for drinks and tapas, it was quite a crowd. As the Via de la Plata is not as popular as the Camino Frances the chance of seeing the pilgrims you walk with is quite slim. So we were so lucky that a lot of those pilgrims we had walked with were still actually in Santiago. Great night, great tapas, great fun.

I will be walking to Fisterra and Muxia in the next few days, so giving the pies a bit of a rest then it's back on with the backpack for a little more walking.

26/5/13 Silleda ➡ Outeiro 25 km

26/5/13 Silleda ➡ Outeiro 25 km

Awoke to a foot that was much better. 

The 100mg voltaren tablet had something to do with that though !

Yesterday's meltdown a thing of the past. 

It was on to the outskirts of Santiago, do or die.

Good Camino today, small amount of blacktop, but mostly track.

Beautiful scenery and back through what I call medieval forests. If you are a watcher of Game of Thrones you will know what I mean.

I can just imagine wearing one of those long flowing dresses, Maid Marion style, through Sherwood Forest. Oops think I've one a bit loopy after so much walking!

Anywhoo, last big day of walking and it was a biggy. Down a massive hill, then up the other side. 

The Albergue, of course, was at the top of the hill and we knew in advance that there are no shops around, so we needed to bring food in for dinner. We each carried an ingredient to share the load and it was delicious. Pasta Atun ( tuna pasta). 

Our room is almost full and we got a lovely surprise when our Dutch Amigos just arrived after a huge leg 34 km.  So we will definitely be partying tomorrow night in old Santiago Town.

 

Think I will turn the iPad off and have an early night as we have an early start and so much excitement in store mañana.

Tomorrow we will have walked the 1000km from Seville ➡ Santiago in 45 days.

25/5/13 Castro Dozon ➡ Silleda 30 km

 25/5/13 Castro Dozon ➡ Silleda 30 km 

Mmmmm what can I say about today other than,  I had a total meltdown.

My heel, which I keep telling Cristy that I have a stress fracture in, only because that sounds better than a sore heel, OMG was so painful today, that I did spend a lot of time wiping tears out of my eyes. Over work, over use, heavy pack, end of the road, I won't go on, hopefully you get the picture. 

Big day today, so that was the last of it.

20 something mañana then 17km on Monday and we will be in Santiago.

Scenery and terrain today was good. We were on and off the Camino for most of the day and most of the villages we passed through were quaint, but of course nothing was open and not many people around, being a Saturday. When I say we I was actually on my own as I had waved the girls off at the morning stop. I was so slow today that by the time I arrived they were ready to go. Walked some spots with Martin, but mostly on my own. Had a nice lunch stop by a flowing river so that was nice. 

Silleda is a strange town, nothing much to say as I walked through the backstreets to get to the Albergue, but it seems quite a modern town compared to most of the towns we have previously stayed in. I'm not really a fan. Much prefer the old towns and architecture.

Here's hoping my foot feels better in the morning.

24/5/13 Cea ➡ Castro Dozon 24km

24/5/13 Cea ➡ Castro Dozon 24km 

Great walk today. We took the longer route so that we could visit a 17th Century Monastery in Osteria. It was amazing and the monk who took us around has lived there for 38years. He is a great artist and we saw some of his work hanging in the Monastery. We were not suppose to take photos but he said if he didn't see us take them then we could. He also gave us a small painting each that he had done.

It was so worth the extra kilometres today.

The way was lovey today with only a small amount of blacktop/ carretara walking and a couple of mountains to climb ! As I have said numerous times through this blog, whoever said this way was flat is crazy. I need to go back through the book and actually calculate how many meters I have climbed. 

We came across some lovely locals going about their business and they allowed us to take photos. Always a treat. It was bitterly cold this morning before the monastery tour and inside the monastery but it soon warmed up and by the time we reached Castro Dozon it was callente.

We only have A couple of nights now in albergues as we have made a booking in Santiago. Last night was a shocker, with the lights not turning off, people up at midnight in the kitchen and lots of roncas (snoring) and we will have a chorus tonight as well, it has already started and it is only 9pm. 

Oh well, the 4 Chicas have a booking tomorrow night in double rooms, so I guess another night with the chorus won't hurt.

Definitely need better ear plugs.

 

23/5/13 Ourense ➡ Cea 25 km

23/5/13 Ourense ➡ Cea 25 km

I feel like I walked a marathon today.  A hill with a 19% gradient !

It was the shorter way by 4 km but the steeper of the 2 routes.

Cea took forever to get too but we are here.

The scenery and terrain were good today, and we walked through a beautiful sea of yellow flowers for part of the way, stunning.

Got friendly with some horses and the locals.

Overall, despite the hill an enjoyable day.

My feet are really sore but we only have about 80-90km left to walk. I think I can make it.

 Cea is a sweet little town after the huge town that was Ourense. 

A quick cerveza and boccadillo and its back to the Albergue for siesta.

I simply cannot believe this journey is nearing completion, I don't know if I am ready for it to finish. I think if you speak to my feet though, they are ready for a rest.

I feel like it was only yesterday I started it. We have walked through so many different terrains and met so many wonderful people.

22/5/13 Xunqueira de Ambia ➡ Ourense 23km

22/5/13  Xunqueira de Ambia ➡ Ourense 23km

After a lovely rest day in Xunqueira, where I did nothing, it was on the road to Ourense.

Today I walked the way with Rian and Leo from Holland.

We had a lovely meander along the way stopping many times for coffee and a quick intake of food.

Nothing much to say about the camino today as it  was all on the blacktop and through some industrial sites. 

Ourense is a very large town and of course the Albergue is situated at the top of a massive hill! We are staying in an old converted convent.

There are thermal baths here that are free to the public but with 4 days left to Santiago, I don't want to risk softening my feet and getting blisters. 

Another time, maybe.

We have been told you can get the best pulpy here at Casa Pulpo, so I think we will head there for some early dinner.

We passed a Hitos today that actually had the mileage intact, as most are vandalised.

We have 115km to Santiago left, woohoo.