On this date in November...

[trecile]

Here's the thread to post pictures, musings, etc. for any dates in November from any year, and for any Camino route.

When you respond, please mention the year, route you were on and where you walked (or rested) that day. Thanks!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Here's the thread to post pictures, musings, etc. for any dates in November from any year, and for any Camino route.
When you respond, please mention the date, route you were on and where you walked (or rested) that day. Thanks!

I've enjoyed these threads you have started, @trecile. Probably as the weather keeps getting colder there will be fewer posters...brrr.

 

[trecile]

I've enjoyed these threads you have started, @trecile. Probably as the weather keeps getting colder there will be fewer posters...brrr.

Yes, but there are always a few hardy souls walking in winter.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Yes, but there are always a few hardy souls walking in winter.

I know! They put me to shame!

 

[Crosscheck]

Muxia, 2 Nov 2018

 

[tomnorth]

November 1, 2015: All Saints Day at the Pilgrim's Mass in Santiago.

 

[RJM]

11-1-18 Camino Frances (PortoMarin to Palas de Rei)

If memory serves me, was a cloudy and cold walk to Palas de Rei. Stayed in the private albergue, San Marcos which is next to the church. It is a nice albergue. Clean and modern. I remember going to dinner with a few fellow pilgrims. I believe it did rain that night.

 

[trecile]

View attachment 86685

Muxia, 2 Nov 2018

Beautiful picture!

 

[simply B]

11/01/2012: Rest Day Santiago de Compostela

I was up in time to open the Comedores for breakfast. With deep contentment, I kept eating until it was time for closing. All that protein and fat….and endless coffee! (There was no shame at all. Upon returning home, I had dropped 15% of my starting body weight.)

Mass was something to behold – All Saint’s Day, and also to commemorate the visit of John Paul II thirty years before. So, it was a High Mass and the “altar boys” were monsignors, the concelebrants being a mix of bishops and cardinals. Also in attendance was an honor guard from Poland replete with plumed hats, capes, and swords. And, of course, the botafumeiro was pressed into service.

The rest of a very long, pleasant day consisted of meeting up with pilgrims previously met and stepping into small cafes for an odd bite and a beverage. I finally reached my bed again well past midnight.


11/01/2017: Bus-ed to Muxia

Though walking was a possibility, I have had a devil of a time walking back from the coast….just because the reverse waymarking is less than clear to me. I wanted to take my time and enjoy some short days.

So, a 2-hour drive through the countryside was pleasant although it heralded a significant change in the weather – for the worse.

After taking this picture of the Sanctuario, I made my way back to the parish church for Mass with the locals. Many family visitors in from out of town for festivities in the cemetery throughout the day. That little church was packed!

 

[AlanSykes]

Mota del Cuervo, Camino de Levante, 2014

Quintanilla de las Viñas, Camino de Sant Olav, 2015

Mezquita de Cordóba, Camino Mozárabe, 2016

Sevilla, Vía Serrana/de la Plata, 2017

Canal de Castilla, near Herrera de Pisuerga, Camino del Besaya, 2018

Valdorria, Camino Olvidado, 2019

 

[Former member 91017]

Last year on this day I was packing to get ready for my flight that would, a few days hence, take me to Portugal for my intended coastal CP. The weather turned so mould that walkers were advised off the coastal route and I went inland instead. Will begin posting photos when we get to my landing a few days hence in Lisbon. I flew from home on the night of Nov. 3, and began my walk from Coimbra on the 5th.

 

[C clearly]

This is a special date for me! Here I am on November 1, 2012, having just arrived in Madrid with my sister-in-law, trying to find out how to get to Astorga to start my first Camino!

I had followed the good advice from the forum, especially @mspath with her late fall experience, and packed well - about 6 kg of layers for any type of weather. My packing list has not changed much since.

 

[Sven Kaven]

Buen Camino and stay save! I also walked die VDLP in 2017.

Sven

 

[hel&scott]

The start of November marks the end of our Autumal caminos and I am usually on a plane heading home. It's also my birthday and so I always get bubbles and sometimes a cake brought down the aisle by a hostess. It's kind of appropriate that a woman called Hel celebrates her birth on the Day of the Dead.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

On November 1, 2019 I walked from Huesca to Bolea on the Camino Catalan. I felt like I was nearly in the Pyrenees foothills. Bolea is a hill town. Walked up it and then down it on the other side to the albergue. A sign said to go to a bar back up the hill to get the number to call. Just before calling a man came walking by with a pack and speed dialled the number. He wasn't a pilgrim but a hiker from Huesca who often used the albergue for a hiking base in the area. That night and the next morning was a bit of a treat as I could give my deteriorating Spanish a rest as my roommate spoke excellent English. After walking down the hill to check in it was a walk back up the hill to the bar to eat and then back down. When I left the next morning the walk started with a walk back up the hill.

I just posted a picture taken a year ago in Bolea.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/post-your-favorite-flower-photo-s-taken-on-camino-part-2.68740/#post-881364

 

[linkster]

Yesterday October 31, 2017 we arrived in Santiago de Compostela and collected our compostelas. November 1, 2017 All Saints Day. I got just enough sleep to make the noon mass.

 

[linkster]

November 1, 2018 on the Camino Francés between Palas de Rei and Ribadiso de Baixo. I had lunch at Pulperia A Garnacha in Melide. I then went to mass at Iglexa de San Pedro de Melide. I met Eva on the way out of town and we walked to Ribadiso together. I think I am starting to look like pulpo,

 

[simply B]

Posting "Spain's time zone"...time constraints tomorrow. Notes pulled from my daily logs.

11/02/12: Santiago de Compostela to Negreira

“Up @ 6:45 am, though awake at 5:15 am thnx to folks either to side or below who did not understand how to ‘get out of Dodge’ quietly. Bkfst was a round robin of more visits to & from other peregrinos for last minute chats & plan updates. Finally got away, paid up & on the road by 8:45.

Lots of time lost today to rain gear on & off. Tough to balance warm temps & rain w/ comfort… just not a combo I could pack for despite anticipating it.

Made it to Negreira ~14:45 pm and checked into ‘Albergue Lua’. (Good enough, okay?)

Had a decent pizza in town which I then supplemented w/ banana & yogurt. Grabbed a coffee, just because, later.”

11/02/17: Muxia to Lires

“…at As Eiras, composed of albergue, pension, bar, and restaurant. It is a bit more than halfway to Finisterre on a deep inlet from the Atlantic.

We opted for a cautious approach to the day after a touch of tummy trouble yesterday and being awakened by slashing rains with accompanying thunder and lightning at 04:00.

We started at 09:45 after the rains were down to a drizzle and hoped for nothing worse for our transit. My late Mom used to say “Rain before 7, over by 11”. It went just as Mom promised and nothing worse than intermittent sprinkles came our way for the trek."

Looking west over Morquintian…”

 

[mspath]

From my blog November 2, 2015

At the End of My Trail

Due to injury I must cease this camino for I am no longer able to easily stand or walk. Greatly saddened I know that tonight will be my last in a pilgrim albergue. Now unfortunately the time has come to stop....

Sincerely grateful for all the happiness that I have found and shared along the way during these past years I wish only the best for the future of this beloved route. Might all who walk find fulfillment; may at least my precious memories endure as long as I. Physically I may not be walking, but sentimentally I will always wear my pilgrim shell. ... Thank you for reading my blog and offering your many comments. Ultreia!

"This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well, which thou must leave ere long."
Shakespeare, Sonnet LXXIII





.

 

[Kanga]

1 November 2018. A lovely walk to start the day, a bridge crossing a wide river, then the fabulous fishing port of Viana do Castelo. Took the fun funicular ride to the top of the mountain to see the church perched high over the town - spectacular views - then down to the old town where I visited the local museum - with a great exhibition dedicated to local peasant costumes. Good collection. Also explanations and exhibits about cloth making and embroidery (mainly on wool and linen - flax was grown locally) and the very pretty gold heart jewellery worn in Northern Portugal. Unfortunately photography was strictly prohibited. Then to see a church I’d been told was a “do not miss” and indeed it was a glory of blue tiles and gold - Ireja da Misericordia. Walked out of town through the port area (I do love a serious working port!) and a few kilometres along the way until I discovered a problem with my phone. Which resulted in me backtracking to find a Vodaphone shop - and I won’t bore you with telling what followed!
The end result is that I walked 17km from last nights accommodation - but have progressed only 7km. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll do better!

 

[jl]

St Cuthbert's Way - one of the many pilgrimage routes in the UK. This was part of a much longer walk for me and I was lucky to have my niece meet me and share the journey for a week. The photos below are in chronological order from Nov 1st to Nov 5th. I can recommend this way.


Nov 1st, St Cuthbert's Way

Nov 2nd - St Cuthbert's Way where it crosses the Pennine Way

Nov 3rd - St Cuthbert's Cave, reputed to be the place where the monks rested on the first night when they began their years long journey carrying St Cuthbert's body. This was to protect it from the Vikings who were about to raid Holy Island.

Nov 4th - Walking the Poles to Holy Island. You are given a time frame within which it is safe to walk, and the latest time that you can safely depart..........

........otherwise you could get caught in this.

Nov 5th - after leaving Holy Island (by the causeway) the path then heads towards the town of Bamburgh and ultimately Durham Cathedral, via St Oswald's Way. This is where St Cuthbert's body was finally interred.

 

[Meggins]

View attachment 86685

Muxia, 2 Nov 2018

Gorgeous pic!

 

[El Cascayal]

November 1, 2015: All Saints Day at the Pilgrim's Mass in Santiago.View attachment 86686

Tom, incredible, what a spectacular photo! Thanks, this is a new favorite.

 

[Rowena]

On November 1, 2019, I arrived in Santiago on the Camino Portugués from Porto.

 

[RJM]

11-2-18 Camino Frances (Palas de Rei to Ribadiso de Baixo)

Stopped for lunch in Melide. Have eaten pulpo many times, so I opted for a raciones type meal of eggs, sausage etc and a beer, if I remember correctly. Ate with a couple of peregrinas who did order the pulpo. I stayed in Melide once a few years prior. Stopped because the rain started to come down heavy just as I was leaving the town and was literally in front of the albergue Peirero. Saw it as a sign from above to stay there, lol. Melide is a nice place. Many places to stay and many restaurants etc.
Walked on to Ribadiso and contemplated continuing the short distance to Arzua, which is cool little town too, but saw some pilgrims I knew staying in Ribadiso so I stopped and stayed at the albergue on the left just past the river. Los Caminantes. Nice place, and far from completo. Had dinner that night with several pilgrims. Must have been ten of us at the table.

 

[linkster]

11-02-17 Santiago de Compostela, wandered around town ... Mercado de Abastos de Santiago ... misa en la catedral con el botifumero.

11-02-18 Camino Francés (Ribadiso de Baixo to O Pedrouzo). I spent last night in Albergue Los Caminantes, and had dinner across the street with a group of peregrinos. I spent the night at Albergue Porta de Santiago, and had dinner at Taste the Way with Eva, Angel, Jill, Brian, and Mark. It was Brian's birthday.

 

[linkster]

11-03-18 Camino Francés (O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela) I walked with Eva today. I am always a little conflicted walking into the Praza do Obradoiro ... celebrating a goal, and realizing this Camino is coming to an end. Not just yet, still planning on walking to Muxia. There is also an extended tramily coming into town over the next couple of days. Time for a little R&R.

 

[Rowena]

November 3, 2019, on the way to Muxía
I took this photo somewhere between Negreira and Vilaserio. The weather, which had been gloomy and damp all morning, became really unpleasant in the afternoon. I stayed at Casa Pepa in Santa Marina, a cozy family run albergue, with the heat on and a fire burning in the fireplace of the restaurant, a haven from the lashing rain and howling wind.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

November 3, 2019, Camino Catalan. I actually started to walk in the forests at the edge of the Pyrenees. I just posted two pictures at

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/post-your-favorite-flower-photo-s-taken-on-camino-part-2.68740/#post-881628

 

[simply B]

11/3/2012: Negreira to Olveiroa

My notes record a memorable meltdown for me. The first and only for the Camino.

“LOOONNNGGG DAY!

Despite sleeping about 12 hrs last night, Woke up feeling tired & dispirited.

@ 8 am – “I’d quit this for 10 €!”
@ 8:30 am – “I’d quit this for 1 €!”
@ 9 am – “If you have the power, I’ll pay 100 € for you to make this whole thing go away- - -“

Mind you, the last two entries were after bkfst & coffee. In retrospect, I think this was all due to waking up and walking out into another grey twilight of sheeting rain and driving wind from the west.”

I am, in retrospect, a bit embarrassed at being such a snowflake.


11/3/2017: Lires to Finisterre

“The weatherman was wrong again today, for which I was grateful. Down to a t-shirt less than 3 km out of Lires and only went back to a second layer at Hermesdesuxo when met with brisk Atlantic winds coming into the coast.

I will continue to doddle back to Santiago with shorter distance days. These permit less stress when finding reverse waymarking, and losing time to backtracking when one is missed. Of course, the more time spent in the countryside, the happier I am.”

The photo posted to my private family blog showed my favorite Camino appetizer…captioned:

“Glad you are not here as I do NOT want to share”

 

[RJM]

11-3-18 Camino Frances (Ribadiso de Baixo to Pedrouzo)

Cloudy day. Stopped in Arzua for coffee and breakfast. Got into Pedrouzo in the afternoon and went to Porta de Santiago albergue. Nice place and by early evening had a good number of pilgrims staying there. It may have even become completo. Just like linkster, I had dinner with a couple of fellow pilgrims at the nearby restaurant, Taste the Way, and enjoyed a couple of bottles of a local lager, Peregrina. Later that that night I had the foresight to make reservations in Santiago at a small pensiones not far from the cathedral. I am glad I did because Santiago, pilgrims or not, is a popular city for all. Prospective pilgrims reading this take note. I always make reservations in SJPdP and Santiago.

 

[linkster]

11-02-17 Santiago de Compostela, had breakfast with some friends and said goodbye. Waiting for some others to get into town. Wandered around town again ... pilgrim mass (again with the botifumero). .

 

[simply B]

11/4/2012: Olveiroa to Muxía

Another long day…and far more uphill than one expects on their way to the sea.

Biggest horreio that I ever saw and, as it turns out, ever have seen.



11/4/2017: Finisterre to Cee

A nice walking day as I did a leisurely stroll at the skirt edge of passing rain showers. Found “Albergue Moreira” (nice place!) with little difficulty and did the usual pilgrim chores before wandering out to explore the town.

Stopped for dinner downtown (As Baleas, maybe?) and proved to be dinner entertainment for a toddler from a nearby table. Mom and Dad gave me a wary look-over, or maybe their child was the object of their stare. In any case, my wink and a nod indicated that I was okay with the situation if they were.

They finished their meal in peace while mine approached room temp as I amused their little person. Dad gave me a “thumbs up” after paying and they headed out.

 

[RJM]

11-4-18 Camino Frances (Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compestela)

Woke up early and was out the door early at the albergue. It had a good number of pilgrims there and as a routine I grab all my kit, go to a lighted common area or similar and after ensuring it is all there out the door I go (unless of course the albergue is serving breakfast ).
It was still dark when I left, and actually getting kinda of lost looking for the arrows in my attempt to go back to where I split off the day before I finally found the path after seeing some pilgrims I knew headlamps moving along lol.
It rained on and off all day. Not a lovely day at all. A fair number of pilgrims walking. I stopped at the cafe/bar in San Marcos and ate lunch, hamburger and a beer. Walked into Santiago and the plaza in a steady rain, but still joyful. Stayed there for half an hour or so under some cover and made my peace and prayed, watched the pilgrims coming in. Found my pensiones and was actually a bit early as they were still cleaning the rooms. No problem as there was a bar downstairs. Beer and potato crisps.
Early the next morning I went to the pilgrim's office for my compostela.
My original intent was to only stay in Santiago one day and then to walk to Fisterre, but it never stopped raining, and a steady rain and there was a large winter rainstorm cell just off the coast. After one day I moved to San Martin Pinario (great place, nice included breakfast and some nice dinner and lunch available). A couple more nights there and it was obvious there would be no walk to the coast for me. I honestly had no interest in monsoon winds and cold rain, lol. Besides, I had reservations to fly home from Madrid and had to get there. During those three days in Santiago I went to mass at the cathedral several times and saw the botafumeiro swing three times . Also got the opportunity to meet up with fellow pilgrims I had been seeing the past month and shared some meals with them in Santiago.
I think that will be my one and only late fall/autumn Camino, or any month there is possibility of a lot of rain or snow. Give me the hot, dry days of July-August lol.

 

[Rowena]

November 4, 2019 Santa Marina to Dumbria
The storm continued on into the morning. The wind was coming from the west of course, so the rain was blowing into my face. My feet were wet again and my fingers were going numb, and I considered giving up and finding a bus to somewhere dry for the next few days instead of walking to Finisterre. But just before noon, as I approached Olveiroa, the sun came out long enough to dry me, warm me up, and change my attitude. There were rain showers the rest of the way, but I was able to wait them out in conveniently placed cafés. I spent the night with four other pilgrims at the municipal albergue in Dumbria (note: heated floors!).

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

November 4, 2019. Walked from Ena on the Camino Catalan to Puente de Reina de Jaca on the Aragonese. I finally got to see the monasteries of San Juan de la Peña, both the new one and the old. Various posts on this forum mentioned the tough ascent and descent before and after the monasteries but I'll say that if you are used to hiking the White Mountains in New Hampshire they won't be a problem. The rain started once I got to the bottom. It was especially nasty when I got to Santa Celia and it was dark and cold besides. And there was no lodging available in town (usually but not this time of year). I walked the highway to a hotel in Puente de Reina de Jaca. In town I had a dinner of wild trout in a nearby restaurant. Normally I don't care for trout that much but Peg, who used to live on a trout stream, loves it. I ordered it so when I gave Peg my nightly call I could rub it in (like salt in a wound).

 

[Former member 91017]

I landed in Lisbon on Nov 5th, 2019, and took the train to my departure point out for walking out of Coimbra. While waiting for my train, I wandered the port a little and could not miss the 60’ high “Trash Cat” — a sculpture showing an Iberian lynx made of plastic garbage/recycling containers and discarded furniture. The sculpture references the threat to animal species of human carelessness and environmental encroachment into animal territories.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

November 4, 2019. Walked from Ena on the Camino Catalan to Puente de Reina de Jaca on the Aragonese. I finally got to see the monasteries of San Juan de la Peña, both the new one and the old. Various posts on this forum mentioned the tough ascent and descent before and after the monasteries but I'll say that if you are used to hiking the White Mountains in New Hampshire they won't be a problem. The rain started once I got to the bottom. It was especially nasty when I got to Santa Celia and it was dark and cold besides. And there was no lodging available in town (usually but not this time of year). I walked the highway to a hotel in Puente de Reina de Jaca. In town I had a dinner of wild trout in a nearby restaurant. Normally I don't care for trout that much but Peg, who used to live on a trout stream, loves it. I ordered it so when I gave Peg my nightly call I could rub it in (like salt in a wound).

View attachment 86888

Wow, the people in that photo (for scale) show just how much of a monstrocity that monastery is.

 

[simply B]

11/5/2012: Rest Day at Muxía

“Taking a rest day today. Couple cuppas & out for a walk to Nostra Senora de la Barca. Took some pix and then walked to the rough outlines of the town to see what was around.

Got trapped in a vicious rainstorm on my way back to the albergue. Wind just about knocked me over and rain was coming down so hard that visibility dropped to less than 10 ft. Instant soaking unless I could find refuge - - which I did at a local school for 10 mins until it passed. Even the locals were surprised by the intensity.

Shopped for lunch & got some extra to share at the albergue. Threaded my way to the Tourist Office to get my ‘Muxíana’ in between driving rains.

Monday night in Muxía – slow! Restos closed so a great seafood meal is out but found Galician Pie, mussels & a glass of tinto at ‘O Xardin’ on the water. “


11/5/2017: Cee to Olveiroa

“It took a while to get these notes written. We had to get a beer (aka “Muse”), then shoo away a puppy that wanted to pee on our pack. The rain cover was on but still…call us finicky.

Train of thought now derailed, and with no survivors, we go to attend to mundane matters of check-in, shower, and laundry.”

Looking over Rio de Santa Lucia…where I spent some time, close up, watching trout rise to a late hatch of mayflies.

 

[Rowena]

November 5, 2019 Dumbría to Muxia

Again today there were several short but heavy downpours. The path to Muxia was along isolated forest tracks and rural roads with the occasional ancient little settlement, and a few steep hills thrown in to keep it from being too easy. The sun was shining as I came out of the trees and down to the coast at Muxia. What a beautiful sight it was, and a satisfying reward for having toughed out the weather to get here.
Before sunset I walked out to the Sanctuary on the headland that simply B mentions. Huge wild waves, amplified by the strong wind, were surging and crashing onto the rocks. There’s something hypnotic about watching the waves breaking, so I stayed until the sun went down behind the angry looking clouds, then walked back into town and found a pilgrim menu featuring freshly caught fish.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

November 5, 2019 Dumbría to Muxia

Again today there were several short but heavy downpours.

Same day, different camino, the Aragonese. It was my first full day on it. Yesterday evening it was cold, dark and raining. Today was wet and gloomy on my way to the long evacuated village of Ruesta. It seems that all of northern Spain is experiencing much the same weather. And it is going to be the same for another week and beyond. I was going to be walking from Pamplona to San Sebastian during that beyond period (I wanted Peg to stay envious) but the weather forecasts persuaded me to halt in Pamplona.

The only things to see in Ruesta is ruins, including a castle. The townspeople were forced to leave about 40? years ago because the reservoir was going to flood them. It hasn't happened yet. Along the camino protesters placed blue stones where the camino would be flooded.

In Ruesta's albergue I met my fellow pilgrim from Berbegal and a French woman who just entered Spain from a long walk in France. We would be sharing space in albergues for a few nights more.

.

 

[AlanSykes]

Nearing Toledo on the Levante, 2014
Picos de Europa from San Vicente de la Barquera, Camino del Norte, 2015
Hinojosa del Duque, Camino Mozárabe, 2017
Crossing from Andalucía to Extremadura, Vía de la Plata, 2018
Near Velilla del río Carrión, Camino Olvidado, 2016
Visigothic San Pedro de la Nave, Camino Zamorano Portugués, 2019

 

[simply B]

11/6/2012: Muxía to Finisterre (Fisterra/Finisterra…)

“Corn harvest was in full swing here after a couple days w/o constant rain, fun to watch - - very old school.

By which I mean, hand cutting of stalks about 2.5 ft up from soil, hand-carried to a trailer behind a tractor for hauling to the farmyard. Corn husked, it was dry near as I could tell, then put into ‘horreios’ for safe-keeping.

Crop residue dug into trenches or put under black plastic – I am guessing the former for compost and the latter for silage. Lots of dogs & cats coming out to meet me & establish their authority - - which I honored.”

11/6/2017: Olveiroa to Maroñas

It took a while to get gone from Olveiroa as heavy fog was rendered incandescent by the unseen Sun above. I have enough difficulty with reverse waymarks as it is so I sipped an extra coffee while waiting upon improved visibility.

Checked into Casa Pepa (5 Stars, IMHO) and settled on the porch to enjoy a tall beer while I did some e-mailing. While so engaged, I heard a "plop" and looked up to see a LARGE hornet sinking to the bottom with his stinger trailing a milky substance. By the time I had switched from e-mail to "camera" mode on the phone, the entire beer was opaque. (Think unfiltered Weissbier.)

Seeing a perfectly good beer ruined, but happy for his boss's extra beer sale, the "porch monitor" looked on with mixed emotion.

 

[Rowena]

I agree with you wholeheartedly about Casa Pepa, @simply B! I have stayed there twice.

November 6, 2019 Muxia to Lires

Climbing up from the coast I was walking through thick fog. I could hear but not see the wind turbines. If there were any scenic views, I missed them. The rain held off for most of the morning but began in earnest five km before Lires. Spent the afternoon wrapped in blankets at the albergue waiting for it to be dinner time and hoping for better weather for my final day to Fisterra.

 

[Former member 91017]

On the 6th Nov, 2019, I walked out of Coimbra, starting from the Ibis hotel and making a detour to the vodafone shop to confirm some things about my SIM card and plan. On the way, I passed by a lovely bakery/pastry shop and resisted going in as I had just had breakfast, marvelled at the stonework on the street, and passed by the old monastery that sits at the base of the hill below the university. I saw my first marker in the stones and felt “ah.... my roving home,” or something akin to that. And along the way I saw a vintage BMW that I estimate to be from the mid 1970’s.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

November 6, 2019 saw me, Inake and Marie walk from Ruesta on the Aragonese to Sangüesa although each walked alone. Early on I took a photo of a rainbow over the reservoir. Later, showing it off, Marie showed us the other half and Inake showed us a photo of the full rainbow.

I don't remember much rain but not much sun either. I had a good lunch at a village along the way (I'm remembering being wet here though). I later had a good dinner in Sangüesa. Two rarities: two good meals in a day and a picture of dinner.

. . . . . .

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Nearing Toledo on the Levante, 2014
Picos de Europa from San Vicente de la Barquera, Camino del Norte, 2015
Hinojosa del Duque, Camino Mozárabe, 2017
Crossing from Andalucía to Extremadura, Vía de la Plata, 2018
Near Velilla del río Carrión, Camino Olvidado, 2016
Visigothic San Pedro de la Nave, Camino Zamorano Portugués, 2019

Rick, every one of those 100+ sheep were staring at you in curiosity! What had you said to them?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Rick, every one of those 100+ sheep were staring at you in curiosity! What had you said to them?

"Digan queso."

 

[linkster]

11-07-18 Santiago de Compostela to Negreira. I have been in Santiago for 4 days meeting friends from along the way, and saying goodbye to just as many. I have enjoyed just hanging out with everyone, but the party cannot go on forever. I feel like I am losing momentum, and the constant goodbyes are draining. There has been a couple of good rain storms. I decided last night that I have to move on.

I really enjoyed the first part of the walk out of Santiago. The bridge Ponte Maceria is very picturesque. I would have like to have lunch at the restaurant, but it was closed. I stayed at Pensión La Mezquita in Negreira. I had dinner at Café Bar Imperial. After dinner I had some chupitos with some other peregrinos. There was a German girl that I passed earlier in the day that was walking barefoot.

It felt good to be moving again.

 

[movinmaggie]

Nov 2, 2015 celebrating my 80th birthday, the beautiful cake mysteriously appearing, thanks to the thoughtfulness of Nate and Faith...

 

[movinmaggie]

Sorry, forgot to add....at Pilgrim House

 

[simply B]

11/7/2012: Rest Day in Finisterre

Stayed at the ‘Albergue Cabo de Vila’ which was very nice. I felt lazy and just wanted to soak up some salt air and sun though the wind was brisk and chilly. I ate A LOT through the day though I managed to find time to walk out to the lighthouse, picking up the “Fisterriana” on my return.

About 18:30 the water supply to town was completely shut down owing to a mainline breakage – no splendid seafood meal this night as restos had no washing water for service! Off to the Mercado to pick up cold meats, tinned fish, bread, and bottled water for myself and any late stragglers into the albergue. (No tap water the rest of my time there.)


11/7/2017: Maroñas to Negreira

It seemed like a bitterly long slog even though the distance really is not that much. Yes, the weather turned owlish about 8 km in but that was not the whole source of fatigue.

Rather, it stemmed from a young couple deciding, at 3 am, in a 12-bed room, that walking together just wasn’t intimate enough for them….if you catch our drift.

If they thought that anyone slept through that then they really shouldn’t be out there on their own. The morning crowd was grumpy…and we are understating. Upon coming into the breakfast room, the guilty parties assessed the mood and stares. They left without so much as a coffee….which was smart.

 

[apotheo]

Yes, but there are always a few hardy souls walking in winter.

Me!!! I'm on the Portugese and love it!

 

[RJM]

11-07-18 Santiago de Compostela to Negreira. I have been in Santiago for 4 days meeting friends from along the way, and saying goodbye to just as many. I have enjoyed just hanging out with everyone, but the party cannot go on forever. I feel like I am losing momentum, and the constant goodbyes are draining. There has been a couple of good rain storms. I decided last night that I have to move on.

I really enjoyed the first part of the walk out of Santiago. The bridge Ponte Maceria is very picturesque. I would have like to have lunch at the restaurant, but it was closed. I stayed at Pensión La Mezquita in Negreira. I had dinner at Café Bar Imperial. After dinner I had some chupitos with some other peregrinos. There was a German girl that I passed earlier in the day that was walking barefoot.

It felt good to be moving again. View attachment 87055

I think I had lunch with you and a couple of other pilgrims one day at San Martin Pinario. One of the other pilgrims was from Ireland.

 

[trecile]

Nov 2, 2015 celebrating my 80th birthday, the beautiful cake mysteriously appearing, thanks to the thoughtfulness of Nate and Faith...View attachment 87060

I hope that I can celebrate my 80th birthday on the Camino!
I celebrated my 59th in Santiago.

 

[Rowena]

November 7, 2019

Sadly, the last day of my 2019 Camino. In 2015 I walked from Santiago to Finisterre, so this walk to Finisterre via Muxia completed the circle.

In the morning the signs leaving Lires lured me down to the estuary and along the coastal route. The waves rolling in and the threatening clouds, topped off with a rainbow as the rain advanced towards me, provided a spectacular scene. Very soon the rain started pelting at me sideways, and my poncho flapped about so much that it started flipping up over my head so that at times I couldn’t see where I was putting my feet.
With relief I rejoined the regular route, the sun came out, and the weather was beautiful for the rest of the day. The albergues I passed on the way into Finisterre were closed, but I found a nice room in a pensión for only 15 Euros, and left my backpack there while I went out to the lighthouse.
I spent some time sitting on the rocks contemplating the end of my Camino, then as I turned away from the lighthouse I found myself facing the road that winds its way up Monte Facho to the Sacred Stones. Thinking it very unlikely that I would ever have the opportunity again, I decided to go up and find them. It was remarkably easy walking up there, since I didn’t have the backpack. I was the only person up there in that wild and windy mystical place. I tried to find the hermitage too, but by then it was getting late and the forest was beginning to feel forbidding, so I hurried back down.
Later that evening I met three fellow pilgrims at Los Tres Golpes for a seafood feast, which took a really long time to eat on account of all the difficult little shells that had to be opened. Then back to the pensión for the night before returning to Santiago to start the long journey back to Canada.

Rowena

 

[Former member 91017]

Very different views on the way to Agueda last year... from the pastoral to the abandoned, from the villa with vineyard, to the wide and modern boulevard. It was a lot to ponder on a day that also ranged from cool sunshine when I departed out of Sarnadelo, to ferocious rain in Agueda.

And I recall that although there was a very nice bathroom in the albergue where I stayed, a group of women took it over for 2 hours !!! 1 person at a time for half an hour each! So I used the “al fresco” showers downstairs. I would imagine they are lovely in summer, but it was less charming as the temperature fell to 6 C.

 

[linkster]

I think I had lunch with you and a couple of other pilgrims one day at San Martin Pinario. One of the other pilgrims was from Ireland.

I did stay at San Martín and walked on and off with Ray (from Ireland) to the coast. Mark introduced me to Ray before he left for home. Send me a PM with a pic if you have one.

 

[linkster]

11-08-18 Negreira to Santa Mariña on the way to Fisterra. It was a rainy day. Heads down walking, so I decided to stay in Santa Mariña at Casa Pepa. I met up with Ray, Devin, Jill, and Nora. Ray and I got in pretty early, and took the single beds by the windows and the radiator. I had the same bed as last year. We dried some clothes on the radiator. The hospitaleros are always friendly, and the food is good. Warm lentil soup and a bottle of wine for lunch on a cold rainy day.

PS: My trail runners were soaked, but they were always dry by morning. I just pull out the insoles, stuff the shoes with some newspaper, and if possible place them by the fire. My socks were drying on the radiator upstairs. Tomorrow will be another rainy day ... I know I will be soaked within the first hour, but psychologically it is easier for me to start with dry feet.

 

[simply B]

11/8/2012: Finisterre to Olveiroa

Long day but probably my best personal speed of the walk so far what with all the threading through towns and the uphill stretches. Met up with “Sam from Oz”, just east of Cee, with whom I had breakfasted in SJPP about an eternity back. He was heading for Finisterre. Big hugs after we chatted and then we went our separate ways.


11/8/2017: Negreira to Santiago de Compostela

The Cathedral in the distance from about 3.5 km to the west. After a day of malarial weather (fever and chills in rapid alternation), multiple times losing the trail, fog, rain, dodging cars more often than desired, and inhaling more menthol than workers on the VapoRub line. (Wow, the eucalyptus were redolent that day!)

After a celebratory beer at Cafe Tertulia at the bottom of the last climb up to the Cathedral, I went directly to San Martin to beg a room… and got it! Anticipations of a breakfast tomorrow with endless coffee, sausage, cheese, bread (with butter!!) and yogurt danced merrily in my head. But that would be then. After a quick shower, I prowled the old town for bites and beers before returning to a comfy bed and collapsing.

 

[alhartman]

Nov 8 2008. Ruitelan Pequeno Potala--hospitality and meal made it one of my Camino favorites; stopped there on my next 3 walks up the Valcarce. I had started that year on 9 Oct in Toulouse as my 4th 'camino'; and my second in France. I think this was the camino where I realized I was 'hooked'--and did 6 more in the following years. Also the camino with the most bedbug experiences--Auch and Astorga!!
I am beginning to realize that with my aging and the delays likely to continued covid, that my camino walking days are likely over. But I also realize that it has been the anchor and cement for joy in my retirement years. A real blessing!!

 

[Former member 91017]

On this day last year, I walked from Agueda to Albergaria de Nova. I stopped fairly late in the day for a snack in a wee village near Sarem, and then had a long trudge through mud and a sudden downpour before Albergaria de Velha. The mud had been the consequence of a very raining season in an area hard hit by fires the year before. I had eaten a very generous breakfast at my albergue in Agueda, and had not needed to stop for a long time. I marveled at the villas that appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry one day long ago, and would have to wait until my arrival in Porto to learn the reason.
In Albergaria de Velha I grabbed a coffee and allowed my boots to dry so I could whack the caked mud off them.
I had a lovely chat in French with a man who told me his name was Dauphin because he was very small. He was, even at 80 something, a handsome man, and I enjoyed talking to him. He walked a few blocks with me and told me how lucky I was to be walking, and how much he wished he were young enough to go. He departed down a side street after a few blocks, and I continued on to Albergaria do Nova. I was exhausted and decided to stay at the first albergue.... it had neither heat nor reliable power and so a little dog crawled up beside me to get warm. Dinner there was well made but awkward as I was compelled to dine with the owners who were more “hippie” by a long shot than I am.

 

[linkster]

11-09-18 Santa Mariña to Olveiroa on the way to Fisterra. It was a rainy, windy, and cold day again. Ray and I took turns taking the lead with the other drafting the lead person. I think we only stopped once to get out of the rain, have some coffee, and drip all over the floor.

Ray stayed in the albergue, and I opted for a room in the adjoining Casa Loncho. I think I didn't want to deal with bunk beds, vying for drying space, etc. after being wet all day. I did get in a short nap, but I miss the energy of the albergue.

I saw Marco in the restaurant while my clothes were drying. I met him my first day in St. Jean at a little park up the hill from the Pilgrim's Office. He was with a German? girl and her dog. He had hiked from his home in Switzerland. I had dinner with Marco, Ray, Devin, and Nora.

Silly girls playing in the rain. Looks like Nora took my advice and snagged some dishwashing gloves. I packed a set of extra large dishwashing gloves to wear over my liners on rainy days, until I got some Zpack Rain Mitts.

 

[Former member 91017]

Albergaria do Velha to Sao Joao do Madeira — roughly 30K on this day. It was not her with wildly variable weather, and when I arrived at destination, I had to use a hair dryer to dry my socks and boots.

I had a lovely breakfast in a very atypically modern cafe in Albergaria do Velha, having set out pretty early. By the end of the day my left arm would show the tell-tale sign of bed-bugs.

Sao Joao do Madeira was one of those stopping points that made me wish I had allowed for more time on the road. There were museums and cultural sites I would have liked to have spent time at.

On my way during the day, I needed a “pit stop” at a bar in Travanca, and — as I always do in Spain — I placed a euro on the counter for the privilege of using their washroom when I had no need of food or coffee. A client asked what I was doing, and I replied — in French as I had learned this was generally understood by older people — and came the resounding chorus from all persons present:

“Oh no! take back your euro! We are PORTUGUESE! We do not charge for the use of bathrooms!”

So I sheepishly retrieved my euro and bid them many many “obrigadas”.

 

[simply B]

11/9/2012: Olveiroa to Negreira (walking), Negreira to SdC (by bus)

Despite my better judgement, I walked out of Olveiroa in a blinding bright fog – I seem to remember feeling some time pressure as I had not yet made arrangements to get back to Madrid for the flight home a few days hence. As you might imagine, this resulted in some missed waymarkings and subsequent backtracking. Then, at Maronas, I got stuck in a mid-day traffic jam as pictured.

The remainder of the day was a mix of a few anxieties, lots of little miracles, the last being my arrival at just the right corner to in Negreira to catch the bus to SdC.

A Japanese tour group made me into a (very minor) celebrity after their guide’s overhearing my discussion with another pilg (Dennis from CA?) just arrived from Pamplona. She politely enquired of my age and asked if she could relate the essentials to her group. “Sure! But there are lots older folks than me doing the same thing.”

Un-deterred, she related (I think) the story to her increasingly wide-eyed charges. Then there were hugs all around and more than a few minutes of pictures taken with members of the group and then the entire group itself.

“B,” says Dennis, “you’re going to be all over some Facebook timelines in a few hours.” (It was a few years before I actually understood what this meant, to be honest.) With mixed feelings about the whole affair, I walked into San Martin and got a room for a few more nights. Dennis, his wife, and I met up for an early dinner which was excellent. Though we had plenty yet to chat about, and enjoyed each other’s company, we simultaneously turned into pumpkins at 21:45.


11/9/2017: Rest Day in Santiago

Santiago was soggy this day. Not so much a rain as a falling fog. Umbrellas proved less than useful to the parasoled knots of tour groups around town. Only the lucky few under long ponchos or wearing rain pants did not have their clothes sticking to them. The faces of the majority broadcast ‘miserable’. I never once broke out the camera.

When I was not attending to the usual chores, I remember eating…and the occasional nap. There was also a visit to Pilgrim House just to hang out and chat.

The day was closed out by introducing new pilgrim arrivals to Orujo in the common area at San Martin.

 

[RJM]

11-09-18 Santa Mariña to Olveiroa on the way to Fisterra. It was a rainy, windy, and cold day again. Ray and I took turns taking the lead with the other drafting the lead person. I think we only stopped once to get out of the rain, have some coffee, and drip all over the floor.

Ray stayed in the albergue, and I opted for a room in the adjoining Casa Loncho. I think I didn't want to deal with bunk beds, vying for drying space, etc. after being wet all day. I did get in a short nap, but I miss the energy of the albergue.

I saw Marco in the restaurant while my clothes were drying. I met him my first day in St. Jean at a little park up the hill from the Pilgrim's Office. He was with a German? girl and her dog. He had hiked from his home in Switzerland. I had dinner with Marco, Ray, Devin, and Nora.

Silly girls playing in the rain. Looks like Nora took my advice and snagged some dishwashing gloves. I packed a set of extra large dishwashing gloves to wear over my liners on rainy days, until I got some Zpack Rain Mitts.
View attachment 87177View attachment 87178

I remember seeing that pilgrim Marco at Roncesvalles. He and the peregrina and the dog camped outside in the grass. I remember them camping at Zubiri as well. Down in the river bottom, near the bridge.
I also remember being woken up in the albergue in Roncesvalles the next morning by the hospitalero roaming about the floor singing "hallelujah". That was cool.

 

[trecile]

It's interesting that a large number of these November posts are accounts from either Santiago or the Camino to/from Finisterre/Muxía.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Possibly many are ending their caminos in November before colder weather sets in, but started walking in October.

 

[trecile]

Possibly many are ending their caminos in November before colder weather sets in, but started walking in October.

Yes, that's what I assumed.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

It's interesting that a large number of these November posts are accounts from either Santiago or the Camino to/from Finisterre/Muxía.

Two caminos for me today and on the same day (in 2019). I walked from Tiebas on the Aragonese to Puente de Reina on the Francés. Eunate was open for me to visit but possibly just because a wedding held there was finishing.

 

[simply B]

Yes, that's what I assumed.

This is certainly the case for me. Spring or Fall - no HOT weather for this boy. I am okay with cold. I have a short Camino (a failed attempt at the Invierno) in Feb/March 2016.

B

 

[Former member 91017]

Yes, that's what I assumed.

Possibly many are ending their caminos in November before colder weather sets in, but started walking in October.

Yes.... from Coimbra all the way to Tui I saw hardly anyone at all. Just 4 others who were in a group and I wold not see them for a few days at a time as we were on different stopping points.
Porto was packed with tourists when I got there, but not many pilgrims.
I stayed in an ordinary hostel there, and while it was very nicely appointed, I would not do that again. I took a rest day there so had 2 nights and on my 2nd I stayed at the hotel Pau Azucar and I *would* do that again. Very funny place... but I had a great room and breakfast was very nice... and the staff also.

 

[linkster]

Yes, that's what I assumed.

I started my fall Camino from St. Jean on 09.17.17 and a year later on 09.26.18. There were significantly less people in 2018. I could walk the normal stages, and complete the Camino in ~30 days. However, I like to take my time, and have some zero or nero days. Assuming 6 weeks on the Camino ... starting mid September ... arriving in Santiago on All Saints Day. Just in time before the albergues start to close for the season. In 2018, near the end of my Camino, there were some albergues that had already closed for the season.

I have college age kids around, so I have walked after they go back to school for the fall. Time with them is limited, and I am trying to maximize our time together. I would like to walk a spring Camino. I have seen some of your pictures with the poppy fields ... the colors were amazing.

 

[linkster]

11-10-18 Olveiroa to Cee on the way to Fisterra. It started out rainy again today, but it stopped near the end of the day approaching Cee. I walked with Ray today. We saw Marco and Devin as we approached Cee, and had a trailside chupito thanks to Devin. Ray and I had planned on staying at Hotel Larry, but when we got there he wanted to walk all the way to Fisterra. I ended up staying at the hotel. Marco, Devin, Nora, and Jill stayed at the albergue just down the block with a hippie vibe. I met up with them in town, and we had dinner after doing laundry.

 

[simply B]

Well, every normal journey supposedly has an end but, it is apparent from participation here, that a Camino does not.

Yet, on this date in both 2012 and 2017, I tended to the mundane matters of getting organized to return home. So, I believe that I will end my reporting here. No point in boring you.

See you again in February perhaps?

B

 

[RJM]

Well, every normal journey supposedly has an end but, it is apparent from participation here, that a Camino does not.

Yet, on this date in both 2012 and 2017, I tended to the mundane matters of getting organized to return home. So, I believe that I will end my reporting here. No point in boring you.

See you again in February perhaps?

B

I have to wait until June, as I have never done one earlier than that.
One thing for sure, participating on these particular threads recalls particular days, events, people and accommodations on the Camino which lie dormant in my mind. A meal. A small village walked through. An albergue and all its particulars like the beds, or kitchen People I met, and even the shortest of conversations I had. A really good bottle of wine. I actually recall that twice, lol. Wine which made me go hmmm...

 

[drvnsmiln]

On this date November 10, 2019, my friend Kathy and I arrived in Santiago, in pouring rain. We had walked the central route of the Portugues from Lisbon, by way of Fatima. Beautiful camino days until the second day in Porto, thereafter it rained for the better part of every day after.

I should have been walking the Norte now...

"Don't cry because it is over -- smile because it happened"

 

[linkster]

11-11-18 Cee to Fisterra. The rain subsided on my last day. There were a lot of scenic vistas. I saw Marco headed down to the beach for a dip. I arrived early, checked into Hostal Mariquito, and had a snack. I had them fill a water bottle with some Pacharán.

I took my day pack, and headed to the lighthouse. I took the obligatory pictures, hiked down the rocks, and contemplated my Camino as I looked at home across the water. Devin joined me after a while. It seemed like we talked for a long time while sipping the Pacharán.

Later we met up with Marco, Nora, and Jill. We all watched the sunset, and walked back to town on the road in the dark. We had dinner together before saying goodbye. Jill and Nora were contemplating taking the bus to Porto. Marco and Devin were going to Muxia. I decided to take the bus back to Santiago.

I enjoyed the walk to Fisterra. But, felt oddly conflicted. Maybe my Camino was just coming to an end. Maybe I spent too much time in Santiago before I walked to Fisterra. There were a lot of goodbyes, and letting go has never been easy for me. It was rainy over the last week, and I stayed in private rooms a lot. I do know I was at peace sitting on the rocks talking to Devin, and sipping some Pacharán.

 

[mspath]

In Hontanas November 10, 2013, German, French, Belgian, Italian, Australian and British pilgrims and I as the token American met by chance yet informally represented the major belligerent nations of WW1. At dawn many of us would individually and silently commemorate the Armistice which ended that 4 year slaughter in 1918 at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month.
Yet the evening before as the sun set we sat together and quietly sang from memory "There's a long, long trail...". With these old WW1 marching lyrics of hope and longing we as newly met camino friends emotionally spanned a century.

May we never forget those who served.

 

[Former member 91017]

Got too busy to post yesteryear but a year ago on the 10th, I walked from Sao Joao do Madeira to Porto (with buckets and buckets of rain near Grijo, and then drizzle all the way in to Porto). I developed a blister but didn’t think too much of it until I accidentally tore it open on the aluminum rail of the shower as the hostel. Literally went from being NBD to the worst blister of my life. It would stay raw for 5 days and altered my plans *again*. My intent had originally been to walk the coastal route from Porto up, but the Atlantic because so angry that the boardwalks were closed, and the support along the way battened down the hatches. Walkers were advised to go inland. So I planned to go inland. BUt the blister told me: take a rest day in Porto before you try it. On the 12th I set out with my pack, got about 6km out, and took the train up to Barcelos... where I rested for another 2 days.

But what a treat these 2 rest stops were!!

Photos from Nov 11, 2019. Porto.

 

[Former member 91017]

On this date November 10, 2019, my friend Kathy and I arrived in Santiago, in pouring rain. We had walked the central route of the Portugues from Lisbon, by way of Fatima. Beautiful camino days until the second day in Porto, thereafter it rained for the better part of every day after.

I should have been walking the Norte now...

"Don't cry because it is over -- smile because it happened"

I was just arriving in Porto when you were finishing in SdC and boy-howdy! I’ve never walked in so much rain. Somewhere after Tui I recall that a bridge had washed out and we had to go on a road detour... and that was just the start of things...

 

[AlanSykes]

2014: the walls of Ávila from the Levante
2015: San Salvador de Valdediós, Camino del Norte
2016: Camino a Guadalupe
2017: aqueducto de los Milagros, Mérida, Vía de la Plata
2018: Desfiladero de los Calderones, Camino Olvidado
2019: Fervenza de la Cidadella, Camino Zamorano Portugués

 

[linkster]

11-12-18 Fisterra to Santiago de Compostela by bus. My Camino ended yesterday. I have a few days before my flight back home. I took the morning bus to Santiago. There really is no queue ... it is more of a chaotic funnel boarding. It is analogous to leaving the church parking lot on Sunday where the good church goers cut in front of you to get out of the lot as fast as they can.

It is a 3 hour bus ride (seems local at times). I managed to snag a window seat. The bus goes through some interesting looking towns on the coast before moving inland. There was an Asian family of 3 seated behind the driver. The mother? either had motion sickness or stomach flu? Her and her adult daughter jumped off the bus at every stop, where the mother hurled until she had to get back on the bus. I felt sorry for her, but it also gave me the creeps about getting the stomach flu. There were no bathroom breaks. There was a bus station about half way where it might have been possible to run in for a quick pee (sorry maybe TMI).

Back in Santiago, I walked a back way (maps.me) through some residential areas and a park. I checked into the Hotel monumento San Francisco for the last few days. It was a fancy San Martín room. I had lunch in the hotel, and took a nap. Later, I went down to the cathedral, and wandered around town ... no where specific. I had dinner in the hotel about 9:00PM ... I was the only one in the dinning room.

 

[linkster]

11-13-18 Santiago de Compostela. My Camino is over, but I am in Santiago de Compostela for another couple of days exploring. Today I visited Monasterio de San Martín Pinario. I also wandered into the spice shop O Graneiro de Amelia...the aromas were amazing. I also picked up some souvenirs at Sargadelos. I had dinner at O Curro da Parra. I really like the pork belly, and finished off the evening with a desert and some Pedro Ximenz.

 

[linkster]

11-14-18 Santiago de Compostela. This is my final day before I catch the early flight home tomorrow. It will be a long travel day, flight to Madrid, flight to Miami, rental car and drive home another 3 hours. It will be nice to be home with my family for Thanksgiving.

So what to do? Mass, wander around some more, nothing specific in my notes to share. One last night of tapas ... I think O Bispo. I walked back up tp Praza de Cervantes, and herd someone shout my name. It was Marco sitting outside with another peregrino having a beer. How I could I resist one more or ... with a bud.

Thanks to @trecile for starting this thread. I have enjoyed reading every ones posts. Virtual leapfrogging with @RJM.It has been a nice distraction from the boredom of the new normal.

¡Deseándoles a todos salud y felicidad!

 

[Former member 91017]

On this day last year, I was hobbling around Barcelos on the torn blister — that I received care for in both Porto and Barcelos. Boy-howdy do I ever wish our pharmacists in Canada could provide first aid treatment. They do have little treatment rooms in our pharmacies, but the rooms are just for dispensing injections.

Anyway, I adored Barcelos. I enjoyed the archeological site on the river, and the car-free shopping zone, the terraces that could stretch out into the plaza to enjoy the sun.... (I was so happy to be having a day of sun, and I used it for sitting!!!). The very next day, I would be walking in driving rain again.

I was besotted by the Galitos of Barcelos, and learned that there are 3 villages on different ways of St. James that have dead/dancing rooster miracle stories...

I was amazed by the archeological site that gave evidence to the movement to Christianity in a Roman settlement.

And I actually very much appreciated the charm of the Igreja do Bom Jesus and took some photos inside — a rarity for me.

... and I longed for school traditions such as those I encountered in Portugal, photographed here: the upper year students dress in somber clothes and have their academic robes folded over their shoulders. The upper year students, having achieved a particular academic standing, act as ambassadors between “town and gown” (as we say in N. Am), and the tradition is a reminder to the entering students that the point of a university education is to become a respectable community member.

 

[Former member 91017]

View attachment 87507

Now I'm starving!

 

[Former member 91017]

Hmmm. Was I really the only one out there on Nov 16th last year? On this day, I crossed from Valença to Tuí, and I was completely unprepared for how beautiful it would be. Will post photos later from my iPad. I do not have them on my laptop... and I should be working.

 

[Former member 91017]

Promised photos from Nov 16, 2019... ;waving Portugal and entering Spain at TII. I confess to weeping a little over leaving Portugal, but I was to return there, to Salir do Porto on Nov. 24th, so I had to get a move-on.
I admit that I half expected Charleton Heston to appear out of the tunnel in the old fortified portion of Valença.
And I was much cheered by the view over the river, and the curious cat I encountered early in Tui.

 

[Former member 91017]

Nov. 17th, on the CP... these were amazing walking days. They would always begin crisp and cold... had a reasonable amount of walking up and down as we made our way northward.I think there were, all told, about 10 pilgrims out there on the route at this point in 2019, and many had done as I had: moved inland because the coastal had closed down due to high winds, flooding along the coast, massive waves, cold temperatures and so on.
As a result we had our fair share of rain and I think that on my walk from the 5th to the 21st, Coimbra to SdC I had only 2 days without a down-pour.
On this day, I walked from Redondela to Pontevedra.

 

[Former member 91017]

Nov 18, 2019... Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis. I see from my time-stamps that sun-up was markedly later at this point: at 8:46 am I had had my breakfast and was about the cross the bridge out of Pontevedra but the sub was barely peeking over the rooftops of the main city centre.
I remember that it was cold, and damp; I had several layers on, but had slept well and eaten well.
I was walking alone but would reliably meet up at this point with a woman I had met shortly after Tuî. We both liked walking solo, but the limited stopping points guaranteed a friend with whom to share the evening meal... We remain friends a year later.
Caldas de Reis was lovely, but the muni where I stayed that night felt like punishment for the good sleep and facilities I’d had the night before.
It was so cold that I had to fill my water bottles with hot water and take them into bed with me.
The water heater was some sort of trickster, and if one turned on the kitchen sink while someone was showering, there would be no hot water for the showers. Many of us, already cold from the day, showered in cold water.
I recall a pilgrim... Maria I think... who brought the hospitalero in to indicate that we had no heat, and no hot water, but that the price we had all paid was for amenities including heat and hot showers. She was fit to be tied.
Perhaps I ought to have been as annoyed rather than just resigned. I think that Caldas de Reis might be what triggered the raging tonsillitis that would develop and see me in hospital on my return to Portugal.

 

[mspath]

November 18, 2004

leaving Santiago de Compostela

I awakened hearing the ringing bells. Although the city is a bustling university town my morning’s sightseeing concentrated on the cathedral. The first church was begun in the 9th century; the present in the 11th. Seen from the plaza de Obradoiro, the main western facade is 18th century; it has two soaring towers and a double ramp staircase. Hidden behind this is the old Romanesque façade, known as the Portico de Gloria. Now inside the cathedral this has three arched openings and many sculpted figures. The center column is carved with a Tree of Jesse above which sits Santiago. Pilgrims traditionally touched this column in thanksgiving; now the stone is worn away.

On the opposite side of the cathedral, the eastern façade is viewed from the plaza de la Quintana. Here is the 17th century Puerta Santa or holy door. It is opened only during a Holy Year, when St James’ day, the 25th of July, occurs on a Sunday. 2004 was a Holy Year and the doorway was open.

The bells tolled for the main pilgrims’ mass at noon. The cathedral was densely crowded; the service most impressive. It concluded in a great cloud of fragrant smoke from the botafumeiro, a giant silver censer. Eight churchmen swung it in front of the altar; on a long rope sailing back and forth across the transept it nearly touched the ceiling!

.....

Later after boarding the train that would carry me back across Spain to France and home, I slowly began to realize that my dream was fulfilled. The real world was returning. My Camino had become a memory, but a memory I shall treasure forever.

Ultreia!


.

.

 

[AlanSykes]

Crossing the Douro to Tordesillas, Camino del Sureste, 2014
Crossing the Eo into Galicia, Camino del Norte, 2015
Arco de Cáparra, Vía de la Plata, 2016
Sierra de Gata, nearing Ciudad Rodrigo, Camino Torres, 2017
As Médulas, Camino del Invierno, 2018
Aguas Santas, Camino Sanabrés, 2019

 

[Former member 91017]

Crossing the Douro to Tordesillas, Camino del Sureste, 2014
Crossing the Eo into Galicia, Camino del Norte, 2015
Arco de Cáparra, Vía de la Plata, 2016
Sierra de Gata, nearing Ciudad Rodrigo, Camino Torres, 2017
As Médulas, Camino del Invierno, 2018
Aguas Santas, Camino Sanabrés, 2019

There are swaths of geographic features where I live that are not unlike parts of Galicia.... but nothing at home captivates my attention so much as these vistas from regions all over the peninsula.

 

[Former member 91017]

November 19, 2019: Caldas de Reis to Padrón.
Wow! What a wet, wet, soggy, bone-chilling day it was. And yet I still enjoyed myself. I met an adorable kitten in the morning; she came down from on high to say hello and have a cuddle, so I gave her some of the milk I always carry as my beverage of choice for hiking. I paused at Valga to change into warm/dry base layers because I was sweaty under my poncho and puffer jacket. I had a slice of pizza there, and admired a rushing stream... and walked passed a 30km majone for SdC.
And when I fell into Padron, I visited the church that houses the majority of the remains of Saint James (I think his head is in Turkey? — I forget now), and I acquired my Padronia certificate from the tourist office.
But mostly, I stayed in the bar of the albergue, and had a warm pasta dish that came automatically with my beer... wrote in my journal, and heard a fantastic story from the bar-keeper who had no one else to talk to.
He told me that there is significant archeological work happening on the other side of the river from Padrón, and that the stone boat is thought to be there.... and that it is not a “stone boat” but a boat buried under massive boulders, that this will be shown to be *the boat* opon which the remains of Saint James were translated, and that the Prelate is working to have these things acknowledge.... and that in the not too distant future Padrón shall be recognized as at least as important a site as SdC.
I wait to see if the bar-keeper’s words turn out to be true. (Also, I was proud of myself to understand this story told in a mix of Spanish and English that was heavy with Spanish).

 

[C clearly]

Sarria to Portomarin in 2015 - November in Galicia.

 

[Former member 91017]

On this day last year, I walked into Santiago de Compostela, another camino and my first on the CP finished. I had had plans to go on to Fisterre but started feeling under the weather so remained in Santiago for 3 days instead. I explored the monastery museum and had 3 different accommodations adventures: The Last Stamp, the Parador, and the Monastery.
I teach at a university in the history and social sciences of medicine, so the monastery history of medical care provided at the hospital (now the Parador) was intrinsically interesting to me. The apothecary, the later 19th C anatomy models for enervation and circulatory system.... I was in my own heaven.
I saw this modest bust depicting the “ecce homo” idea of God as man and had my first adult comprehension of the whole thing.... the suffering of Mary.... all of it. I wished we still worked in my profession in drafty old buildings that we might wear our robes as a daily habit...
My photo from the choir always makes me smile because of what Michener says in “Iberia” about the ‘cheater seaters’ for the ‘human fundament’ to rest upon in a long mass, all whilst appearing still to stand. I think I need such a contraption at my standing desk for my three-hour ZOOM seminars...
I went to mass at the small chapel in the Pilgrim office after acquiring my compostela, and there were only 7 people in attendance. The father was the best I have ever encountered in his ability to connect to attendees, even though he would never see them again. I was invited to do a reading but declined because I was feeling very poorly.
I did go for the pilgrim lunch at the Parador, and I marvelled at the embroidered linens. I still think I should like to buy some of those!
I took photos of the formal dining room/former morgue at the Parador and had a Very small meal there.
On the night of our arrival, I met up with the entire group from Caldas de Reis.... and we tromped about in the tourist streets seeking dinner, but people were indecisive. So my friend whom I had met shortly after Tuí suggested we head to that place that has the giant steaks in the window. We ticked into a massive plate of scallops and had wine... it was wonderful. Some day.... some day... I will go back and have one of those steaks.
I had a rather marked allergic reaction to whatever cleaner was being used at the monastery and so slept badly (headache, burning eyes and throat), but I was glad to reunite there with a friend I had met on the road. He’s an emu farmer in the Algarve. We remain in contact, as I do with my friend who shared the scallops with me...
On the morning of the 24th, I would head back to Portugal... to an Oceanside village where I intended to spend 4 days eating seafood.
What is it that they say about plans of mice and men?

 

[AlanSykes]

Puerta de San Andrés, Villalpando, Camino del Sureste, 2014
Nearing San Andrés de Teixido, Ruta do Mar, 2015
Seven sinners at Santo Tomás Apóstol, Otero de Sanabria, Camino Sanabrés, 2016
Castelo de Pinhel, Camino Torres, 2017
Pinacoteca de Nosa Señora la Antiga, Montforte de Lemos, Camino del Invierno, 2018
Samson and the lion at the church of Santiago, Taboada, Camino Sanabrés, 2019.

 

[Isca-camigo]

This day I arrived in Galicia on the CF in 2010, the 2nd time I had walked towards Santiago this year, in the 32 days it took me this was the only day it had completely poured down, which on this day had started near La Faba and then at Laguna Castille had turned into a complete wipe out with snow. After arriving in OCebreiro after walking through snow drift, we went to a bar and asked for a queimada to be made for us, a very special day for me, amongst very many special days on the Camino.

 

[Mycroft]

The start of November marks the end of our Autumal caminos and I am usually on a plane heading home. It's also my birthday and so I always get bubbles and sometimes a cake brought down the aisle by a hostess. It's kind of appropriate that a woman called Hel celebrates her birth on the Day of the Dead.

Must be something they do in First Class!