Life's a Stitch

We’ve had a week off grid because there is NO way I was going to pay cruise ship prices for unreliable internet. That appeals to the practical part of my nature, just as I’m not spending extra for on-board specialty restaurants for food that comes out of the same kitchen. Bah humbug.

We left Southampton, England in the rain, which followed us across the North Atlantic. Only one day where the seas were 4 meters high and the barf bags appeared in the hallways. I’m ok dosed with Gravol (Dramamine). But it was cool and grey so our time was mostly spent indoors. No suffering there as Celebrity does a good job of keeping guests occupied. My week was spent at shipboard choir practice, enrichment lectures by a broadway historian and LA prosecutor, watercolour class and trivia, in between eating.

We arrived in the pouring rain at Pier 88 in New York.

Seven days on a cruise ship was incentive to don the waterproof hiking boots and walk for miles, starting with the Highline Park, built on the old elevated freight rails of my nearby NY childhood.

Being experienced cruisers we are used to the vicissitudes of scheduling due to variables such as weather, port issues, and mechanical difficulties. Our original itinerary called for a day in Boston followed by two in New York. It was changed to one in NY, a day at sea traveling to Boston, then on to Bermuda.

Reality: 1.5 days in NY due to high winds, which then damaged the gangway, leaving us literally stuck to the dock. Take off another half day for the customs and immigration process. But the time spent waiting on-board for the repairs was relaxing and the weather glorious.

More later. Wanted to let you know we made it across the ocean.

The days have been quite grey, both during our travels and at home. Thank goodness there are still flowers blooming for contrast. 

At the painting group in Denmark, one of the members showed me a photo she took of a sunflower for painting inspiration. I’m sure I took a picture of the same one while out on a walk.

That flower was asking to be painted.

So were the hydrangeas I saw on a rainy day in Spain.

Nine days in Denmark, visiting with nine of C’s cousins, a whirlwind prior to boarding a ship that will take us across the ocean, closer to home.

Chuck’s father was the only one who emigrated to North America in 1924, the rest stayed behind and the family grew. His dad intended the trip to be temporary, a study in different farming techniques, but in the meantime met C’s mother and as they say, the rest is history. He didn’t make it back to Denmark until 1952. This is a photo from that trip, more than half pictured he met for the first time.

Besides the visiting, a highlight of my trip was attending a painting group. This was my painting, partly inspired by the Camino paths we walked and partly the Danish fall colours. 

Wifi is going to be sporadic until we’re back home, but check in because I intend on posting when I can.

How do you walk an average of 20k a day, in the delugenous (OK not really a word, but you get the picture) rain, and stay dry? It’s a matter of personal preference, but here are my priorities in order of preference:

1. Dry feet. I live in the Pacific Northwest and dry feet are a must or i’d never go out walking.  Hiking shoes or boots with a waterproof membrane and gusseted tongues changed my life. Think goretex or the equivalent. There are several brands available and not all are as good as they’re cracked up to be. My worst pair recently were Saucony. Generally I’ve had good luck (three Camino’s worth) with the Salomon brand. I haven’t had a problem with sweaty feet as I use absorbent foot powder and lighter weight Injinji toe socks. In my case there is no tolerance for squishy cold or hot feet.
2. Hiking in a sauna is not allowed. On our first Camino I carried a rain poncho. Although it was constructed of breathable material it sealed in the heat and at times I was just a wet inside as on the outside. I generally wear no rain gear unless it’s very windy, then I only wear rain pants over shorts.
3. The secret weapon? How to stay dry without full-on rain gear? A hiking umbrella, mine is a EuroSchirm Swing Liteflex, made with fibreglass ribs, short handle and EVA hardfoam grip. It comes with a shoulder holster and is light as a feather. It’s large enough to extend over my pack, keeping the contents dry. The best part is the ability to use it hands free so that I can still use my hiking poles. There are many resources online with instructions, just search for “attach hiking umbrella hands free” and pick what works for you. I used Velcro straps and a short length of foam pipe insulation for padding near my collarbone. The only problem was on one day in strong wind where it blew inside out twice, but as it’s made from fibreglass there was no damage. 

Chuck has a waterproof pack, doesn’t like being hot, but doesn’t mind being a tad wet. It’s a matter of priority.

The alarm was set for 7:00am and we woke to pelting rain. We had no choice if we wanted to collect our certificates. In reality I’m the one who wants them, C doesn’t care, but came along for me. I’ve met other couples who experience the same disparity. It is really about the journey, but the certificate is a form of tangible acknowledgment.

 

We arrived at the pilgrim office by 7:30am in the pouring rain. By 8:00 opening there were perhaps 175 umbrelled or be-ponchoed pilgrims in the queue.

We were #73/74 and it took two hours, 75% of the time in a downstairs holding area with chairs, wc’s and vending machines.

Only four people were processing Compostelas. We had some nice conversations with others while waiting (or as the word esperando also translates in Spanish, hoping). But it did strike me while lined up, what’s more painful than walking? Standing lol.

Afterwards we visited the cathedral to complete the pilgrim rituals, then ran errands in the bucketing rain. I have a list of items from Spain to take home: double caldo bouillon,  chocolata taza for chocolate con churro, coffee, spices, and Camino souvenirs.

 

The historic district in between downpours:

A second later the skies opened.

 

We had our last dinner in Santiago at our favourite reasonable restaurant, Casa Manolo. It was pilgrim reunion time as we ran into people we had met from Malta, Australia and London.

 

The evening was spent packing then calling for an early cab so we can continue our travels beyond Galicia. Our little Air B&B apartment was a great fit.

 

 

“The Rain in Spain” will be part of my next post; my thoughts on rain gear and distance hiking.

 

18.7k (15.7+3 in Santiago)

 

We suspect that some of our accommodations are inherited apartments that the younger generation use as vacation rentals. Many appear to have the original furnishings, and in last night’s case, linens.

It was nice to be in an apartment with a shared kitchen with an oven, as it allowed us to dry a couple more porcinis we picked along the way. The first mushrooms were dried in the convent’s microwave. I keep having to put them in another ziplock as their delicious savoury scent eventually comes through. I think they’re triple bagged now.

 

Our last day on the Camino trip, in three trips, it’s our fifth time entering Santiago, if you count the two shorter add-on routes we’ve done. Still, it’s an emotional moment in the Cathedral’s plaza. 

 

The weather called for heavy rain, instead at first, the air was heavy and humid. We walked through farmland

and forest

 

stopping at the top of a hill to view, one last time, from whence we came. 

We passed bright hydrangeas, the colour I hadn’t see before on this Camino. They were beautiful despite already fading.

 

 

Spain’s scarecrows are unique. The Puerto Rican brothers we met on the Portugues route were collecting photos of them. They would have appreciated this one. 

These two Camino dogs had sweet dispositions.

They may be the models for a future dog portrait painting.

 

The showers started and we took a break at a cafe in a hotel, arranged just for pilgrims in a banquet room. They set up this cut-out to greet us. I think he’d make an effective Camino scarecrow.

We met a couple from Holland who will be visiting Vancouver in June for a three week camping trip. Hopefully we’ll have coffee together again.

 

We entered Santiago first through an industrial area, then many apartment complexes, to a nice part of the city, past their capitol buildings, a park, approaching the historic district into the cathedral plaza. 

 

We saw the spires of the cathedral from about 5k out, and shortly thereafter the golden arches of McDonalds. There seemed something wrong with that picture.

 

The cathedral plaza was our intended first stop, then the pilgrim office to have our Compostela and mileage certificates issued.

 

There is a problem in recent years, that there are way more pilgrims than staff can handle. There’s new system where you can obtain a ticket with a QR code so you can track your turn rather than wait in line. 

 

The issue today was that tickets ran out early and people were told to return in the morning to try again. Those with early flights will be unable to get a certificate, it doesn’t seem fair. If staffing is short, there should be a way to apply for the Compostela online. We’ll try again tomorrow at an early hour and will accept the situation if it doesn’t work out. 

 

It’s part of the transition back to the real world. Everything we do seems like a step away from the Camino. At our little Air B&B apartment I’m on my second load of laundry, clothes that once we are home, will be packed away in the long distance hiking bin, scented with Spanish laundry detergent.

 

On this rainy evening in Santiago we indulged in comfort food at a nearby cafe. Potato tortilla, Caldo Gallego (my favourite cabbage and white bean soup) and chiperones (small calamari). 

I helped a couple from London translate the menu. They asked where I learned to speak Spanish. That made me laugh to myself as my level of knowledge is survival Spanish with advanced skills only in the area of food. 

 

Tomorrow we will complete our Camino rituals, lining up for our Compostelas, viewing the ostuary that contains the bones of Santiago, and hugging his statue in gratitude. They have kept this part of the Cathedral open despite the massive renovation in progress.

 

It struck me this Camino, as in the past, it’s not about the distance, the speed nor elevation. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other, breathing in and out, and eventually reaching your destination. It’s an exercise in living in the moment. More thoughts later. For tonight…

 

Buen Camino.

24.4k

You might notice that there is no post for the section from Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma. As we need to arrive in Santiago tomorrow, we skipped a stage via cab. It was a section with an elevation gain of 673 meters and a length of 25k. 

So we started with a morning that was cloudy and chilly.

It was mostly an area of farming. We passed a house with a combination mail and bread delivery box. What a luxury to have fresh good bread delivered.

It felt as though we were walking through Old MacDonald’s farm. There were ducks, chickens, and horses. Cows:

Sheep:

And Old MacDonald himself. We had a very interesting conversation with a farmer. He lived in England for 20 years, so his English was good. An older gentleman, he was lamenting the death of the small farms and villages. He explained that his mother raised ten children here with no electricity or plumbing in a 200 year old house. He showed us the creek where she did the laundry by hand. His main point was that they were very happy. Then modern times encroached and people started leaving the area to pursue other lives and the houses and farms are left to die. He was sad about the future of the area. Chuck and the farmer:

We’ve seen some strange things on our Caminos. The two that stick out were sculptures of giant ants and churches with statues of Jesus with real human hair. This time it was a gruesome human eating dinosaur:

It’s boar hunting season in Galicia. We heard the gunshots and saw the vehicles with the dogs. You can only see one sweet dog face in the truck. There were several snarling hounds in there, ready for the hunt.

We spent some time with a man with his own pack of dogs. 

 

He explained in Galician (did you know that Spain has five official regional languages, not dialects of Spanish?), that he takes the dogs up the mountain for hunting. It takes more patience with us when someone speaks Galician, but I understood when he told us to wait because he wanted to give us apples to eat on our way. He brought us a bagful.

Our feet are sore today. I think it’s a combination of walking on pavement and marbles aka millions of acorns and chestnuts.

 

Maybe the reason it took us seven hours to get to our destination was the amount of time we spent looking for mushrooms. Just maybe. 

We found a few porcini and luckily enough, our alburgue has a shared kitchen with an oven where we were able to dry them.

it’s our last night on this segment of the Camino. Tomorrow it’s on to Santiago with 2.5cms (1”) of rain predicted. We’ll finish the way we began in Porto, Portugal.

 

 

16.8k

 

That delicious chocolate con churro, that we usually split, but this time had one each because it was so reasonable, kept us up with the caffeine content. What price glory? Lesson learned – order chocolate con churro in the morning. Hey familia, I will be bringing home the special chocolate so we can have it with Costco churros at Christmas.

 

It was a darn good thing we got that hill out of the way yesterday, because there were three more! 

 

The morning was misty, but eventually lifted.

Our first stop was at a pilgrim oasis, run by a woman selling coffee and delicious goodies, the characteristic Galician Celtic music playing in the background. We shared a piece of pineapple pound cake and a mini bocadillo with dried chorizo.

Next up was a more urban area featuring what felt like an outdoor gallery of graffiti. 

 

 

 

We passed an example of city art, that can be so controversial considering they are usually funded by tax dollars.

 

 

then under the sculptural look of the elevated highway system that comes with mixed reviews. It has definitely made a mark on Spain.

 

We met a pilgrim, originally from Malta, now living in Australia. He told me this is his last Camino. He started when he was 67, and now at 80, it’s his 14th. I asked how he knew it was the last. He said his legs have told him so. He now feels called to get a dog that will do long walks with him at home. It will be a beagle, named Molly. I  asked if he’ll stick closer to home. No way! He has a daughter to care for the dog when he’s travelling. Spunky guy. Chuck and 80-year/old Tony:

We met “Homer Simpson” today.

 

Arriving in Betanzos, we stopped for lunch at a decent pizza place. It was twice as good as the other night’s. Their other speciality, for which this town in known, is Spanish Tortilla, the potato omelet. The style here is quite runny, not my favourite. I was surprised at the number of people ordering pizza together with tortilla. So much food!

 

Tonight we’re in a hundred year old hotel described as not fussy. A good description, but it did come with a bathtub and hairdryer, which might be considered fussy. That headboard reminded me of a dining room table top plus the two leaves. Hmmm gives me ideas for our needed headboard at home.

Dinner was in the room after a steep trip down and uphill to the grocery store.

 

Then it was off to sleep as will be a long day.

14.7k

 

Ugh I made a planning blunder. We had planned to stop in a town earlier on the track yesterday, but ended up continuing. Then today planned on going the short distance to the next town and doing the steep climb out it, before our next stop. The only place to stay at the top of the hill had poor ratings. 

 

I booked a room in town without checking distances and it turns out it’s only 9k away. This was a blessing in disguise. You see, to exit Pontedeume, there is that killer hill. Arriving so early in the day it allowed us to leave our packs at our pension, enjoy lunch, and get the hill out of the way. Tomorrow we can cab back up to where we left off. 

 

We started off in the Galician mist.

 

 

Practicing the ritual that reminds us that the Camino isn’t always about moving forward, we looked back from whence we came.

 

You can tell it was an uphill day.

 

We met the cutest Camino well-wisher. He’s been taught well.

 

At lunch I heard a woman exclaim Ay Dios Mio!, just like my Puerto Rican grandmother. I thought it was funny because we hadn’t heard the Spanish use it as a exclamation. Walking up the infamous hill we met a group of four pilgrims. There was the woman from the restaurant and guess where she was from? Puerto Rico. I knew I recognized that accent. After a wonderful conversation she and her husband presented us with bracelets.

 

The hill was fine without backpacks. The glass of wine at lunch probably helped as well. It was so pleasant at the top we continued to walk through the woods until the forest released us onto a golf course. We split a Diet Coke and cabbed back to town. 

 

We treated ourselves to that decadent luxury, that we partake in once per Camino – chocolate con churro. 

 

Recognizing us from lunch the bartender threw in chocolate croissants and pound cake as well. No wonder I gained weight walking 790k on our first Camino. Everyone says it was probably muscle. I’m not sure about that.

 

We’re staying in classic non-alburgue accommodations, a room above a restaurant.

They’re all pretty much the same, reasonably priced, dated and clean. 

 

Dinner was a mere 18 steps each way from our room as opposed to last night’s 3k. It was adequate pilgrim fare. 18e for two bought an amazing amount of food: chicken broth with noodles, bread, fries and two pork chops each, dessert, 1.5 bottles of light chilled wine and two bottles of agua con gaz (fizzy water).

Tomorrow should be a reasonable walking day as we knocked nearly 5k off by doing the hill today.

Recovering from our pre-breakfast experience, we were on our way. Next up: mushrooms (non-edible), a church, cows and a donkey. Random, eh?

 

 

 

Then a long bit through a beautiful city park.

 

We climbed up a steep hill to an area of large houses with manicured lawns, interspersed with empty lots with an occasional horse.

Way up there we could see the morning’s cranes in the distance.

So we’ve seen lots of St. James, the pilgrim and Jesus and Mary as pilgrims. Entering Fene we saw what reminded us of our son’s own comedy character, the Hippiecrite, as a pilgrim.

We eventually made it to our pension. I don’t know how this place made it on the accommodation list. It’s 1k off the track, across from the port, their restaurant closed down, with no food services nearby.

Despite being a working port, it was much quieter than the city hostels we’ve stayed in. Except for the exceedingly squeaky beds. 

 

It was a bright clean room with a water view.

The bonus was a bathtub and, a rare in-room Camino find, a hairdryer. You can usually ask for one from the proprietor, so to discover one in our bathroom was an unexpected pleasure. I see you rolling your eyes, KC. 

 

We ended up walking at least 3k to find dinner and back, but it was worth it. We had a huge salad (on the menu it was a mini salad) and a veggie pizza that had tomato, pimentos, onions, white asparagus, mushrooms and artichokes. This pizza place, whose main business was delivery orders (we were the only people eating in) had decent wine. We had a 2013 rioja. 

 

Back to the port, after getting lost on the literal wrong side of the tracks, for 11:00 bedtime. Therein lies the issue with late Spanish dinner time – late bedtime.