Oct 11 Santiago de Compostela

Up at 5:30am to catch the 7:54am bus. The temperature was about 9degrees and we were wearing our hiking clothes. It was f$%# cold, found a warm bar to enjoy a cup of coffee while we waited. The town did not have a marked bus stop and so, the day prior,  we asked a few locals. But as it turned out we were waiting in the wrong location. Thank goodness the correct location was just around the corner. I'm sure the bus driver would have picked us up at the other location.

It's nice to be back to Santiago, and without the rain. We've been here 5 times and there was rain the first three times. And the restoration of the cathedral is near completion, and no more scaffolding blocking the structure. This is such a beautiful city and there appears to be more peregrinos and other tourists. Hotels are harder to book and prices have gone up, but food is still very reasonably priced. 

As we walked into the town centre we met many peregrinos, and with most you could see their satisfaction and pride of accomplishment in their eyes and smiles. Many make their way to the cathedral and there were many high fives and hugs. Today was sunny which brought many peregrinos and tourists to the cathedral, the final meeting place before heading home. And around the town, there were peregrinos celebrating in bars and restaurants.

Santiago Cathedral 

Hey lady, que pasa! 

Two sisters, Coralia and Maruxa were known by the nickname of ‘As dúas en punto’ (2 o’clock’), as that was the time they chose to go for their daily stroll around the Old Town and Alameda Park. Their particular fashion sense, always wearing eclectic clothes and loud make up was very unusual in the grey years of the dictatorship and certainly made them stand out from the crowd.

The tapa bars are tasty  

Okay, this is so interesting. These dogs accompanied their owners on the Primativo Camino. Apparently hotels and albergue are allowing dogs in the room.

Both the dog and owner are exhausted 

Oct 10 Baamonde 20km

Another beautiful walk along country/farm roads and mountain trails. This was our last walking day and a celebration in town with Derek and Barbara. They have 101km left. Julie was not happy ending the trek, but I'm ready to feel sand in my toes. 

A local farm and harvest

 These storage structures are common throughout Spain.

 Firewood collected from the forest

Finally resting!

I was interested in this cemetery so much that I missed the trail marker. We went .5km off course.

 These stone fence slabs are common in this region. Its amazing the amount of labour to put the slabs in place, and the fences will last for centuries.

Goodbye to Barbara and Derek, as we leave and they continue the Camino.

Oct 9 Vilalba 20km

Today was another walk in the park. The morning started with low clouds and mist, but by 11am the sun was visible. It was a great trek with two break stops. The first was a new albergue on a forest trail, were we had coffee and Santiago cake. The second stop was two hours later, for lunch and drinks. We're getting closer the end of Camino, which will be sad. The treks have been tough but, as our bodies get stronger, the treks are becoming easier. Unfortunately the weather is changing and the outlook is for colder days and rain. Its time to search for a sunny beach town!

The trees created a natural tunnel and in some sections it was very dark.

Julie is freaking out by the cows coming towards her. 

Yesterday's mushrooms looked like cookies. Today this mushroom looks like a sun umbrella.

It often happens where a pilgrim dies on the Camino, and there are sometimes tributes along the trail. Benito was 58 years old. How sad!

Oct 8, Abadin 26km

It was a walk in the park. That's what it seemed like for the first 10km. It was beautiful going through forests and pastures. And we were blessed by three beautiful rainbows. However in the back of my mind I was thinking that it must be raining not too far away from us. Sure enough. As we entered the town of Mondonedo the dark clouds moved in and the rain began. Fortunately for us, the Camino trail passed the town's bus station, and we stopped and waited for the bus to Abadin.  

Oct 7, Lourenza, 29km

Very chilly this morning as we search for a cafe. Today's trek had a couple of major inclines and descents near the end of the day, and happy to finally reach Lourenza. It is a small village and not much to do. And there the remnants of a big party. Apparently there was a 3-day bean festival that ended yesterday. No hotel or pension in this town, but we were able to get a private room with a bathroom at Albergue Savior. An older building. Very rustic and many antiques.  The room was clean but very small, with bunk beds. Guess who gets the top bunk!

Oct 6, Ribadeo 15km

It was a dark and stormy morning, but nothing scary happened. On the contrary, after one hour the skys cleared, which made the ocean views more spectacular. The trek followed the coastline and this is our last day along the coast before we start going inland as we get closer to Santiago. According to one sign, we are 220km away.

We found our accommodations, Pension Linares, located next to Plaza España. A bit noisy from the many restaurants and the childrens' playground. Just an observation, but in the last two stages, bars were located next to the childrens' playground.  Makes sence, adults having a place to hang out while the kids play.

Ribadeo has a beautiful harbour, which is located down a hill from the city centre. Its too far and steep, hence the harbour gets few visitors.

"Julie, we're almost there, 220km to go!"

This view from a cafe overlooking the beach.

Julie is the red dot on the middle of the bridge.

 A view of Ribadeo

A view from our hotel room.

This was very interesting. These cats were focused on the pigeons and ready to pounce. Or were they guarding their bowl of food that the pigeons were after.