Star of Carrion / end of blog

May my 'star of Carrion' shine also on your 'Camino'/life and guide you wherever life will take you.

Love
andreas

Sunday Mass for the pilgrims at 12.00

If you are in Santiago and it is in a Sunday one should not miss the pilgrim's mass at the cathedral at 12.00. I want to be smart and go there already at 11.00am, but almost all seats are taken. I am lucky to find one in the left side ship of the cathedral. By 12.00 pm there are almost 3000 people in the cathedral.

"Move over, there is supposed to be a minimum of 5 people in each bench", commanded me a  lady with a thick British accent. " If you count correct we are already 6,"  is my friendly reply to the pushy island lady. British always have to get it there way - see the idiculous BREXIT - but not today:))

The mass starts with an Irish gentleman who looks like he comes straight from the beer house ( or maybe he is just sunburned) playing in a shiperman piano. The audience gave him a gentle applause and the mass starts. At the beginning of the mass the Irish guy steps up to the microphone speaking in a language I could not make sense of (Eire I guess)  and the bishop kicked off the mass. A sister who tried to inspire everybody before mass to join singing the 3 songs of the mass - she gave up after 5 minutes saying," you are tired ," walks us music wise rough the celebration.

Like yesterday the 'botafumeira', which I called carelessly incentive pot yesterday is waved through the side ship. You realy think that pot will crash with the ceiling, but somehow they have it all figured out and it swings safely to the middle in the end. An ocean of cell phones and especially max iPad  (British guy in front of me) block the view on this ceremony - at least I can smell what's happening:)

It's a wonderful end to my journey and the beginning of whatever comes in future!! God bless you all!

In Santiago de Compistella

Santiago is the Capitol of th Galicien region and has 95.000 inhabitants +  thousands of workers commuting to the city each morning especially to the regional administrations.

Legend says that you get the welcome you deserve when you arrive in Santiago. Yesterday was a cloudy day, but at 12.30 pm when I entered the city the sky opened up and even the wind started blowing out of the east pushing me from behind with my tired legs into the city.

 After the celebration with Ignacio yesterday I went to bed at 19.00 - and slept until 9.00 am this morning. I guess I needed that. After breakfast  todayI changed hotels to the famous Reyes dos Catholicos, a firmer Monastary transitioned into a 5 star hotel.. The place is a quite oasis in the middle of this vibrant city.

I feel like doing nothing today, but somehow I end up going to the museum of the cathedral. When I enter the part of the monastery and transition into the cathedral a mass starts at 1 pm. I sit down and join - and it is a special celebration including the rising of the gigantic and special incent pot at the end of the mass. It only happens a few times in the year - I am lucky:))

During mass I am thinking of the past 4 weeks. What kept me going/getting up each morning and started to walk? What helped me when I felt hopeless and without chance to finish my way? Maybe some of the answers I found after mass when I passed by the St. James statue in the middle of the church, hug it like it is tradition after the pilgrimage and go on to the St. James toom.l

Guide Book; Pilgrim's passport; Compostella and mileage certificate

I want to say a special thank you to some/ all of you: thank you, Olaf, for establishing my blog so all I had to do is start writing. Thank you, Ignacio, for inspiring me on the last day of the pilgrimage and helping me to finish AND thank you to all of you readers who I carried with me in my heart during the entire pilgrimage!!!

From Azura to Santiago de Compostella. ( 38 km )

Yes, I know I told you all, that I will take it slow....but so many blogs suggested that O Pedrouza is so pittyfull that they suggest to keep walking to Santiago....that is the same choice I made.. It did not start ideal: after a reLy bad sleep I fell asleep again at 4 am and did not wake up from  alarm at 5.20 am.when I realized it was 6 am....I was already late. Within 10 minutes I finished my morning toilet and was with Ignacio starting our hike to O' Pedouza.

Ignacio was very firm on the first km's ...I felt rather weak and dizzy - thank God he is walking with me and has metro Shmozing intention for our hiking and countries.

  

The walkways get much wider now that we are after Sarria and many hundreds of pilgrims start their pilgrimage each day.

When we pass by a  bar we realized what we missed out on last night:'s celebration of Saint Juan de Bapista...tons of bottle's of  great  Galician beer.

We finally have breakfast short after O Pedrouza and I continue hiking at much faster speed for the last 19 km.

 The way continues after breakfast O bet much more challenging especially around the Santiago airport...but I continue hiking fast now that I have less than 7 km to finish. A group of senior Spanish pilgrims welcome me next to a mayor incline with great notice and La Jolla..it sure gives me enough encouragement for the coming uphill incline.

I must have missed a turn, because I end up waking next to the national road.

Santiago de Compostella welcomes me with the nicest colours you can imagours

 

Enclosed you find a typical  ponshoe of a pilgrim ( see left on the picture) to protect her from rain - I think it looks like the wicked witch of the west on the run....

I can't realy describe you the emotional moment I pass through the "porta del Camino", because all in a sudden I am no longer a pilgrim. By passing the door I returned to th ' normal ' world. Welcome to Santiago de Compostella!

I have lunch with Ignacio at the famous Hotel Rei de Catholicos and even though I ordered a bottle of champagne Ignacio manages to lay for the whole lunch - thank you very much...that wS unexpected!!!!!

From Portomarin to Santa Maria de Arzua (49 km)

I did not plan to move that much today, but I wake up realy early after heavy thunderstorms last night and get on the Camino at 5 am. The air is charged with humidity (100%) still from yesterday's thunderstorms and a constant drizzle of rain seems to fall. I am dressed in shorts and a t-shirt only. Good that I still have my head light because it's realy dark especially walking through the initial forests.

The few pilgrims I pass by I can hear from far already, because it's mainly women talking already like crazy. They all suffer from EMTS ( early morning talking syndrome); there topics are so uninteresting as can be: who moved in with whom and who is dating whom...and, and, and. You will
never hear 2 man have such an unnecessary conversation AND: it's early in the morning; girls: give
us a chance to wake up.

The first 14 km are incredible - one long inlcline and as I am up so early I meet only a few other pilgrims. I arrive in Palas de Rei at 8.25 am - this was supposed to be my target for the day; so it's clear to me: I have to go on a bit further - Melde: it's only 15 km away. On the way to Meldide I run into the padre from Puerto Rico whom I met more than 2 weeks ago. He looks much skinnier ( which makes me wonder: maybe my friends are right and I look skinny, too) and has serious problems with his right knee, but he is in good spirit. " We will be in Santiago in a few days only", I try to motivate him - he smiles despite his pain:))

At 11.30 I arrive in Melide and try to find a place for Ignacio, my friend from Spain who will join me today to walk with me tomorrow for one day, and me. The only possibility is staying in a bunker bed of a hostel - sorry, I am not ready for this. Online I find the last 2 rooms in an old monastery in Santa
Maria de Arzua. It's another 15 km!!! So after a quick brunch I get going towards Arzua.

Rainshowers are coming in intervals - I have a sort of a condom around my back pack, but as I am
already pretty wet from sweating I don't feel like putting on my rain coat.

I am tired of the extreme smell of each farm I pass and the never ending swarm of bugs flying around my sweaty  body - I am ready for a big city again:)) I march slower than earlier today as I can realy feel the strain on my knees from the declines, but I make it to Santa Maria de Azura at about 14.30 pm and start my blog.
 Today is a special day in Galicia: la fiesta de San Juan. Friends and families gather in costumes and stand around bond fire. You are supposed to jump 3 times over the fire to clean your soul and mind - local customs come in realy handy to prepare me for the last day tomorrow:))

I have a late lunch in 'casa Nene ': honest and fresh Galicien food - yummy!!!

From Sarria to Portomarin (24 km)

For diner in Sarria somebody recommended me the restaurant in Hotel Roma next to the railway station. After mass I get on the 2 km march through Sarria to eat at this gourmet Mecca - their speciality: meat - just what I needed after the day. The courses were so gigantic that I could not finish even half of them and that means something! When I left the restaurant I saw just the last taxi taking off from the taxi waiting area, so I sat down and wanted to wait for the next taxi to come back. 10 minutes later there was still no taxi but a BMW driver who rapidly parked in the taxi zone and jumped into a bar with a bag. When he came back out I decided to ask him to give me a lift - and he agreed since he had business in my Hotel - filling up the cigarette vending maschine in the lobby:))

This morning I get up a little later and start the hiking at 7 am.  Up the long stairs to the main Church of Sarria and then up through a forest to the 1h far away Monastary in Barbadelo. By now I am SOAKING sweaty and decide to simply keep going as I don't want to sit down and cool down. The mainly natural trail this morning is rather challenging - no valley walk-along paths today.

Short after Ferreiros then it's official: less than 100 km to go to Santiago. This realy makes me happy and let's me feel much better despite a very painful rush on my thighs (sorry, had to through this in even if the vision of it is groce). I should have brought along boxers only instead of tidy whities - guys when you will do this walk: BOXERS only please so you don't have to live that burning
sensation I feel all morning.

The Camino gets maintained so well - I already mentioned it previously; today alone I pass by 3 construction crews working on Camino improvements.

Finally in Portomarin I check into the rather overprized hotel and try to have lunch, but can't find any decent place in this town. Well, I will have a hot dog later and feast on the various nuts I have been carrying along.

When I passed by maybe a dozent pilgrims on the other days then it's 100s now. If you want to receive your Compostella in Santiago you need to walk at least the last 100 km of Saint James way and Sarria is the last mayor city from which you can accomplish that.

From Triacastella to Sarria 21.5 km)

As last night was rather uneventful I manage to get up and be on the way by 7 am. The guide book says: easy trail. Well, it said so many times already and every time it was NOT true. The first 5 km are straight up the hill. The trails are mainly natural trails with everything that comes with it (little, rivers, stones etc)

In Pintin I have my breakfast at 9 am and run into 2 happy seniors from Canada; she detects my bandage on the knee and asks me how bad it is. To be honest I did not think about it and it was ok...but now that she mentioned it...

People in Galicia are very friendly and welcoming to us pilgrims: yesterday at the entrance of Triacastella e.g. the old lady of a farm house - she must have been in her 90s - welcomed all passing pilgrims to taste her fresh pancakes.  " You are realy tall. You have to eat two," she commanded me  and I did not object of course. When you ask a Galician about witches by the way, you get a clearly unclear answer :" I don't believe in witches, but I know they exist".

After drying off a little bit in Pintin during breakfast - I am soaking sweaty and the sun is no where near its highest point yet - I continue my walk to Sarria. Much more freak antsy you can see signs now next to the trail with the "count down" to Santiago: 116 km left from Sarria. 3 weeks ago such a hint wouldn't have motivated me, because 100 km was so much. Today it sure is a motivation as you now know that you can make it to Santiago.

Maybe this is also the way with believing in God: we know he is there - like I know there is a Santiago de Compostella - but we have so many doubts. Regardless of the doubts though it feels great to be closer to Santiago and closer to God.

 The welcoming picture at the entrance to Sarria could not be any better: a stock family greets all pilgrims at the entrance of the town.

From O Cebreiro to Triacastella ( 22.5 km )

As I noticed that my room was not only facing north but also had various holes around the window I bought a sweatshirt in the local store. I added 2 blankets on top of my bed and lights were off at 21.00.

I did well dressing up for the night - it is an uncomfortable 14 degrees Celcius in the room in the morning. However the sunrise up here on mountain top with no cloud in the sky made more than up for it. I start the day only at 7 am as I wanted to take it slow today.

But first there is no chance to take it slow/light, because two more mountain tops have to be claimed - my guide says it's the last challenge before Santiago, but I learned to take every day serious. On top of Alto de Pollo and San Roque I take various pictures. At San Roque a Pilgrim/ St James statue is leaning against the wind - this statue must come alive on typical stormy Galicien days, but today it's sunshine pure!

Time goes by so slow up here - it almost feels like Sunday on this Monday:)). It must have been during the last incline that my iPhone fell out of my chest pocket without me noticing it. What follows is a classic: I leave a message on my iPhone declaring it as lost with the home phone number of my mother. The people who found it -4 honest Spanish Pilgrims - call that number and cannot communicate with her due to language. She thinks I am injured and in a hospital, because strange people call from my iPhone....to make a long story short: my mom is ok again and I met the honest finders in Samos - about 10 km from Triacastella.



The last decline into Triacastella is realy steep, but our Spanish hosts maintain the Camino regularly to ensure that pilgrims don't get hurt; they do a great job also with the signage - if you look at it! On

the way down from San Roque I am surprised that the way goes down so much - when a whistling of

2 Spanish guys, whom I passed by 15 minutes ago - from 500 meters higher got my attention to turn
around. I must have gone too fast to catch that turn up there- saved again!

No evening church today: the church remains closed for 1) vacation 2) because it's Monday:))

But since I went to Samos for my iPhone: here is a daily bonus: The Monastary of Samos- one of the oldest in Europe from the 5 th century - as if time stood still here for the past 1500 years.

In O Cebreiro

more than thousand years ago a farmer climb up to the church in O Cebreiro in a stormy and cold Christmas night. Due to the bad wheather no other people have arrived yet. The Monk in charge did not feel to celebrate mass for just one stupid farmer. The farmer though insisted and sat down I. The front row and would not allow to be send away without mass. During mass then the wine and hostia turned into blood and meat. The cup and plate are still today displayed in church in memory of that mirical. Cup and plate have also a special status in Galicia - they are part of the Galicien Flag.

Mass tonight in church was refreshingly unconventional. The monk of the Benediktus order who gave out stamp into all of our pilgrim passes celebrated mass with us, but not without getting us to
work: reading and prayers in 5 languages are distribut before mass. A TelePrompTer helps people
with no or little Spanish knowledge to participate actively and understand where in the mass we are.

The Galicien instrument is - who would have guessed a Spanish version of a  " Dudelsack", the songs sound Irish to me - a wonderful day on the mountain top gets to an end. I am so happy and proud about being here and now in the place on earth.

From Villafranca to O Cebreiro (32 km)

I wake up 30 min later than usual - the Carlos I. Made me sleep like an angle:) So today is the day: if I trust Hape Kerkelings autobiography it is the toughest day of the Camino. I start  at 6.30 and am on the way to take on this challenge. It's 8 degree C and rather cold - sunshine cannot be exp cited for the next 2.5 hours as I am walking along the valley with big mountains to either side.

The first 12 km have been described by Hape Kerkelings as completely nerve racking and inhuman - I don't know if he even walked this way, because the first 22 km are the easiest tour I had so far. Yes, it's Sunday morning and there is literally NO TRAFFIC and yes the sun is shining already on the mountain top, but that alone cannot make such a big difference. I arrive in Los Herrarias at 9:30 am and have my breakfast break in a modern but totally empty restaurant. " Uh you want to go to O Cebreiro - that will be difficult", the waitress informs me. I cut
my breakfast break short and start with the class climb (  900 meters, 2700 feet).

In La Faba I take another short brake - that saved me from bumping into a group of cows being redirected downwards via the 'main' street. They leave behind an ocean of cow poop which makes it rather difficult to walk up the hill without stepping into their stuff.

Yes I sweat like crazy walking up the hill and yes I find this part of the trip challenging, but it's by far not as bad as described by above mentioned German comedian and I reach O Cebreiro at 11.45 - on time for 12.00 mass. I am so happy to have managed today's trip that I walk straight into the church. Only then I realize that the sweat is still dripping from my forehead and that my clothes are soaking wet - I stay anyway!

My room in the 'Hotel O Cebreiro' is basic, but I am simply happy that I got this last remaining room in the heart of the little village. The village reminds me of a comic from my childhood "Asterix & Obelix". I am in Galicia now - the last Spanish region I have to cross to my destination Santiago.

For lunch I have therefore a typical Galician meal: cabbage soup, spare ribs and Santiago cake - unbelievable that you get all this + red wine, water and cafe con laiche for only€11.

In Villafrance del Bierzo

Villafranca Del Boerzo - often also called the "little Santiago de Compostella" was the place in past centuries where sick and injured pilgrims who could not continue the pilgrimage via the challenging mountain top of O Cebreiro, would receive their 'mercy Compostella' at the portal of the Santiago church called ' Puerta Del Perdon' - door of mercy.

I am walking to evening mass to the other side of the village as the big monastery church is no longer in function and redesign as a hostel. Noticeable is that the mass is visited exclusively by people above 65. Why are the young people not attending mass? The ultra conservative clerical class of Spain - and of many other European countries - Ned's to learn how to adress people today and get their attention;


for sure its not by practicing monotone prayer sessions and pityfull attempts to sing.

In the church of the mass I notice another curiusity: in the corner of the altar room a standing clock form past centuries calls all 15 minutes the current time- to keep the priest up to speed?!

For the evening I did not feel to have diner at the plazza  mayor where I already had lunch and where you can only find cafeteria style restaurants with medium well cooked food. So I am stopping a good looking Spanish local lady asking her for her best restaurant pick of town. " Puerta Del Pardon - opposite of the Castillo", she responds.

After asking multiple people for the correct directions I end up at a very fine restaurant and order pheasant salad as appetizer and oxtail stew as main course. I drink the Carlos I especially to Ina's health at the end of the diner; tomorrow the toughest day of the Camino is expecting me - and I am celebrating life tonight:))