Sunday & Monday, October 2 & 3

We arrived in Santiago, walking through the tunnel to the sounds of bagpipes, on a beautiful, sunny day. We rejoiced in the camaraderie of the hundreds of people in Plaza Obradoiro all enjoying their first few minutes in front of the Cathedral, all of us finally reaching our destination. Some of our Camino friends had hoped to make it in time to attend the Pilgrims Mass at noon, but we heard later that the queue was very long. We were still basking in the wonderment of my mother’s reassurance that she was right there with us, and we wanted to cherish the moment.

We finally checked into the absolutely gorgeous Hostal dos Reis Católicos Parador. I’d been in touch with our friend Garrett, who was leaving for Ireland that afternoon, to let him know when we arrived, and before we settled in, we met him for a glass (or two) of Champagne to celebrate seeing each other again, and completing another journey. Afterwards, we bid him a fond farewell, and went into “business” mode: unpacking and sorting our clothing and gear, showers, laundry, and packing a “Camino” suitcase to be shipped back to Park City while we extend our trip in Europe.

As we were heading to the lavandería (laundromat), we ran into our Irish Camino friends Sean and Erin, and invited them to join us for dinner that evening. We quickly changed our reservation from 2 people to 4, and went happily on our way. Everybody in town was in good spirits, all talking about their experiences on their various Caminos, sharing stories, many talking about their “next” Camino. I put the kibosh on any discussion about THAT with Mike. Too soon? I think so.

This was such a tough month for me. Mike had lost quite a bit of weight before our Camino; I lost ZERO. My husband the stats guy was his usual focused self, clocking at least 40k steps (~20 miles) every day for the previous 4 months.

It took me a ridiculous amount of time to find a pair of shoes that worked for me. As it was, my feet were never happy. The North Face trail runners that worked 5 years ago were discontinued, and I spent months trialing 9 different pairs of shoes. I settled on Brooks Cascadia 16 trail runners, which were “okay”, but after 10 miles, my feet hurt. A lot. The orthotics that I finally got didn’t work with the Brooks shoes, and I wasn’t about to start my search again 1 month before our Camino. I consulted a web site on how to tie hiking shoes based on your feet’s specific needs, and that did help a bit. My training also took a dip a few times, but I don’t think that had a huge impact.

My heart was heavy, my emotions were just below the surface at all times, and yet, I was grateful that we were able to make this journey without an emergency flight back to NJ. I felt that my first “Camino miracle” was from my mother. If she’d been alive, she may have been in and out of hospitals, as she had been for 6 weeks in July and August. I would have been worried sick, would have been on the phone with my sisters, and I wouldn’t have experienced the gift of having my mom “along for the ride” with me. Never one for subtlety, my mom kept giving me signs that she was right there. When we were served the first bottle of cold red wine, I laughed and sent my sisters a text that Mom was still driving us crazy. What’s with the refrigerated red wine? During the next weeks, we were served a few MORE bottles of cold red wine. Then there was the salt in a bowl on the table in a restaurant. No spoon. My mom always put a bowl of salt on the table. Not a salt shaker or a salt grinder. A bowl. “Just use your fingers.” We’d get up, pour another bowl of salt in a small cup, and bring it to the table with a spoon.

Our short stay in Santiago was fun. After getting our official Certificate of Completion on Monday, we went to the Pilgrims Mass, lit candles for my parents and our friend’s mother, and walked through the “Holy Door” (Porta Santa) in the Cathedral. The door is only opened during Holy Years. 2021 was one of those years, but due to COVID, Pope Francis extended the Jubilee Year and its blessings for an additional year.

We bought some Camino pins that Mike put on his hat, a pair of earrings to replace the pair that I wore every day on both of our Caminos and somehow misplaced a day before arriving in Santiago, and a Tarte de Santiago (a delicious almond tart) to bring to our friends in Rocchetta Palafea, Italy, and afterwards we had a lovely dinner with Sean and Erin.

I’ve been to Spain 5 times:
1973, when my parents, a few Aunts, a few cousins, and I went to meet our Basque family
2003, when Mike and I went for a delayed Honeymoon
2017, our 1st Camino
2018, after my sisters, nieces, and Mom went to Lithuania where my Grandmother was born
2022, our 2nd Camino

I’ve cried each time I leave this beautiful country, and this time was no different. I am certain that we’ll be back, but it’s always hard leaving. Until next time.

Sunday October 2, 2022
O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela

We set out on our final day on well-worn dirt trails in the fog. With only about 12 miles to go, we were happily anticipating our arrival in Santiago. We knew that we’d get to the Parque de Monte Gozo, where we would get our first glimpse of the Cathedral. We read that in the park there are statues of 2 pilgrims pointing toward the city. Unless you knew to deviate from the path (and the all-comforting arrows), you wouldn’t necessarily see the statues. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

If you read the blog entry about our walk from Vilalba to Baamonde (Day 23), you might remember that I wrote about how I feel that my parents are with me on this journey:

1. A strong breeze that helped to “push” me up a huge hill
2. Randomly meeting Garrett, who we met in 2017 on a different Camino route
3. Meeting an 83-year-old man from Maine who’d never been to Spain and never liked to hike, who started walking Caminos after his wife died… and he was sure that he saw her walking ahead of him
4. Ordering a glass of red wine, only to find that it had been refrigerated
5. Rain in the forecast every day for the past 8 days, but it hasn’t amounted to anything
6. A whole basket of butterhorns in a café

In that post, I said: “If I meet anyone from Lithuania on this trip, I’ll probably burst into tears”

So…. We were almost to Monte Gozo, and Mike was ahead of me (as usual). Lots of people were speaking English, and Mike started chatting with a couple from Colorado Springs, Stephanie and Kyle. They had done the same route (half of the del Norte and then the Primitivo) last year, same as we did in 2017. They were also going toward the pilgrims’ statues, so we continued chatting. I told Stephanie about my mom’s passing and that I feel that she is on this journey with me. I said “I swear, if I meet anyone from Lithuania…”, and she turned to me and asked, “Are you Lithuanian?!” Turns out that ~ yes ~ HER grandmother was born in Lithuania, just like mine. Her mother is half Lithuanian, just like mine. By the time Stephanie and I reached Mike and Kyle, I was crying. Mike looked concerned, and I told him through my tears that Stephanie is part Lithuanian. If he hadn’t decided to speed up to chat with this lovely young couple from Colorado, if we weren’t all walking to the pilgrims’ statues, if I didn’t mention my mom…. But we did all of those things, and my Mom made damn sure that I knew she was right there with me.

Saturday October 1, 2022
Arzúa to O Pedrouzo

Our headlamps are getting a lot of use! Starting out almost 2 hours before dawn has been somewhat challenging, as we need to be extremely vigilant to see the arrows to guide us along the Way. After we arrive at our destination each day, Mike apparently hasn’t had enough of the “official” walking. He goes out to find the next day’s path out of the village. I’m happy about that, since I am directionally challenged, and would undoubtedly get lost on my own.

Our hotel was a few kilometers from the Camino path, so the expected 12 or so miles became 15. It was a relatively easy walk, a few ups & downs. We stopped for a café con leche once we found a bar that was open. And then we spotted the very memorable “Beer Garden”, with “trees” made of empty beer bottles. I’m certain that anyone who’s walked the French Way, the Primitivo, or the del Norte has taken pictures of this bar. Last time we must have arrived there later in the day, as there were a LOT of people, many drinking beer in the late morning. This time, it was too early to be open. It appears that peregrinos leave their old shoes by this bar. Some are filled with dirt, and a few have plants growing in them.

We started seeing significantly more people, since the 3 routes merged as we all walked toward O Pedrouzo. We met our Camino friends Sean and Erin from Ireland at one of our stops, got to chatting, and overshot our turn to the town by a few kilometers. Back on track, we got to the Hostel Residencia Platas, where the woman at the front desk was dealing with an awful woman who had a permanent scowl and a very bad attitude. After we checked in, we asked the lovely front desk woman for a restaurant recommendation. The Café-Bar O Pedrouzo was the BEST! We ordered an ensalada mixta and the steak, which we “cooked” ourselves. It was one of the most delicious steaks we’ve ever had. 

The hotel was similar to most of the ones we’ve stayed in during both of our Caminos. Shower was a bit small…. But for fans of cruises, it probably looks familiar. 

Later in the afternoon, the streets below were filled with peregrinos, drinking, laughing, just enjoying the whole Camino experience. Mike found a cute place, Taste the Way, that he wanted to try. Who did we run into but Sean and Erin again! We sat at a communal table along with 3 Aussies, drank some wine (Albariño), had some food (not much for us because we were still full from lunch), and had a few rounds of the Licor de Café that my cousins Ismael and Inma recommended. It was a wonderful, fun evening, and we said that we hoped to see them all again.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday September 28, 29, 30, 2022
Baamonde, Miraz, Sobrado dos Monxes, Arzúa

Baamonde to Miraz
So much for non-rainy days…. We had a very gentle mist throughout Monday morning on our walk to Miraz. After we stopped at a café, it started to POUR. Peregrinos came into the café with ponchos, dripping wet. We were grateful that we had a short day and a taxi ride to Sobrado dos Monxes for the night.

When we arrived at Hotel San Marcus, we met a couple from Arlington VA that we’d run into several times in the past few days. Steve and Beth said that their trek from Miraz to Sobrado dos Monxes in the rain was challenging. We all agreed that we’re hoping for drier weather, although they really do need the rain here in Galicia. Happy to stay in a very nice hotel with an excellent shower! We had lunch with Steve and Beth, and said that we’d probably run into them again on the Camino.

Miraz to Sobrado dos Monxes
On Tuesday morning, we took a taxi back to where we ended on Monday, and made our way back to Sobrado. It rained off and on throughout the morning, and we finally had some sunshine, so we took off our ponchos and put them into our backpacks…. but on our final approach to Sobrado we had a sudden rain & wind storm. Too late to put ponchos back on, so we plowed on, [literally] soaked to the skin. If only we hadn’t stopped for that last café con leche, maybe we would have made it before the storm.

Sobrado dos Monxes is a small town, and its claim to fame is the Cistercian monastery. The history of this monastery can be traced back, according to some researchers, to the 5th or 6th century AD, making it one of the first Christian monasteries. The first documentation dates back to the 10th century. Its location on the Camino del Norte led to the monastery’s rapid boom and its importance to the economy of the area, since it is only 70 km from Santiago de Compostela.

In 1142, the monastery of Sobrado dos Monxes passed into the hands of the most influential order of the time, the Cistercian order. The construction of the new building was done by master stonemasons from various parts of the world. We didn’t make it to the monastery for a tour, but from the outside, the buildings are stunning.

Sobrado dos Monxes to Arzúa
Happy that there was no rain in the forecast, we started out early on a very cold morning. No rain, but plenty of mud on the trails, similar to our last few days on the Camino Primitivo in 2017. There are plenty of chestnuts falling from the trees. Easy to slip on them, so we’ve been careful. Our trekking poles have saved us a few times from falling on our butts!

You can feel the excitement of everyone, knowing that we are less than 40km from Santiago. Tomorrow, three Camino routes will converge, and the tranquility of the past month will change quite drastically. But for today, we enjoyed seeing only about half a dozen people on the quiet road leading to Arzúa.

We arrived early to Hotel a Curuxa, 2 hours before check-in, so we continued down the hill to a café for a snack, and while there I had a really nice chat with my sister Jeni, catching up on what my sisters have been doing at the house in Piscataway, talking about how (and when) I can help once we get back in October. The time difference and our walking schedule haven’t been conducive for phone calls, but I was happy to talk to Jeni today.

Tuesday September 27, 2022
Vilalba to Baamonde

Fog. Lots of fog. It started clearing about 2 hours into our walk, shortly after sunrise. It wasn’t really that cold, but it felt colder than 53 degrees because of the dampness in the air. We were excited because we knew that we’d get to the 100km mark today. Just 62 more miles to our destination!

There was only one café on our walk, but it was a relatively short day. Happy to get café con leche and a small cake. And a mini croissant that reminded me of my mom’s butterhorns (crescent rolls) that she made for every holiday for over 60 years.

We made it to the very small town of Baamonde shortly after 12:00, found a café, and met a father and daughter, Sean and Erin, from Ireland who are doing the final stages of the Camino del Norte (Vilalba to Santiago de Compostela). We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant called KM101, so named to represent the last 101 kilometers before arriving in Santiago. Our hostel is literally at a truck stop, so I may need to find the earplugs for tonight.

My mother has been constantly on my mind since we started our Camino. She died less than a week before we left for Spain. I flew to Europe the day after her funeral, and I’m having a pretty rough time, not being with my family in NJ. It sounds odd, but because my Mom isn’t with us in life, I feel that she and my Dad are with us in spirit on this Camino.

So far, here are some of our experiences that make me believe that my parents are walking with us:

1. A strong breeze that helped to “push” me up a huge hill (see Car Trip to Boise story below)
2. Randomly meeting a lovely Irish gentleman (Garrett) who we met in 2017 on a different Camino route (previous blog Portugalete to Castro-Urdiales… my Dad is of Irish descent)
3. Meeting Tom, an 83-year-old man from Maine who’d never been to Spain and never liked to hike, who started walking Caminos after his wife died… and he was sure that he saw her walking ahead of him
4. Ordering a glass of red wine, only to find that it had been refrigerated (drove us crazy ~ my Mom always refrigerated red wine, even if it hadn’t been opened!)
5. Rain in the forecast every day for the past 11 days, but it hasn’t amounted to anything (see My Mom the Weather Whisperer story below)
6. A whole basked of butterhorns (mini croissants) in a café (my Mom was famous for her butterhorns, and we have hilarious stories about her “teaching” us how to make them)
7. If I meet anyone from Lithuania on this trip, I’ll probably burst into tears

Car Trip to Boise:
When I was a teenager my Dad decided that he’d drive his 4 daughters and his wife (my Mom) from NJ to Boise ID to meet his Basque cousins. We all still have a touch of PTSD from that trip. But meeting our Arano family, first in Boise, and then in Spain, has been an amazing and ongoing blessing. I am beyond grateful to have rekindled relationships that started 50 years ago. One of the side trips that we took on that Boise vacation was a short hike down to the Snake River. We were kids; we loved the hike. The scenery was spectacular, and we were probably happy to get the hell out of the car. On the hike back up from the river, my Mom was struggling. “Push me up the hill, girls!” she said. And we did.

On the first few days of our Camino, it was very hot. There was very little wind. And there were hills. LOTS of hills. I remembered pushing my mother up the hill when I was 14, and I thought, “give me a push, Mom!” Moments later, a huge breeze came from behind. I swear, it helped me up the rest of the way.

My Mom the Weather Whisperer:
My parents bought a beach house on Long Beach Island around 1978. They entertained a lot, and sometimes the weather didn’t cooperate. I’d tell my Mom that rain was in the forecast on weekends when they were having an outdoor barbecue or some other epic event (pig roast, Bouillabaisse extravaganza, etc.). My mother would announce, “there will be NO rain!” Even if was raining all along the Jersey shore, sure enough, it didn’t rain in Barnegat Light, at least not during the parties.

When Mike and I looked at the weather forecast for the past 11 days on the Camino, we assumed that we’d have to deal with non-stop rain. We were prepared, with backpack covers, rain jackets, and ponchos. We did have a little bit of rain on 4 days, but really not a lot. Quite different from our Camino in 2017, when we had more rainy days (and mud!) than dry ones. I just feel like my Mom is blowing those rain clouds away from us. Come to think of it, it HAS been a bit windy!

Tomorrow will be a shorter day (only about 9 miles unless we get lost) to another small town (Miraz). Looking forward to an easy day.