Hardly any photos today - guess why??? Finally we got some of the expected Galician Rain! The first part of the day's track was past villages and in some forest. It was a Long Way today until we could have our breakfast stop - about 12km or so. And we were well ready for it when we got it, at a cafe that was doing a roaring trade. By this time it was really pouring with rain and everyone was quite saturated......
Next part of the route became a little more industrial, past the airport land etc. It felt longer than it should have... maybe with the rain and mist. But eventually we reached Monte de Gozo. It was quite hard to find the albergue at first as the mist was so thick! Our original intention had been to walk on into Santiago today, but with the lousy weather we decided to stop here for the night and walk the last 5km into Santiago in the morning. I am not sure what I was expecting at Monte de Gozo - some kind of army barracks. But we all loved it there! The hospitalero, Manuel, was very friendly indeed, and it turned out to be a place of reunions. Here is Mr Shenechi from Japan. We had seen him on the day we climbed the Pyrenees, and at various places along the way, but hadn't seen him for some time. Mick from Oz, with the dislocated shoulder, was also there. Eventually the rain stopped and the mist lifted, and I went walking nearby to see this monument to the visit of JP2 as a pilgrim here. One of the great things we learned was that we could stay more than one night in Monte de Gozo. So, it was going to be possible to do my last 5km stint as a walking pilgrim with a small daypack - I could go into Santiago, obtain my Compostela, and come back by bus later in the day to sleep here another night! Yeah!
When I was preparing to walk the route from Le-Puy-en-Velay to SJPP, I found there wasn't much info in English, and I hope this blog might fill the gap a little.... In 2008 I walked from Le Puy to Santiago. In 2012 I walked from Cluny to Conques, then spent three weeks in Spain, re-walking two sections of the Camino Frances. Please feel free to contact me if you wish.
Hunkered In
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The sky keeps changing colors, the wind roars all night and morning.
Sometime overnight it pulled the chicken-hut door off its hinges and
smashed it to k...
Beachscape
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I haven't blogged for a while, but here is a new poem.
*Beachscape*
*Surprising that I never knew before*
*the bright curve of this bay,*
*the way the wash...
Taranaki-born, long-time Manawatu resident and primary teacher; inveterate traveler, Camino walker, occasional cyclist, lover of sea and bush walks; getting into genealogy more; collapsed catholic; lapsed musician looking forward to doing more again in retirement
from the poem "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver.....
" I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
This quote is taken from notion900 on the Pilgrimage to Santiago forum: "Please know that although some people seem to imagine it as some appalling ordeal, the camino is a very health-giving thing - if you do simple things like healthy food, plenty of water, moisturise your feet and get plenty of sleep. Being out in nature for 5 weeks is just so life-giving: I finished the camino absolutely glowing with health and vitality. I hope you have a wonderful time."
'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.' Goethe
"Glowing... this is the thing about pictures of people on the Camino. This light within... As if the Camino washed the soul and cleared the eyes." Claire Bangasser in a comment on Johnnie Walker's blog
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