Oh the joys in getting lost

     After leaving Finisterre last week and returning to Santiago, I enjoyed two days of the "Apostle 2012" festival. On the 24th they had an amazing fireworks and light show above the cathedral. I can't even begin to describe how wonderstruck I was during the show! They made it appear as if the cathedral was on fire, they made the cathedral dance, made it crumble to the ground, and turned it into a mechanical machine. It was also an interesting experience because the plaza was filled with thousands of people, and you literally had no bubble space. But all in all, it was fantastic.Most of the festival I wandered the crowded streets of Santiago (while attempting to stay clear of the thousands of new pilgrims arriving during these two days). In one of the parks they set up a PNE type of thing with sooo much food, rides, and different forms of entertainment. I only rode the Ferris wheel because it went slow, and the reason I did so was because for the past two months I have been going at a speed of 4km an hour, and after the bus ride into Santiago (where we averaged 100km an hour) I was extremely car sick, so just the thought of riding the roller coaster or spinning rides made me feel sick. On the 25th there wasn´t a whole lot going on, although in the morning they had a parade and ceremony outside the cathedral followed by the special pilgrim mass which I did not attend because people had been waiting in the line for over four hours and by the time the ceremony was over, the line to get into the cathedral was almost a kilometer long! And there was no way I was going to be crammed into that cathedral again to watch a hour long mass.
     When I concluded my two days in Santiago, I took a morning bus on the 26th to Portugal! It amazed me while I was sitting on the bus that in just a matter of hours I would be in a completely different country, and that it would only take me five hours rather than a month (if I were walking). I had to change buses in Porto in order to get to Lisbon, so when I arrived in Porto, I took a taxi to the bus station to buy my ticket to Lisbon. The lady in the ticket office said that the next bus would be at 3pm...it was already 2:58pm so I would have to hurry up and get to the platform. I waited for a good half hour and there was still no bus. I didn´t know what was going on...Portugal is worse than Spain when it comes to arriving or departing on time. Forty-five minutes passed and there was still no bus. I was standing there all alone with my heavy bags, fearing that I might have missed the bus somehow. Then it dawned on me, maybe there is a time difference between Spain and Portugal. So, I walked over the the clock in the bus station and discovered that there was indeed a time difference...it was only 2:45pm. Stupid, stupid me. When the bus arrived, it was only a four hour ride before I would be in Lisbon. And by 7pm I was finally in the first Portuguese city I was going to explore. However, I felt very overwhelmed walking in to Lisbon because for the past two months I have been in small Spanish villages where you can reach everything by foot. Now, I was in a city with 600 000 people and I would have to take the metro in order to get where I wanted to go. It was all a big confusing at first, and even when I figured out how to get out of the bus station, my confusion only grew worse. In order to get to my hostel, I would first have to take the metro, then the bus, then the tram, and then walk a few meters. It was beginning to get dark and I didn´t have a city map so maneuvering myself throughout Lisbon was fairly difficult. The tram was the worst part. The stops were not clearly marked, and none of the people I asked knew where I was supposed to get off. So, I rode the tram for over a hour before this lady told me where my stop was (If I got off at the right stop in the first place, it should have taken less than ten minutes). By the time I found my hostel it was already 9pm. I was tired from my long day of travel, so after a late dinner of curried chicken, I called it a night.
     I have now been in Lisbon for three days, and the city is very beautiful. Even though I get lost...everyday...it is fun wandering through the narrow streets and stumbling upon hidden treasures. However, I am finding it hard to go from pilgrim to tourist. I am so used to the relaxed lifestyle I once had on the camino. I miss sitting in cafes for hours reading and basking in the sun, and even though I can still do those things in Lisbon, there are so many touristic sites that I want to explore, and I feel that I would be wasting the little time I have here if I sat in a cafe all day. So far I have visited the St. George castle, the monuments dedicated to the Age of Discovery, many, many churches, and a few very interesting museums. One of my favorite museums so far has been the Tile museum (which I didn´t think I would like very much, but it was on the list of the top things to do in Lisbon so I decided to check it out). The museum was neat because it contained different tile artwork from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the museum is located in a palace that is decorated elaborately with the tiles.  Some of the patterns and pictures just blow you away.
     When I was on the camino, the Canadian couple I met, Dean and Amanda, told me so much about the delicious Portuguese pastries, one in particular being a burnt custard tart. On my first full day in Lisbon, the first morsel of food that I had was the burnt custard tart...IT WAS AMAZING! I have to control myself whenever I walk past one of the several hundred pastry shops because I could easily eat those tarts all day. One of my favorite things that I have done in Lisbon so far is visiting the Oceanarium. It is the largest oceanarium in Europe, and the second largest in the world! Basically the oceanarium consists of four large salt water tanks each containing sea life from either the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, or Antarctic oceans. The four tanks then flow into an even larger tank in the center of the oceanarium where all of the sea animals swim about; it is supposed to be representative of a single ocean (composed of the four main oceans). I have two more days in Lisbon before I leave for Sintra, and then Lagos in the south. I´ve checked the weather reports, and in the south it is supposed to be HOT! Perfect weather for the beach.

Sand, Sea, and Sun Tans

So for the past six days I have done nothing but lay at the beach all day and occasionally get up to go eat. Finisterre is a small fishing town, and although there isn't a lot to do here, it has been really nice to sit back and relax; I mean, after having walked 900km in a month and a half, I think I deserve to be lazy for a while. Up until Saturday, Kathrin had been with me. We had a delicious picnic at the beach (Which I did all the cooking for! Cooking is definitely something I miss doing everyday), we ate a lot of icecream, and enjoyed the few remaining days we had left together. Also, the weather has been very agreeable with my plans of relaxation! The sun is always shining and temperatures are reaching the low 30s, which is extremely bizarre for Finisterre because Galicia is the rainy region. But I'm not complaining! One thing that I really wanted to do while I was in Finisterre was swim in the ocean, that way I could say that I swam at "the end of the world". The only problem is, is that the ocean is friggin cold! I talked with a couple from Tofino and they said the water is colder than Tofino! As I walked into the water to knee depth, I was already contemplating whether or not to go in. I kept telling myself that I only had to do it once, I only had to do it once. Finally, after giving myself a little pep talk, I dove into the cold water and came up feeling refreshed, energized, and like I was about to have a heart attack. In the past six days I have gone in the water twice. Today (Monday) was my last full day in Finisterre. Although I will be sad to leave, I am really looking forward to the final twenty-two days of my trip! To celebrate my final day at "the end of the world" I decided to go out for a fancy lunch. It might have cost me an arm and a leg, but it was all worth it. I started with scallops...or rather, a scallop. Yes, for €7 I had ONE scallop, but a very good scallop it was. And for my main I had spider crab which was absolutely delicious! The seafood here is soo fresh; it literally comes from the sea and straight into the kitchen! This evening I am really excited to be going on a sunset cruise around the cape of Finisterre. I think it will be the perfect way to conclude my time here. Tomorrow I will catch a morning bus back to Santiago where I am going to participate in the festivities of Saint James. I'm intrigued to see what awaits me in Santiago; it should be a lot of fun!

Finisterre - The end of the world, the end of my camino!

After 46 days and 905km of walking, I have finally reached Finisterre...the end of the world. These last few days of walking have been filled with mixed emotions. There were times when all I wanted to do was finish the camino and I would become frustrated with having to walk for 6 hours every day. But I was also sad that my camino was coming to an end; I have really enjoyed my time away from reality, and despite having to drag myself out of bed each morning at 6:15am and start walking, I have fallen into the rhythm of the camino and it will be incrediy hard to not have to walk everyday. Yesterday morning when I woke up, it didn't hit me that this was going to be my last day of walking until I saw the Finisterre peninsula off in the distance. This was it, this was the end. As I marched across the 2.5km long promenade with my head held high, sweat dripping down my face, and the sun shining high in the sky, I took in all of my surroundings and pondered my camino experience. Once I arrived in the city center, I was bombarded with people handing out brochures promoting their albergues, but at that moment I didn't care about finding an albergue. All I wanted to do was walk to "the end of the world" (the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula) with all of my belongings that I have carried with me since St. Jean Pied de Port. Although most people leave their backpacks in the albergues, it was important for me to walk all the way to the end with everything that I had carried with me when I left St. Jean on June 3. I did however reserve a bed in one of the albergues so that I knew for sure I would have a place secured when I returned to the town. But after getting situated with my bed, I took off with my backpack and walking poles, and I walked the last 4km of my camino. When I arrived at the lighthouse, I found a quiet area away from all of the tourists and other pilgrims so that I could conclude my camino with a moment of silence. At the lighthouse it is also customary to burn an article of clothing or item of significance from your camino. But seeing how I have been unintentionally losing some of my clothes along the way, I didn't really want to burn the few remaining clothes that I had left. Instead, I had another item that had been important to me along my camino, and now that the end had come, I burned it. When I finished what I had come to do at the lighthouse, I headed back into town to receive my Finisterre compostela. Once the piece of paper was handed to me, I was officially done MY camino. Even though the Camino de Santiago was longer and I had been through a lot more during those 800km, I didn't feel anything when I received my compostela in Santiago. But with my Finisterre compostela in hand, I felt a sense of accomplishment...I did it! I walked the ENTIRE distance across northern Spain! Later in the evening I met up with Kathrin and we returns to the lighthouse to watch the sun set. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever witnessed! And it was the perfect way to end the camino.

My arrival in Santiago de Compostela

     On the morning of Friday July 13, 2012 I walked the remaining 5km of the Camino de Santiago and stood awestruck beneath the cathedral that marks the end of an 800km journey. As I walked into Santiago de Compostela it began raining ever so slightly, but I wasn´t going to let the miserable weather ruin my day. I had arrived, I had actually arrived after over a month of walking. I was amazed at how beautiful the cathedral is. Sure, I had seen it in pictures and on TV, but there is nothing like seeing it towering over you in the middle of a crowded plaza. After admiring the cathedral for a while, I figured that it was time to get in line to receive my compostela which would mark the end of the camino. But, as I was walking towards the pilgrim office, I found Nancy and Kathrin waiting outside a restaurant. I was so happy to see them again! I knew that Kathrin was arriving the same day as me, but Nancy had walked to Santiago on Thurday (when I stayed on Monte del Gozo) and she was planning on taking a bus to Finisterre on Friday. I was really surpirsed to see that Nancy was still here. It turns out that she had decided against going to Finisterre and was planning on staying in Santiago until her flight back home which meant that we would get to spend the entire day together! So, after a little catching up, I stood in line at the pilgrims office and waited for my compostela. Then it was made official. On Friday July 13, 2012, Matthaeum Cugnet (they write our names in Latin which is really neat) has completed the Camino de Santiago. After recieving my compostela, the lady at the desk asked me how I felt now that I had arried in Santiago. Honestly, I hadn´t given it a lot of thought. I was excited to be in Santiago, I was proud of myself for having come this far, but at that very moment in the pilgrims office, I felt like I had arrived. The camino wasn´t over for me though, I still have another 100km of walking before I reach Finisterre, and all throughout the camino Finisterre has been running through my head as my final destination. Santiago was just another stop along the way. To celebrate my arrival, I decided to treat myself to a large breakfast, but seeing how breakfast in Spain is basically bread and jam, it was hard to find a place with real food! After peaking in and out of several cafes, I found a place that looked promising. For €10 I had a huge plate of rice, sausage links, and fried eggs all smothered in a delicious red sauce. When the plate was set in front of me, I was excited! But, over the past few weeks I have become accustomed to having a piece of bread and coffee for breakfast, so I was only able to half of my wonderful meal which was somewhat disappointing because I would have liked to eat the entire thing! After breakfast, me, Nancy, and Kathrin toured the city before going to the pilgrim mass at 12pm. Although it was incredibly long, the mass was quite nice. They even swung the large incense burner which is what I was really looking foreward to. After mass there are a few ¨rituals¨ each pilgrim is supposed to partake in, one of which is hugging the statue of Saint James. So, like every other pilgrim in the cathedral, I got in line and waited for my turn to hug the statue. Then, I went below the statue to visit the tomb where the body of Saint James is said to be kept. By the time we left the cathedral it was starting to rain really hard, so most of the afternoon was spent in the albergue, but, I am returning to Santiago on July 24 so that is when I will do all of my touristy things. In the meantime, it was nice to spend time with Nancy and Kathrin to celebrate the end of the camino.
     When I woke up on Saturday morning, I lay in bed thinking to myself, ¨Wow, I´m actually here. I am in Santiago de Compostela and I am done the camino¨. It wasn´t until I looked below my bed and saw my boots and backpack that I realized that MY camino wasn´t over yet. I was leaving for Finisterre and I had 22km of walking ahead of me today. When I worked up the strength to drag myself out of bed it was already 8am. Before leaving though, I said goodbye to Nancy and Kathrin (Even though I would be seeing Kathrin later in the day because she is walking to Finisterre as well. But this would be the last time I would see Nancy). We said our farewells, and then I was back on the road. At first it was hard to walk away from Santiago because this is really the end of the camino, but once the cathedral was out of sight and I was surrounded by forest again, the walk became much easier. The Camino de Finisterre is literally the road less travelled. For the entire six hours that I was on the road, I only saw five people! It was strange because I was just getting used to bwalking on crowded paths. Now, I am all alone and it felt like I was in the middle of no where. There were a few times where I had to double check my guidebook and retrace my steps just to make sure that I was going thr right way. But, it was a beautiful walk (one of my favorites so far this trip) and I loved the peace and quiet! After a full day of walking, I was glad to arrive at the albergue. Now, only three more days of walking before I arrive in Finisterre! And that WILL be the the end of the camino for me! The end of the world is the end of MY camino.

Monte del Gozo - Why am I walking the camino?

As I sit upon a park bench in Monte del Gozo overlooking Santiago de Compostela (which is now only 5km away), I can't help but think to myself, "Why am I here? Why did I choose to walk the Camino de Santiago?". Over the last 40 days I have walked nearly 800km, and after endless hours of thinking and personal reflection, I still don't know why I am here. The camino started out as a way to escape the real world, spend some time alone, and travel for an extended period of time. But after over a month of walking I have come to realize that the camino means so much more to me. As I look back on all of my experiences along the way, I am grateful for all of the wonderful people I have met. Elizabeth, Suzy, Gary, Isabelle, Tenneth, Emma, Kathleen, Judy, Cherri, Mora, Mary, Suzana, Patrick, Kathrin, Nancy, and everyone else that I have had the pleasure of meeting, have made my camino experience unforgettable; and for that, I thank you. The camino is literally made out of blood, sweat, and tears. There have been days where I have shed tears of sadness, and days where I have shed tears of happiness. My feet have bled, and I have definitely been sweating...a lot! But, no matter how hard the camino is, and no matter how exhausted I have been at the end of the day, the time I have spent with my new friends, the tranquility of the tiny Spanish villages, the breathtaking monuments, and the bars, have been worth every step! So why am I walking the camino? Honestly, I don't really know. I guess tomorrow when I arrive in Santiago and stand beneath the cathedral I will gain some understanding of why I am here, why I decided to walk 800km across northern Spain with no set purpose. But now, as I sit a top Monte del Gozo I have time to think, I have time to reflect. It doesn't feel real, I have to keep pinching myself to prove that this is not a dream. Those large buildings and city lights off in the distance are Santiago de Compostela. Only a few weeks ago I was in St. Jean Pied de Port getting ready to begin the camino. Now, I am Galicia getting ready to complete the camino. Have I really walked this far? I still can't believe it, I'm almost done.

It's a different camino

As the crowds grow larger, the path becomes noisier, and the people behave inconsiderately, my patience and enjoyment on the camino begins to decrease. Prior to Sarria, I became accustomed to the camino "way of life", and after walking for several weeks, you learn certain rules as a pilgrim: when you get up in the morning you don't turn on the light, after 9pm you are quiet, and when there are few bathrooms and many pilgrims, you finish quickly and get out as to not hold up the line. But, on this last leg of the camino, there are hundreds of new pilgrims who have not learned and do not practice these simple courtesies. Yesterday in the albergue I was staying in, there was a group of eight young Spaniards who had just started the camino. While I was taking a nap in the afternoon, they made so much noice in the room and I couldn't sleep! Katrine (who was also in the room trying to sleep) asked them to be quieter; they gave us a dirty glare and continued making a bunch of noice. They also emptied their entire backpacks in the room, taking up all the table space and they even put their belongings on all of the other beds (including mine) which I thought was incredibly inconsiderate. We all have limited space as it is, you don't need to take up the entire room and leave less room for the rest of us. Another incident I had yesterday was while I was walking. If I am walking alone I tend to sing to myself, and if people are around I will sing quietly. But yesterday as I was singing quietly to myself, the couple walking ahead of me turned around and told me to shut up because it was disrupting their conversation. We are all walking the camino for different reasons and we all have our own way of making our walks more enjoyable; I sing (as do many people). Just the fact that someone would tell me to shut up so they could carry on with their conversation, I think that is really rude! It's a free road, if you don't like my singing then walk faster or let me pass you. I am trying not to let all of the new pilgrims annoy me though. I keep reminding myself that if I am angry at everyone else, then I am ruining MY camino experience. I try my best to separate myself from the large crowds, and when I am walking all alone, my walks are quite peaceful and relaxing. Lately I have been walking more without listening to my IPod; it gives me more time to think about why I am here, and what I want to get out of the camino. And with Santiago just around the corner, my camino is quickly coming to an end, and then I will have to return to the real world. So, I need to enjoy these last few days of walking because pretty soon I will be on a plane headed back home. Now today I left the albergue earlier than usual (mostly because my noisy roommates were flicking lights on and off and talking loudly at 5am), but I was able to walk straight through the big cities without having to run into any large groups. For a majority of the day I had the entire path to myself which was great! Today was also one of the more beautiful days because it was mostly in the forest and through quiet hamlets. Although I have been trying to stay in smaller albergies these past few days, tonight I am in a large municipal albergue with 200 beds in three dormitories. Also, I am in a big city which is great because there are several shops so I can stock up on supplies, but it is also challenging because it is loud, busy, and modern - the complete opposite of how I have been living this past week. But, it is all part of the camino experience...I just keep telling myself that. Oh, and ever since I entered Galicia, I have been dying to try the regional specialty...octopus! Today for lunch I tried the octopus for the first time. It was delicious! It is lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt, and paprika, and it tastes soo fresh. I thought it would be chewy and tough, but I was surprised to discover that it melts in your mouth! I will definitely be having some more before I leave this part of Spain! In three days I will have finished the Camino de Santiago! I still can't believe it! Ever since Sarria they have had sign postings every 500 meters telling you how far Santiago is. I have about 50km left; that's crazy! My goal for the next dew days is to enjoy every last minute of my walks. I will not let the crowds and noise bother me, I will walk MY camino.

Moooooooo

So this Kurt guy. Well, unfortunately I have seen him off and on for the past week, and we always seem to share a room together despite my pleas for him to be in a different room...or completely different albergue. When I first met Kurt, he seemed somewhat normal. Then, he talked to me for twenty minutes about why he liked to take pictures of cow poo! What?! Apparently he is looking for "the biggest and juiciest pile", and he says he wants to find a solid one so he can take it home with him. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Kurt talks very slowly and in such a monotone voice, so his rants last FOREVER. And just when you are about to get up and leave, he starts talking even more...you just cannot escape him! Last night the albergue I was staying in had a hairdryer. Kurt saw Katrine using it and assumed it was hers; he then approached her after and asked if he could borrow it to dry his hair...Kurt is bald. He doesn't have any hair. Later in the day he heard me, Nancy, and Katrine talking about how the camino is slowly making us all mental, then Kurt overheard and asked us in such a serious manner what mental conditions we had and if we were taking medications for them. After explaining that we were just joking about all the walking making us mental, Kurt's response was "Oh. Well that's good. Cause it wouldn't be a very good idea for crazy people to walk the camino"...says the man who takes pictures of cow poo. Kurt has also forgotten my name even though I tell him what it is everyday; but, I have convinced him that my real name is Canada, and that I live in Canada. He found it was quite funny that I would be named after a country...I told him that I had forgetful parents and they named me Canada so they would remember where we lived. He believed me and said that he understands. Then last night at dinner, while Kurt was shoveling food into his mouth as if it was going to disappear (it was all you could eat...they had plenty of food), Kurt was complaining about the people in "this country" not being able to speak Spanish. He said he finds it hard to order food because it takes the waiter a few tries before they finally understand what you want; Kurt doesn't have that kind of patience when it comes to food. I wonder why they don't speak English as a first language Kurt...maybe because they live in Spain and speak Spanish? This morning when I went into the washroom, I was greeted by Kurt's bare ass. He was just standing in the middle of the room, bent over, completely naked. Not what I really wanted to see first thing in the morning. Even while I was brushing my teeth, he still stood in the same position. But, when Chris (a guy I met from Germany) was in the washroom, Kurt began "touching himself" while standing behind Chris and waiting for the sink. There's something off with this guy...I don't think he is OK in the head. Afterwards at the breakfast table, Kurt explained to me and Nancy why he doesn't drink Spanish milk. He says that the milk has too many preservatives and that the preservatives taste bad. You can't taste preservatives Kurt! He thought it was crazy that I would drink the milk...I thought it was crazy that Kurt could taste preservatives. Before I left, Kurt asked where I was planning on staying today. I told him I was planning to walk 30km, maybe father if I was feeling up to it (really I was only walking 22km; I just wanted Kurt to get as far from mr as possible). Kurt said he planned on walking 30km as well. But, when I arrived at the abergue today, after settling in, guess who arrived twenty minutes later...Kurt! Oh god! Do I not get a break from this guy?? I may have to drink more than usual tonight so I can make it through the evening. Now I promise more Kurt stories will come over the next few days, but I want to talk about my walk today. Despite my amazing sleep last night, when I woke up this morning I was still very tired, and therefore found it hard to start walking. Once I got into the swing of things my day went pretty smoothly. I stopped at a bar for breakfast and had the most amazing apple cake. It was so dense, and so mosist, and oh so tasty! And it only cost me €1,20! Delicious, delicious, delicious! After reaching Sarria (which is the 115km mark), the crowds became larger because Sarria-Santiago de Compostela is the minimum distance you have to walk to receive your compostela. Now I can deal with walking alongside more people, but it annoys me when they walk in huge groups and take up the entire path! Even as you try to walk past they don't move out of the way for you. It's just plain rude! And "buen camino" has taken on an entirely different meaning...people only say it to get your attention; it now means "get out of my way". At one point we had to cross a long bridge and I was stuck in between two school groups. It felt like we were all being herded like cattle. Just to make things more interesting, I started "mooing" as I walked behind people. Hey, it got them to move out of the way. Me and Nancy also started playing a game where we would guess how long each pilgrim had been walking for. If they were clean, chipper, walking fast, and smelled of perfume, you could tell it was only their first day of walking. When you are on the road walking for over a month, you tend to not care about your appearance and you let some things slide. But, after I escaped the crowds, I had an enjoyable walk. It only rained for a little while, and then the sun came out!!! Finally! I haven't seen my shadow in soooo long! Also, as of today I officially have less than 100km to walk before I reach Santiago! I can't believe I am already this close! Back when I started, Santiago seemed incredibly far away, now, I am in the double digits! On Friday I will arrive and then begin my walk to the coast (a further 100km). By for now!

Rainy, Muddy, Rainy

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I have had a lot of sun these past few days...not! It has rained constantly for three days straight. By the time I reach my albergue in the afternoon, I am soaked, freezing, and tired. Earlier last week I was on my own again after saying farewell to Suzana and Patrick, and walking father ahead than Nancy, Katrine, and Tom. But, when I arrived in Ponferrada, I met up with Nancy and Katrine again! Even though we had only been apart for a day, it was really exciting to see them again.  We are planning on walking together until Santiago seeing how we all have almost identical schedules. Oh, and I am jumping ahead, but I only just realized that I will be arriving in Santiago de Compostela on Friday the 13th! That will be an interesting day! Now, after leaving Ponferrada, I was about to embark on my last day of walking through the province of Leon. Yesterday, I conquered the steepest climb of the entire camino and arrived in Galicia - the final province I have to walk through before reaching Santiago. Although the hike was draining, the views were spectacular! I was once again surrounded by trees and walking on dirt paths rather than on the highway. Once I reached the summit, I was welcomed by a large grey cloud and I was showered with chilling rain...it wasn´t really what I was hoping for, but still, Galicia is beautiful! And, walking in the rain isn´t too bad. It´s cold, and irritating, and cold, and uncomfortable, but I think that it is best to experience Galica in the rain. The mist. the fog, and the chilling atmosphere create a mystical environment. In one of the albergues I stayed in, I attended a church service which was, well, very, very different than I had expected. The priest made us stand in a circle and say ¨Buen Camino¨ in our own languages. Me and Nacy were the only ones who spoke English, so Nancy thought it would be funny to make everyone say ¨Up your bum!¨¨, but then we decided against it for obvious weekends. Then, the priest asked for volunteers to have their feet cleaned. Luckily I didn´t volunteer because we had to clean other peoples feet and then kiss their feet. After walking for eight hours a day, I don´t want someones stinky feet anywhere near my mouth. Afterwards, we had to go around and hug all of the pilgrims. I don´t know why, but I noticed, and Nancy noticed that alot of people were running up to hug ME...why am I so special?? But, when I was hugging this one lady and we were doing the double cheek kiss, her head went one way, mine went the other, and we ended up kissing on the lips. She smiled, and then went on to the next pilgrim. When I was telling Nacy after, she said that she would have to keep an eye on me at night...she didn´t want to see me sneaking off to that lady´s bunk. We couldn´t stop laughing. Today was the worst day wlking, not because I was tired, but because it was pouring! The dirt path I was walking on actually turned into a river and I had to hide under a tree for a while! It was crazy!! After a long and wet day of walking, I arrived in San Mamed; a quite albergue just off the road with a beautiful garden, amazing showers, and rooms with only eight people. And, I have no snorers in my room. Over the next few days the camino is going to get a lot busier though. Because Sarria (the city I walk through tomorrow) is the 100km mark and therefore the minimum distance you have to walk in order to recieve your compostela, thousands of pilgrims start from here. I have already been walking alongside large groups of people and it is not fun. I miss the solitude and quite walks. But, I have planned my last few days so that I am staying in small cities where I will hopefully have some peace and quiet. Other than that, I am almost done my pilgrimage! Onlly six more days before >I reach Santiago, and eleven days until I reach Finisterre! I cannot believe the end is almost here! Stay tuned for more crazy stories. My next post will include one about a strange man named Kurt from the States. There is something off with him and he is just really weird, and sometimes scary to talk to. Bye for now!

Laughter and Tears

It's been a while since my last post. So, what have I been up to these past few days? Well, I've met an amazing group of people who I have been walking with, I climbed to 1,505 meters above sea level, and I think I would have been killed if I decided to stay in an albergue I had originally planned to stay in. But let's start from the begining. A few days ago I met Nancy, Tom, and Katrine, and over the past week we have become quite close. Recently I befriended a younger couple from Barcelona, Suzana and Patrick. They are so amazing to walk with and our evenings are always filled with laughter. Now yesterday was a very special day. I climbed to the highest point on the entire camino, Cruz de Ferro. At 1,505 meters above sea level, I had amazing views of the lush green hills and wildflowers growing on the side of the mountain. It was immaculate. The reason Cruz de Ferro is such an important symbol of the camino is because this is where you are forgiven for your sins (so they say), and you can leave a blessing in the form of a rock or other item of importance for the loved ones in your life. Before I left for the camino, all of the books I read said that you are to bring a rock from your home country and you are to carry it until you reach Cruz de Ferro. Then, once you add your stone to the pile, you are forgiven for all of your sins and are freed from the burdens in your life. After Cruz de Ferro yesterday, I only had another 2km of walking before I reached Manjarin (the town that was supposed to be my destination for the day). My guidebook described Manjarin as a mountain sanctuary - a place where you could escape from the real world (seeing how it was 10km from the nearest city). Manjarin is also a ghost town, or it was until Tómas "renovated" one of the abandoned houses and turned it into an albergue. I had arranged to stay here with Patrick and Suzana, but when I arrived at 1pm, they were no where to be seen. And seeing how the albergue was in fact the entire town, it was weird that I couldn't find them. I thought they might have already checked in, so, I went to do the same. But Tómas informed me that I couldn't check in for another hour...hmmmm. Maybe I had passed Suzana and Patrick somewhere on the trail, so I sat sat outside for twenty minutes waiting to see if they arrived. While I was waiting, Tómas approached me and began to explain the rules of the albergue. Dinner was at 8:30pm, the bathroom was anywhere outside, and I was FORBIDDEN to leave before 7:30am! WTF?! I am forbidden to leave a place? Usually the albergue owners kick you out in the morning, but here I was not allowed to leave until I was set free. That's kind of sketchy. Along with the fact that there were no beds (only the floor), there were no windows except for the tarps covering the holes in the walls, the door was a plank, and Tómas was a dirty looking old man with few teeth that were all yellow and brown, I thought it was in my best interest to walk another 7km to the next albergue. I practically ran away from that place! But before I left, Tómas asked where I was going with my backpack after I showed an interest in spending the night. I told him I was going for a walk, but that I would be back later to check in...ummm, no! This place is freaky and I think if I stayed I would not be finishing the camino...I would be dead. The next 7km though were brutal. It was all down a very steep hill and on loose rocks. By the time I reached Acebo at about 3:45pm, I was exhausted and my knees were killing me! I also found Suzana and Patrick in Acebo too. They said that they took one look at Manjarin and just kept walking...they figured I would do the same. Once we checked into the albergue (which had three beds left! Thank God!), I collapsed onto my bed and took a nice long siesta. In total I walked 29km!! I haven't walked that much since the first day. It was tiring. That evening at the dinner table, me, Patrick and Suzana were in tears because we were laughing so hard about what could have happened if we stayed in Majarin. Tómas may have eaten us, we would be locked in a cellar until 7:30am and may or may not be released, or Tómas would make us kill the only cow in town to eat for our dinner. What was even more hilarious was that everyone that I saw up at Manjarin earlier in the day all ended up at our albergue! I guess it was the right decision to leave. We also joked about why a middle aged man would want to move to the middle of nowhere and live by himself while running an albergue?! Was it his decision or was he exiled to Manjarin? Who knows. We also pondered what Tómas would do IF we left before 7:30am. Would he hunt us down? How would he know if we left? Honestly, we really didn't want to know the answer. All in all, it was a very memorable day. I will never forget it...mostly because whenever I close my eyes Tómas' face still pops into my mind. Today, me, Suzana, and Patrick all decided to walk to Ponferrada (an easy 15km). But, Patrick had a pinched nerve in his back and it was excruciatingly painful for him to walk. They ended up only walking 9km before we had to say farewell. It was hard to part ways. We had grown so close over the past few days and we had so much fun together. But there was no way Patrick could continue on, so it was best that they stayed behind. This is the first time I am actually the one who is ahead of the group. Yesterday Nancy, Tom, and Katrine stayed in a town 12km before Acebo while the rest of us continued on. Now I am all alone again. But, I have a few short days coming up, and the others all have very similar schedules to mine, so I am positive that I will see them all again. It would be so crazy if we all met outside the cathedral in Santiago!! That would be such an amazing way to end the camino! So, after leaving Patrick and Suzana, I walked to Ponferrada. What is neat about this town is that there is a fully restored castle that once belonged to the Knights Templar. The castle is so beautiful, and it is really amazing how the castle has been incorporated into the modern metropolis of Ponferrada. Aside from the castle, there isn't a whole lot to do here. I think it will be an early night though so that I get a full nights rest (not like the last two nights where I was sleeping next to horrible snorers, one who sounded like he was whacking a seal against the wall). By next Friday I will arrive in Santiago de Compostela! It has gone by so fast and I can hardly believe that I have already walked this far! I'm almost there; just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking. Bye for now :)