The Road into Santiago

24^th/25^th September 2011

We had decided to make the last day easy and split it over the weekend so we could have a sort of celebratory ride into Santiago on Sunday.

This allowed us to soak up the atmosphere of the many timeless villages on the way, each one seemed to be preserved in a medieval bubble, and the atmosphere seemed almost magical as we went through the woods between them. At one point we could hear pipes playing in the distance and the anticipation of what was ahead sent a sense of excitement rushing through us as it got louder and louder. As we crossed the rocks over a small river we saw 2 young girls playing bag pipes. It was a regular site to see musicians playing on the Camino but this was such an unusual place it seemed sort of unreal as though they were mythical musicians who did this every day.

The magical feeling continued throughout the weekend as everyone became more excited about reaching our goal. Sunday morning came and we all put on our riding gear as though we were preparing for our last battle, the feeling of excitement was intertwined with sadness and past memories but we headed off into the early morning sun. It was wonderful. The villages seemed even more beautiful and the woods continued right to the edge of Santiago where we got our first glimpse of the Cathedral, 1000 feet above the city at Monte do Gozo. We knew now it was a 6km downhill ride all the way to the city.

During that period I thought of all the people I had met and the places I had seen. It made me feel so privileged that I was able to do this  and I wondered if I would ever do it again and if I did would it be as special?……

Through a large gate we could see the main square and the cathedral. As we approached the sense of achievement was overwhelming,  heightened by  pipers who began to pipe us in as we rode though the shade into the bright sunshine of the main square.  People everywhere were hugging, crying and laughing.  In fact I saw every emotion but one thing stood out; at that moment hundreds of people in that square had shared the same experience for the past few weeks and although we had not met it felt like we were connected  in some way forever.

The celebrations carried on into the night in what I can only describe as surreal.  People dressed in strange medieval costumes and cauldrons of flaming alcohol being thrown into the air as strange unrecognisable songs were being sung by musicians and funny rituals performed by restaurateurs.  This continued until midnight when as the bells struck  a sense of calm suddenly came over the city and all that was left were a few people lying in the square looking up at the stars as the restaurants put away all their tables.

We walked out of the city and I took one last look at the destination that had been on my mind for 3 weeks as I climbed over mountains and hot dry fields.  It was truly a wondrous sight and although the memories of the Camino and the people I met will stay with me all my life I hoped that one day I could revisit the Cathedral in SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA.      

The Snake

23^rd September 2011

Sarria to Palas de Rei

The previous day we looked down from the mountains into the valley of Sarria at the mist weaving its way through the valley like a giant white snake, today we started in the belly of the snake mist.

We weaved our way through the forest with the cool mist soaking our clothes and the morning dew dropping from the vast oak trees onto our heads it was so atmospheric.

Sarria is the last town on the Camino that people can walk from and claim a Compostella in Santiago and so the route was exceptional busy with new Caminos. It was like our Camino had been invaded a strange feeling to have. The route was dotted with numerous villages  every 2 km each one with a photo opportunity, possible because it was our penultimate ride or just that we were embedded in the Camino spirit we stopped at every village either to take a photo have lunch or a coffee. This made for a long leg breaking day ending in Palas de Rei. Our thoughts over dinner turned to tomorrow and the final stretch into Santiago, one I know will be very emotional.    

3 Rides

Astorga to Sarria

20^th September to 22^nd September

The next  3 rides had various incidents, another puncture for Richard, a knee injury for Debbie  and Chris eating my malt loaf the latter I will never get over.

The route to O Cebreiro was arduous with at the end  a 15km climb up to 4500 feet  . At the top a sense of euphoria  crept in and we really were so happy that we had made it and the views were so incredible it made the pain of a 3 hour climb disappear . That night we celebrated with a wonderful meal in Sarria knowing or next day was mainly downhill.

During the three days we met many interesting people all with amazing stories, the people on the Camino give you a sense of an out of world experience as one guy we met (Pedro from Holland) who had done the Camino to Santiago and was returning in reverse said  “it is like being in a no mans land”.

With only 2 days riding left and a base camp in Sarria our last stop until Santiago, the sense of achievement is looming, we are all in the Camino spirit and our determination is at a high but I feel  a twinge of sadness that it will come to an end soon.

Tomorrow we are heading for Palas de Rei and every minute I will savour even more so.

Puncture

19^th September 2011

Leon to Astorga

Well the team had arrived and finally we were off. After getting their compostella’s   we set off from Leon to Astorga.  The route was fairly easy which was good because we had to get used to each other’s  riding and we could have a bit of fun on the way. Then it happened…. I had travelled over the Pyrenees through the waste lands of Spain and the vineyards of La Rioja , Chris went 10 miles and got a puncture coupled with this he loves to stop at every opportunity to sample food and drink, I must admit the man can eat but at 6ft 4 I am not going to argue with him. After 6 hours we arrived, and found a beautiful  campsite in a small village with a taberna full of food and drink,  everything the team needs for a difficult day tomorrow

3 Easy Days

14^th/15^th/16^th September 2011

San Juan de Ortega to Leon

There were now three easy days to Leon were Debbie , Richard and Chris (Colossus) were to join me for the final 6 days ride into Santiago, and so this was my rest time.

My first day was through Burgos, a large city which took an hour to ride through so I decided to slow down have a coffee and watch the world go by. It was an easy ride into Castrojerviz a 60 km ride. I now wizz down the Camino not sure why but my legs go up hills that I previously couldn’t do .The campsite is so good we decide to stay here for two nights. The next day is a fairly easy run and again I take my time looking at every town. On route I met a man who was the equivalent of the walking Forest Gump, he had walked all the way from Australia through Europe, Ireland  and now the Camino he had been everywhere and carried a huge back pack and giant walking stick he looked like Moses, I wondered  if he would ever stop it never entered his thoughts there was no reason to stop he said.

 The ride continued through the land of fields  into Carrion de los Condes.

Simon picked me up in the van and we headed back to the site where I must admit I drank a few to many with fellow Cominos .It was a great night.

The next morning was a little fuzzy but only a short ride today and with only one more ride tomorrow to Leon and my first days rest on Sunday to see the city  I was really relaxing.

 The rest of the team will arrive on Sunday and then and the real work will begin, six hard days riding to Santiago.    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Xbxq8igxQ   part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlFHViM-2sU Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FmmW0go-9Y part 3

Camino Legs

13^th September 2011

Santo Domingo to San Juan de Ortega

With a day up my sleeve I decided to break the next two steps into three and try to regain my stamina.

The countryside immediately changed from vineyards to wheat fields, the farmers were spraying the fields with water which created hundreds of mini rainbows in the early morning sun and you could tell by the sky this was going to be a hot one.

The road was fairly easy going until Villafranca when I had to get out and push for half an hour at this point it was 35 deg. Everywhere there were fly’s and I got stung by a wasp sounds awful……

In fact I was really enjoying it the small villages were beautiful and I seemed to regain my Camino legs. I was planning on going to a town call Ages but 3km short I saw a lovely bar at the side of the Camino and it seemed to grab me in. Three cold beers later I had decided to stay.

This turned out to be a bonus as the nearby camp site was empty had great facilities and next to it a lake were I dived in for an afternoon dip. A perfect Day JJ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io5iVPSUPi8

Digging Deep

12^th September 2011

Logrono  to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Another hot day ahead and with very little sleep in the last two night lowered my motivation to the point where I was unsure whether to do this stretch or break it up due to the fact that I was one day ahead.

In the end I decided to do it, I had to dig deep initially for this but once I got going I was ok. The trail was absent of large rocks for most of the way and so I didn’t have to push or carry the bike too often.

This was a continuous road of up and down hill lined with vineyards for miles and miles with a strong head wind .Maybe I was hitting some kind of wall but it was an uneventful and in some cases a bit boring , I became for the first time a little lonely and looked forward to the rest of the team arriving on Sunday to join me for the last week, however there are five more days until then and so this is where I have to dig deep, tomorrow is supposed to be a tough one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG5Z0LkiVyI