30. O Pedrouzo (Arca) to Santiago

Camino Frances - Day 33 - September 28th. 2013: O Pedrouzo (Arca)  to Santiago (30th. day walking) 

Contour Map: Copyright John Brierley click here to see notes

Click here for Google Map and my starting point today

Leaving Arca in the rain

Woke early this morning and had to take more tabs for my headache and stomach. I waited about an hour to make sure my gut had settled and my headache at least eased up a bit. 

Another day of belting rain and poncho time. The significant increase in pilgrim numbers was now very apparent from the moment I started out from Arca. I was back to very slow walking this morning because my legs were still very weak. I was determined to make it to Santiago today. I thought about Ger and Ed and wondered if they had managed to reach Santiago yesterday as we had discussed that night in Palas de Rei.

Along the way as I felt really tired I watched mini buses pull up, let people out for a walk only to board again a few kilometres up the road. I was so tempted to hitch a lift. I saw phone numbers for taxi services at the side of the road and for a fleeting moment though that would be so nice. Why, I thought, after coming this far would I abandon my mission, I moved along. 

Pilgrims converging on Santiago

I stopped after about 10Klms and ordered a cheese and tomato omelet. I only ate a small piece and left. I just had no appetite today. 

Approaching Santiago:
I would love to have finished the journey by steaming ahead into the city but I was happy now as I passed the large stone carving on the pathway indicating that Santiago was up ahead. Passing this marker gave me a new burst of energy and I was able to pick up my pace. I was excited at the prospect of seeing Santiago for the first time. 

Approaching Santiago at last : )

Seeing Santiago at last:  
Arriving at Monte del Gozo and looking to my left, I first caught sight of the very large monument erected to commemorate the visit of Pope John Paul II. I then saw the Albergue Monte do Gozo, probably one of the largest I had seen to date. Now looking ahead I stopped as I saw Santiago for the first time at the foot of the mountain. I looked across the city from this elevated position to try and pick out the spires of the Cathedral but not knowing which direction to focus on and due to the poor weather conditions I gave up and moved along. I would see it soon enough.

The hike to the city and then through the streets seemed to take forever. I would make my way to the Cathedral to finish the journey and then decide what to do from there. 

The Cathedal and Compostela:

At last, here I was, in the Praza Obradoiro standing in front of the Cathedral and for the first time since starting this journey I felt the absence of a friend to share this moment with. I asked a stranger to take a photo of me standing in my poncho, in the pouring rain in front of this great Cathedral. I stood there taking everything in, watching other lone travellers, couples and even families arrive into the square. Watching the expressions on their faces the relief, and elation, at reaching their destination. I would go into the Cathedral as soon as I secured my Compostela in Oficina de Pelegrino. 

Belting rain but here at last : )

Oficina de Pelegrino:
I had received a message from Ger alerting me to massive queues at the Oficina de Pelegrino so I decided I should make my way there as soon as possible. I followed the signs and found it without any difficulty. I was pleasantly surprised to find a short queue in front of the building. The queue went through the arch outside the building and up the stairs but at least I would not be standing in the downpour and water gushing from gutters all along the narrow street.

The queue moved very fast and as I was standing on the stairs I spotted a broad smiling Jim from Northern Ireland coming down with his Compostela. I was delighted to see that he had made a full recovery since I had last seen hm. We parted but he returned minutes later and gave me a cylindrical case to store my Compostela and protect it from the rain and from being creased in my backpack. How thoughtful : )

There were a couple of ladies from the USA at the top of the stairs managing the queue and directing people to different counters. They had come to Santiago a few weeks previously to offer their services. They were very good humoured and obliged everyone by taking photos holding their Compostela. 

My turn came and I approached the counter. I had been told that I would be asked a lot of questions and that if my motivation for doing the Camino was not a religious one I would be given a different compostela, not the full one in Latin. I had been thinking about this and asking myself would I be prepared to lie about myself and my belief system just to get the full compostela and I had decided I could only be truthful. 

Compostela dedicated to Tom : )

There were no questions about the religious significance for me. I explained about walking it in memory of my brother Tom who died in April. The girl filled out the form for me, probably thinking it would be the quickest method and taking into account the queue outside. She then asked  me if I wanted to dedicate it to my brother. I had also been told earlier that if I had not requested this at the start of the pilgrimage I could not have it done at the end. This made my day. Have a look at the compostela on the left dedicated to my brother Tom : ) 

Mass in the Cathedral:
I entered the Cathedral, the Pilgrim mass had just begun. The church was packed to capacity with as many people standing as sitting. Towards the end of the mass I observed the, now famous, swinging of the giant incense burner. I have video of this and will load it on Flickr once I edit it down to a size they will accept. I noticed many pilgrim became very emotional at this point.

Ger, Ed and Jack

 I think the spectacle of this giant burner swinging across the church held by half a dozen attendants triggered an awareness that the journey was over and whatever your motivation was for undertaking this pilgrimage came right to the fore of your conciseness. 

Chance meeting with Ger and Ed:
I left the Cathedral and followed the guide book through the streets towards my hotel when Ger popped out of a bar/restaurant. Himself and Ed were inside having something to eat when he noticed me going by, what were the chances?  : ) I joined them and had a coffee. I was great to catch up with them and hear the extraordinary story of their journey since leaving Palas de Rei. They had set off as planned, early on Thursday morning, and made good progress to their destination for the day. Unfortunately, after completing the 40+Klms they  found themselves without accommodation. The circumstances they are best placed to relate to you. So, they pushed on, and on through the night arriving in Santiago, after walking a staggering (literally) 68Klms., in the early hours of the morning. They slept rough, among some of the homeless around the Cathedral square, until early morning when they went in search of breakfast and some warmth. A great achievement and a wonderful story to tell their grandchildren, some day. I said goodbye to Ed as he was heading home. I arranged to meet Ger later for a beer and dinner. 

I have to thank my daughter Ciara for sourcing a great hotel for the few days I will be staying in Santiago. The Hotel Araguaney is close to everything and extremely comfortable. I sorted out my clothes, took a long soak in the bath, relaxed in the room updating my notes and catching up on texts and emails now that I had reasonably good WiFi signal.  Now it felt like the walking was over but the journey to Fisterra still had to be done to complete my mission.

Heading back to meet up with Ger I bumped into Saoirse, Rachel, Christine and Santiago. I was delighted to meet them again. It's amazing how everyone sets off from St Jean Pied de Port within a few days of each other, we all walk at different speed, covering different distances each day, staying in different towns and yet we all end up in Santiago with a couple of days of each other. 

I met Bob and told hm I would be joining Ger for dinner. We ordered a couple of beers and waited for him to arrive. Ger's sister and her partner also joined us and we went inside to eat. Jo and Kathy joined us, they had already eaten but stayed for drinks. Mary, sadly, had to go home due to injury. Kathy said Mary will be coming back to complete the journey soon. We had a good night. I said goodbye to Bob, he was going to start walking to Fisterra in the morning. Bob is really nice guy and I hope he achieved his goal on the Camino, I think, from observation, that he did : )

Back to the hotel for a good sleep, I hope. 
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Other Links, relating to this section of the Camino, you may wish to follow 

O Pedrouzo (Arca):
Images of O Pedrouzo (Arca) on the internet
Wikipedia on O Pedrouzo (Arca)
Santiago:
Images of Santiago on the internet
Wikipedia on Santiago
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Topic:

31. My first full day in Santiago

Camino Frances - Day 34 - September 29th. 2013: First full day in Santiago














Santiago de Compostela on Google Map 

Brilliant wax dummy in this doorway

A permanent fixture in the park, great

I slept well last night, got up relatively early and got ready to have a look around the city. I brought my camera, as usual to capture the mood of this place and take a few video shots. Jim had recommended recording the piper in the archway. 

I had a light breakfast before going back to the Cathedral. I was not happy with the video I took yesterday of the benediction ceremony using the giant incense burner so I was hoping to get a second chance. I entered the Cathedral shortly before benediction and secured a good spot to record it. The recorded file is in excess of 1Gb so I cannot load it on Flickr until I edit it and cut a section and publish it here. I walked around the city but my movement and opportunity to take photographs was hampered by the torrential rain.  I dropped into a small cafe and had the most amazing carrot cake and a couple of coffees. Then back to the hotel to chill for a while

Back in the room I checked over the photos and video. I made some more entries in my notebook and then decided to take a nap. The phone rang and I answered it. I though it must be around 6 or 7pm. but didn't check. It was Ger, he was having a beer with Jim and asked me to join them. Never one to abandon a friend I made my way to where they were sitting outside a bar/restaurant and joined them for a beer.  

Ger, Jim and Jack

While sitting there enjoying the beer and the company many people we had met over the past few weeks came over to chat. Among them one guy who left Budapest on the 15th. May and walked all the way to Santiago. A distance on 2,450Klms, remarkable. We had heard many stories of people walking across Europe to Santiago. One guy set off from Switzerland after his wife died and he was going to walk all the way back too. Cathy and Jo joined us too. 
Ger and I went for something to eat. I had clearly lost track of time earlier in the afternoon because I only noticed the time as I set off for my hotel. It was only 6pm. I had only been asleep for a couple of minutes when Ger rang me earlier but I had assumed it was 6 or 7pm. It never occurred to me when I was out that it had not started to get dark. Maybe this was because I was now totally chilled out and oblivious to time : ) 

Back in the room I watched a movie in Spanish and got the jist of what was going on. I rang my Dad before going to bed for the night. 

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Other Links, relating to this section of the Camino, you may wish to follow 

Santiago:
Images of Santiago on the internet
Wikipedia on Santiago

32. Santiago to Fisterra

Camino Frances - Day 35 - September 30th. 2013: Santiago to Fisterra and the end of my journey

Fisterra Lighthouse on Google Map

Jack and Antoinette

Today I go to Fisterra to complete my mission.

I woke early, showered and got ready for my trip to Fisterra. I had considered getting a taxi to the Bus Station where I was going to meet with Ger. I started to walk and decided to keep going on foot because the road were almost at a standstill with the early morning traffic. I arrived at the station at about 8:30am, met with Ger and purchased my return ticket. Waiting at the platform we met Antoinette and Charity. The ride to Fisterra was uneventful but the scenery was spectacular. The coach was hugging the coastline most of the time giving us great views of rugged coast as well as ships, boats and yachts at sea. Once in Fisterra we went to a cafe and ordered coffee while we waited for our bacon and eggs. The order took about 30minutes to arrive but we were hungry so cancelling the order never entered our heads.

We set off along the road towards the Lighthouse, a 3.5Klm uphill hike. After what we had been through over the last month the walk was really easy. It was a cool day but at least the rain held off. Ger and I took photos along the way. I have written an account of what happened next under the Topic: Tom  but I will reproduce it here.

I walked the 3.5 kilometres from Fisterra to the lighthouse with Ger. We took a few photos before I picked the spot where I would descend to perform my own little ceremony. Ger and then Antoinette both, very kindly, offered to accompany me in case I needed support. I declined because I wanted this to be a private moment and I did not wish them to see me if I became emotional. I know, silly man, afraid to show any weakness. 

Jack at zero Kilometers

This would be my final farewell to him although he will always be in my heart and never out of my mind. Well what actually happened may amuse you because it is being told to you by a non believer. I have my own thoughts on what happened, others put a different perspective on it. 

I descended through the rocks behind the lighthouse until I felt I could go no further without putting myself at risk of being injured. I found a large boulder with some rocks at the base forming a neat hearth where other had previously burnt offerings or objects from their Camino journey in personal ceremonies be they religious or otherwise. I had Tom's hair in an envelope and planned to light the envelope. My way of parting with Tom. The wind was very strong so I crouched down to shelter myself from the wind. I was there for maybe twenty minutes but I best I could manage was a tiny flicker from the lighter, a new one. I adjusted the amount of fuel several times but there was no change. When I did get a tiny glimmer going on the paper it quickly expired. I finally gave up on the envelope thinking it was maybe damp. I took my brother's hair in my hand and tried to ignite it but nothing happened. I eventually realised this was not going to happen as I planned it, like so much of the my Camino experience. So, I placed the envelope under the rocks and I took Tom's hair in my left hand. I stood  with this enormous boulder to my left and strand by tiny strand I release them into the swirling wind. It felt like the right thing to do and I was glad that I had not succeeded with my original plan. 

I stood in silence for a moment and felt elated and a great sense of well being. I started back up towards the lighthouse. When I arrived back at the base of the lighthouse Ger was there to meet me. He gave me a big hub : ) I told him what happened with the lighter and how I was forced to changed my plans and released Tom's hair into the swirling updraught coming up the side of the slopes. I took the lighter from my pocket to demonstrate to Ger how it had, thankfully, let me down. I lit up immediately I pressed it the first time, the second time the third time........................ 

I  went to the end of the Earth with my brother, in my heart, after he passed on. Tom, I wish I had tried harder and gone to the end of the earth for you while you were still alive. Please forgive me for not trying harder. It's not like I feel any sense of guilt about his death or that I will carry regrets with me forever. We all make choices about our own lives and sometimes we have to accept and respect the choices others make about how they wish to live. Tom made my Camino experience special. He gave it real meaning for me. He was an amazing individual and loved by so many. The outpouring of love for him after his death was some comfort to all his family. He is still in my heart and I think about him every day.  

We walked back to Fisterra, had a quick drink and boarded the 3pm bus for Santiago. Well if the outward journey was uneventful the homeward journey to Santiago was not without it's troubles, at least for some.  A few souls, if I may be permitted to use the term for the purposes of this story, were very ill on the way back to Santiago. It started with one passenger requesting the driver to pull over so they could deposit the lunch, they had eaten earlier, on the side of thee road. The poor individual had to stay close to the door because the vomiting had not been fully excised from her body. After my experiences over the past few days I had great sympathy for this young woman. I wish I could say the same for a few of the other passengers who were mumbling complaints because we had to stop a couple of times and there was a smell of vomit. I did fear a hysterical response to this which is not uncommon , so when a second passenger requested we stop I began to fear the worse. One young woman asked the driver to stop because she needed to pee, urgently. The poor girl had to squat at the side of the bus to relieve herself. I think us guys got a much better deal when it came to that piece of equipment. 

Julie, Ger, Ann, Ciaran, Jack and Lilly

Back in Santiago for 5:30pm and after walking back with Ger I was in my room by 6pm. I had stopped off at a supermarket for water and could not resist the call of the chocolate aisle. I bought a bar to be consumed back in the room while I updated my notes. 


The plan was to meet back at a bar/restaurant for 8pm. I spent a bit of time trying to find the place but still got there on time. Ger had just arrived ahead of me. We ordered a beer and sat at a table just inside the door. We were joined by Ann and Ciaran as planned and then to my surprise Julie and Lilly joined us. I was delighted to see them because I had not had an opportunity to say goodbye the last time we met. 

Then it struck. Deli Belly was back with a vengeance. I had to leave the table several time in response to the call of nature but it was doing so in a very unnatural way. I had to keep apologising for my speedy exits and absence from the table. I think Ger explained my dilemma. I had been looking forward to a good last night with these great people but my gut had other ideas. The food was great by the way. I tough I should mention that. At the end of the meal Julie and Lilly left after saying farewell to everyone. I think they were gong to walk to Fisterra the following morning. I had to leave promptly behind them, missing the session Ger had lined up with another group of Irish lads. I raced back to the hotel to avoid any embarrassing disasters. 

Jack and Lilly

At this point I was becoming a  little concerned that I had not had these symptoms for several days with some respite yesterday and earlier today. I would have googled it had I not been limited to a small phone rather than my usual iPad , Laptop or Desktop. It then occurred to me that I should check the contents of the chocolate I had eaten when I got back from Fisterra. I retrieved the wrapper from the waste basket. Well there it was, the chocolate bar was produced for diabetics and there was a warning on the back, excessive consumption will create laxative effect. I had my answer. I had eaten the whole bar and over stimulated my bowel. I may have messed up a good night out with the guys but at least I was consoled by the fact that I was OK otherwise. 

I packed my bags. Updated my notes including an account of the chocolate episode and climbed into bed. I watched another Spanish movie. 

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Other Links, relating to this section of the Camino, you may wish to follow 

Santiago:
Images of Santiago on the internet
Wikipedia on Santiago
Fisterra:
Images of Fisterra on the internet
Wikipedia on Fisterra

33. Going home

Camino Frances - Day 36 - October 1st 2013: Farewell to Santiago 

I woke at 5:30am with a cramp in my leg. I stepped out onto the floor to try and stop the pain. It passed so I climber back into bed a slept until 8:30am. A good sleep my any standards.

I checked out at 10am and made my way into the centre of the city to get some breakfast. I met Jim and Sheila who I had not seen for many days. We went to 'Bewleys' (not real name but it reminded us of Bewleys) for breakfast and had bacon and eggs. I was delighted to catch up with them and have the opportunity to say goodbye. There were many other friends I did not have the opportunity to say have those final words with thinking I would see them again. Well it's a small world and who knows what the future holds : ) There were a good few friends I said goodbye to several times, each time thinking it would be the last.

Next I came across Josh and Julie. We exchanged stories and and email addresses before parting. They would set off on foot for Fisterra in the morning. 

At the Airport

I set off to take some more photos and came across Jo and Kathy as I left an open market area. Kathy would be flying home on Thursday. Jo was going to start her hike to Fisterra in the morning and had her flight to Canada booked for the following Tuesday. This duo, who used to be a trio, before Mary had to go home, were always great company and I look forward to meeting them whenever we get the Irish Camino in place. Over to you Ed and Ger : )

I had arranged to meet Ger, at his hotel, at 12:30pm. I arrived ahead of schedule so I went into a small cafe just around the corner from where we had agreed to meet. A very good humoured guy gave me the coffee and refused to accept any payment. A lovely gesture and a great way to end the journey. I have no idea why I did not want payment.

Ger and I walked to Ann and Ciaran's hotel. We would share a taxi to the airport. Ann and Ciaran were going to meet the rest of their group coming in from Ireland. They were going to set off for Sarria to start their own unique journey to Santiago over the following week.

Our flight was delayed but this gave us a chance to have a chat with other friends who would share the same flight back to Dublin.