2 days away...
We´ve arrived at the large town of Melide, about 50 kms from Santiago. After a short day tomorrow, we´ll hike around 40 kms on our last day of hiking in Spain, concluding our journey at the cathedral doors. It´s difficult to imagine how we´ve gotten this far. When we started back in the middle of May, almost 800 kms, 30 days, and a country away from Santiago de Compostela, our destination seemed inaccessible, the road too long. After weeks and weeks of hiking through some of the most enchanting and some of the most unappetizing parts of northern Spain, it seems impossible that we´ve now come so close to finishing what has indeed seemed like a very long journey. It´s taken a great deal of exertion, resolve, friends, and luck to get us as far as we´ve now gotten. Our next post, which will be written by Paul, will hopefully get across at least a fraction of the excitement we´re both now feeling.
Galicia continues to impress the both of us with its Celtic beauty and fantastic people. As is mentioned in a previous post, towns here seem a bit smaller, as the population is generally a bit more dispersed. Old ladies walk down the Camino selling passing pilgrims small crepes covered in suger for a quick burst of energy. Spanish passer-bys are a quick to wish us all a ¨buon camino.¨ When you leave places here in Galicia, bartenders and hospitaeros, instead of saying ¨adios,¨ they say something that sounds like ¨stalogo¨--a contraction of the better-known ¨hasta luego,¨ or ¨see you soon.¨ Of course, we will probably never see any of these folks ever again. The convention is a special one, though, as it seems to promote and display a kind of familial vibe that permeates so much of Spanish culture, and Galician culture in particular.
Our hiking in the past several days has taken us into foothills that are becoming incresing less large as we approach Santiago and the sea. We´ve been walking through forests, wheat fields ready for harvesting, pasture, and yes, still some highways unfortunately. In Portomarin, after our longest day yet (43 kms), we decided to splurge a bit and stay at a ¨pension¨ instead of the town albergue (cheap Spanish pilgrim hostel). We felt that we deserved it after what might of been the most beautiful and difficult days in Spain. One of the troublesome but understandable aspects of the albergues is the fact that they have a relatively-early curfew, after which they lock the doors and shut people out. Unencumbered by hospitaleros locking doors in our faces, we got out in Portomarin and were able to finally immerse ourselves in the myriad aspects of Spanish culture that only begin to happen after 9 or 10 o´clock in the evening. It was great to finally get out with friends and experience Spain a bit more like a tourist and a bit less like a pilgrim.
Galicia continues to impress the both of us with its Celtic beauty and fantastic people. As is mentioned in a previous post, towns here seem a bit smaller, as the population is generally a bit more dispersed. Old ladies walk down the Camino selling passing pilgrims small crepes covered in suger for a quick burst of energy. Spanish passer-bys are a quick to wish us all a ¨buon camino.¨ When you leave places here in Galicia, bartenders and hospitaeros, instead of saying ¨adios,¨ they say something that sounds like ¨stalogo¨--a contraction of the better-known ¨hasta luego,¨ or ¨see you soon.¨ Of course, we will probably never see any of these folks ever again. The convention is a special one, though, as it seems to promote and display a kind of familial vibe that permeates so much of Spanish culture, and Galician culture in particular.
Our hiking in the past several days has taken us into foothills that are becoming incresing less large as we approach Santiago and the sea. We´ve been walking through forests, wheat fields ready for harvesting, pasture, and yes, still some highways unfortunately. In Portomarin, after our longest day yet (43 kms), we decided to splurge a bit and stay at a ¨pension¨ instead of the town albergue (cheap Spanish pilgrim hostel). We felt that we deserved it after what might of been the most beautiful and difficult days in Spain. One of the troublesome but understandable aspects of the albergues is the fact that they have a relatively-early curfew, after which they lock the doors and shut people out. Unencumbered by hospitaleros locking doors in our faces, we got out in Portomarin and were able to finally immerse ourselves in the myriad aspects of Spanish culture that only begin to happen after 9 or 10 o´clock in the evening. It was great to finally get out with friends and experience Spain a bit more like a tourist and a bit less like a pilgrim.
2 Comments:
hard to believe you are so close...it is very exciting...keep us posted...loveya
Congratulations...savor every hour of it from here on in. Say a prayer for me when you put your hand into famous handprint (just inside the Cathedral entrance) that's been worn into the marble column by millions of your pilgrim predecessors over hundreds of years...
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