Santiago - post Camino (11-12 June 2016)

We went to the square in front of the cathedral the next morning after our arrival and watched a group of horsemen enter (Cavaleiros da Paz), sing songs and carry out a ceremony.  Talking to them later, I learned that they are from Brazil and are the Cavaleiros da Paz.  

We picked up our pilgrim's "Compostela" (certificate of completion) then wandered around looking for familiar faces among the recently arrived pilgrims.

Lunch was at "Bar La Tita" where we had nice and inexpensive local food.  We wandered around the afternoon, rested a bit then had a nice dinner at "Gato Negro" bar.  Squid, Octopus, Mussels, Peppers and a pitcher of local wine.

On Sunday morning, we bought our bus tickets for Braga, Portugal then checked our bags at a locker and had a nice pasta lunch before rushing back to catch the bus with only a minute to spare.

Horsemen entering the square in the morning

A ceremony (note the knife!) and gaucho with accordian

Quite a sight.  We also encountered horseback riders while on Camino in Basque country

Dinner was at the Gatto Negro bar.  Local cheese, white wine in the pitcher and drunk from wide cups

Mussels in vinegar, oil and smoked paprika - almost "pickled".

Of course, we have pimentos de padrone whenever we find them on the menu

Octopus, Galician style

Squid cooked in ink

Gardens near the cathedral (above and below)

The next morning - Pasta lunch and bottle of wine before catching the bus to Braga, Portugal

del Norte - Day 39 (10-June-2016): O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela (21.0km)

We started our final day of walking under cloudy skies with a chance of rain - it rained in the night.  The rain never happened and we enjoyed a pleasant final day of walking, finishing by early afternoon in Santiago.  We've walked 39 days and covered 822km (510 miles) and averaged 21km (13miles) per day.  The end was emotional and we were so pleased to have completed another camino.  Will it be our last?  

Typical walking conditions

Interesting trailside sculpture

Second Breakfast

Closer and closer to our destination!

Our friends and walking companios from Melbourne - Gabby and Marigold

Completion of Camino del Norte - after 39 days and 822km (510 miles).  The cathedral is draped in fabric and covered by scaffolding but imperssive, nevertheless

del Norte - Day 38 (9-June-2016): Arzua to O Pedrouzo (19km)

We are still in "culture shock" over the increased number of pilgrims now that we have joined the Camino Frances route.  We estimate there are 500-1000 pilgrims per day compared to 40-50 on our del Norte route.  We called ahead last night so were able to book a bed at an albergue in O' Pedrouzo.  All the small hotels were fully booked but the albergue is quite nice.  We walked only 19km today and moved fairly quickly, keeping in pace with the crowds.  Our friends from Melbourne walked with us and are staying at the same place.  After arrival and cleaning up we did our laundry (quite a treat!) and then shared two bottles of wine with them on our patio area.  

Tomorrow we finish our Journey! 

Pretty typical walking conditions but it's difficult to give a view showing the lines of pilgrims walking.

Ditto!

Ditto!

del Norte - Day 37 (8-June-2016): Sobrodo dos Monxes to Arzua (22.7km)

It was a clear and cool morning and we left Sobrodo about 8:30am.  Walking conditions were nice and we had second breakfast after 9km and continued onwards.  Early walking was on gravel tracks and one lane paved roads changing to small roads for the rest of the day.  The cool weather changed mid-morning to pretty warm weather for the rest of the day and we were uncomfortable.  The end in Arzua signifies our completions of "del Norte" as we join the Camino Frances route there.  It was, as expected, quite a culture shock as the Frances has 10 times the pilgrim traffic as del Norte.  The first and biggest evidence of that was our difficulty in finding lodgings  Arzua seeming had lots of accomodations but we were unable to find a pension in the town.  One of the albergues did have beds but we had wanted the comfort of a private room. We finally found a small hotel just outside of town and are staying at Hotel Suiza.  We spent at least an hour making calls to tomorrow's ending place trying to locate lodgings and finally settled for a small albergue - all the pensions and hotels were fully booked.  Fortunately, we made reservations for Santiago several days ago!

The morning's pathways

Beautiful countryside

del Norte - Day 36 (7-June-2016): Miraz to Sobrodo dos Monxes (24.8km)

We left Miraz at 8am and in fog but comfortable for walking.  Typical pathway was one lane gravel or asphalt track with a bit along two lane roads.  We stopped after 10km for second breakfast at albergue of O Roxico then continued up, mostly uphill but not too steep.  Today was supposed to be the highest point on del Norte (~700m) but not really noticeable.  We sat on the stone of a bridge for our lunch then continued a few kilometers to another bar and another 6km where we finally reached Sodobro dos Monxes after walking 24.8km.  The primary point of Sodobro dos Monxes is a large monastery dating back to the 10th century, although most of the buildings date to 1700 or so.  We toured the monastery and found it to be somewhat eerie since little maintence seems to have been done for a long time and the building interior and exterior is green with mold and has plants growing on the walls in places.  It also is home to an albergue but we are staying across the square in an older hotel (Hotel San Marcus).  Enjoyed two liters of Sangria with our friends and then had dinner nearby. 

Morning fog and pathway

Cows herded down path towards us

Nice view of forest and path

Cloister of Monastery at Sobrodo

Interior of church - eerie and poorly maintained

Facade of Monastery at Sobrodo

del Norte - Day 35 (6-June-2016): Baamonde to Miraz (16.3km)

Our albergue experience at Baamonde was quite satisfactory.  Dining in the village was not, although we did have an excellent 3 euro bottle of white wine yesterday while we were waiting for laundry.  We left town in a light mist but that stopped after 30 minutes or so..  We walked along the highway for 3km and then onto pathway through the forest and then fields, stopping at a nice little albergue for "second breakfast" of tarte and cafe.  Finally, we walked on one lane roads into Miraz.  Today was a fairly short day again, only 16.3km to Miraz where we decided to stay with friends (Marigold and Gabby) at a new place, Albergue O' Abrigo, that had been recommended to them.  We arrive shortly after noon and had a nice "menu del dia" lunch.  We've been assigned lower bunks so that's nice and we hope the albergue does not fill up. 

Romanesque church near Baamonde

Interesting building in state of collapse

Stone building and flowers near where we had second breakfast

Second breakfast at nice little albergure along the way

Home of local sculptor - very interesting

Sculpture on wall of his home

We saw several flocks of sheep and/or goats with shepherds, dogs, etc.

del Norte - Day 34 (5-June-2016): Vilalba to Baamonde (21.1km)

We left town on a foggy, humid morning.  Walking was comfortable and it was another "short" day of 21km walking.  We were mostly on country lanes and dirt famers tracks with very few intermediate villages.  We did find two bars en route so had second breakfast and a light lunch.  Arrived at Baamonde, where there's only an albergue (~90 beds) and a service station with a motel nearby on the highway.  We chose the albergue and were assigned lower bunks so that's nice - 6 euros per person.  After showering we took advantage of the washing machines and bought a bottle of white wine at the nearby cafe (3 euros for quite respectable wine!) to enjoy with friends while waiting for the laundry.  

The Parador Hotel is in an old castle's tower.  Photographed in the morning fog.

Stone house with slate roof.

Nice walking conditions

Stop for "second breakfast" with our friends from Melbourne (Marigod and Gabrielle).

Cindy and Marigold at Albergue

Our bunks are first two - bottom bunks and tops are empty so not too crowded