Jim Geier's Pilgrim's Credential

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Jim's Pilgrim's Credential

Before the journey home, here is my Pilgrim's Credential with the stamps I accumulated along the way. The first credential filled and got a second credential. This is also called the pilgrim's passport. The first two photos are the first pages of the two credentials. both having been stamped at the pilgrim's office at the cathedral in Santiago. The stamps read Oficina Del Peregrino S.A.M.I Catedral - Santiago which loosely translates to the Pilgrims Office at the S.A.M.I. Cathedral in Santiago. S.A.M.I. is acronym for the Holy Apostolic and Metropolitan Church in Santiago de Compostela.

Next: The journey home

Traveling Homeward, Finisterre to Santiago by Taxi

Friday, May 27, 2016

The journey home begins, Finisterre to Santiago by Taxi

My original plan was to take a bus from Finisterre to Santiago. When I heard that the bus takes 3 and 1/2 hours, I was hoping there would be an alternative. Ben from Taiwan said that he had heard that there were always people wanting to share a taxi from Finisterre to Santiago to avoid the long bus ride. With that in mind, after I met Elsa from the Canary Islands, she told me she and her two friends were looking for a fourth person to share a taxi from Finisterre to Santiago, so I became that fourth person.

Today, Friday, I do not walk. I was definitely out of the normal routine. The taxi was going to be at the hotel in which Elsa and I were staying at noon, so there was plenty of time to relax and have an unhurried breakfast. I arrived at breakfast at 8:15 and started going through the previous day's pictures with the intent of posting yesterdays walk to Finisterre and the lighthouse before the taxi came, and I was able to do much of the work on the picture preparation before Elsa joined me for breakfast at 9:00. After breakfast, I finished re-packing things and was in the lobby at about 11:00 waiting, not much to do. Not walking for 6-7 hours or more gives you back a lot of time, and there is not much to do at this hotel; it is quite isolated up on a hill, away from the business district.

So I walked around the hotel grounds a little (it is not really very large), and took a few pictures. Here is the view from where we sat for breakfast, looking over the garden and down the hill to the ocean.

Here is the front entrance of Finisterre Hotel Rustica & Spa. I did not see any "spa" activities taking place, perhaps that is for the summer months only.

And the front of the hotel. I could not get a wider or farther-away shot, as there was a stone wall behind me; it is a small road that serves the hotel.

Almost at exactly noon, the taxi arrived with Elsa's friends already inside. Elsa and I loaded our backpacks and things, and we set off for Santiago. Within about an hour and 15 minutes, we were stopping at a drop-off area quite near the main Santiago cathedral, which is where we all wanted to be. My hotel was directly across the square from the cathedral, Elsa's albergue was close to the cathedral, and the other two ladies were in a hotel just on the other side of the cathedral from my hotel.

Here is the entrance to the hotel in which I stayed, the Hospederia San Martin Pinario. The white banner hanging down announces the hotel name and entrance.

The hotel is the left-most part of this large building, which is a still a monastery and seminary (thus the location being across the square from the cathedral).

I got checked in, took a shower, and got my clothes together to take to the albergue near by where they allow the use of the laundry facilities (lavanderia). As my clothes were washing and drying, I had lunch, checked out a few souvenir shops, and generally watched as new pilgrims arrived in Santiago quite excited at being at the end of their journey.

Later, while having dinner, I saw Rita from Switzerland and joined her for dinner. Rita is 73, and has been walking from her home across Switzerland, down through France, and all the way across Spain to Santiago de Compostela.  I last saw her in Sarria with Beth and Nancy from Canada when she had completed her 99th day walking. She told me she got to Santiago in 105 days, then took a bus to Finisterre to see the "end of the earth," and then came back to Santiago to start the journey home. It was really nice to see someone I knew and share some stories with her. Rita is a little famous on the Camino for the duration of her journey and her warm, friendly spirit. Rita is a lot of fun; I was honored that she remembered me.

Tomorrow is breakfast, a finish to packing, and off to the airport at 11 AM. John and Donna from Colorado will join me with the taxi, as we are on the same flights to Madrid and to Paris.

Next: Leaving Spain, the journey home continues.

Cee to Finisterre - the Last Walking Day

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Cee to Finisterre, the "end of the earth"    Walking Day #35, the last.

I have completed my 800 kilometer walk on the Camino Frances from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, followed by 88 kilometers on the Camino Finisterre from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre.

No more 6-7 hours (or more) of walking each day. It is a routine I have adapted to, waking early, having breakfast at whatever time it starts, 7:00, 7:30, or 8:00, then getting out the door by about 8:15 or 8:30 and walking 20, 25, or 30 or more kilometers to the next destination sometimes in the rain, cold, wind, or sun; sometimes walking by myself, sometimes with others, and sometimes talking or not. Tomorrow will be different, and I will report on it as well.

In Cee, looking puzzled about the direction out of town, I met Elsa from the Canary Islands. We took a guess at the direction, and headed off. Soon we saw Camino way markers and knew we were on the right path to Finisterre. The major challenge for the day is to get over a coastal mountain range, then we head down into Finisterre.

We soon found a Camino way marker indicating less than 14 kilometers to Finisterre.

At the start, the path was rocky, definitely uphill, and the forest in which we walked was beautiful, as has become common in Galicia.

And like other days, sometimes the forest gave way to clearings and sunshine. We are grateful it is not raining today. The weather reports anticipated rain in the morning, and we saw sun all morning.

Back into the forest, this one more eucalyptus than pine.

Here we are at a point looking in the distance to Finisterre. I am squinting into the bright sun. For a day in which I had my poncho ready for the rain, it was quite sunny.

Back into a pine forest, heading down to Finisterre.

And there is the beach, just a little south of Finisterre. We still have a few kilometers to go to get to the town.

And along the coastline, we walked again through this pine forest. That is the back of Elsa on the right.

After getting in to town, we found that the pilgrim's office at which we could get our certificate of completing the Camino Finisterre was closed until 1:30. Elsa and discovered that we are staying at the same hotel, and we also discovered that it was 500 meters UP a hill...oh my...another uphill. We made it up the hill, checked in, got settled, and at 1:30 headed back down the hill to get our certificates.

After getting our certificates, we almost accidentally found Elsa's friends also from the Canary Islands. The plan was to walk to the lighthouse at the "end of the earth" at 6:00 PM. Elsa and I returned to our hotel at the top of the hill, and met at 6 PM to walk to the lighthouse and meet her friends.

From our hotel, there is a "direct" route to the lighthouse, or so it seems on the map. This route is actually more difficult than going down the hill into town, and walking out to the lighthouse on the gradual uphill road. The route we were advised to try was very steeply uphill, going over a mountain and descending to the lighthouse. And it started with this narrow and very rocky climb of 250 meters. Whew!

That hill on the left is what we must go over to  get to the lighthouse using this route.

And finally, we can see our first view of the lighthouse at the "end of the earth". We have to descend down to the lighthouse, a long descent, fortunately on a good road.

Elsa and me at a monument near the lighthouse.

Elsa and her two friends at the Camino way marker indicating 0.00 kilometers.

And here I am at the same kilometer 0.00 Camino way marker with the lighthouse in the background.

A view of the lighthouse from the south (sea) side.

Looking down from the same point the other direction, out over the ocean to the end of the earth.

On the rocks is a "statue" of a boot. We all posed with the boot, symbolizing the end of a long walk.

Tomorrow the four of us will share a taxi to Santiago. The bus is 15 Euros and takes almost 3 1/2 hours. A taxi is 80 Euros, or 20 Euros each, and takes only about 75-80 minutes; seems like a bargain to me. In Santiago, I stay one last night across the square from the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela before I leave on Saturday morning to fly first to Madrid and then to Paris.

Next: The journey home starts.

Olveiroa to Cee

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Olveiroa to Cee, 22 kilometers in rain then sunshine    Walking Day #34

Today it rained in the morning. The hotel in which Ben (from Taiwan) and I stayed last night was off the Camino, and they picked us up from the Camino in Olveiroa and this morning they dropped us back at the same place. We started walking from Olveiroa at about 8:30 AM and it was already raining, so on went the poncho. It was not a hard rain, but steady, and had the personality of rain that might fall all day.

Leaving the town, we walked by this rather nice old stone wall. Most of the stone walls in the farmlands are stacked rocks, with no grout to hold them together, just carefully stacked rocks. This wall could be dangerous if not held together, and we could see grout or something holding the wall together as we passed.

Soon we were out in the country and into mostly forested lands. We have several long kilometers of mostly uphill walking ahead of us. We have to get over the coastal mountain range, then down the mountains to the coast, into the town of Cee and then on to Finisterre. I have a hotel in Cee, and will walk the final 14 kilometers to Finisterre tomorrow. Ben is going on the Finisterre today for a walk of over 35 kilometers.

The first part of the walk was uphill but along or parallel to a river valley. The river is quite far down below us, and we can hear it all along the first part of the walk. Recent rains have really increased the flow of all rivers.

We took a break at a town called Hospital (there are number of towns named Hospital along the Camino) just six kilometers from our start because there are no more bars or cafes for the next 15 kilometers to Cee. After the break, we found this Camino way marker with an indication of the distance to Finisterre at 29.353 kilometers.

The rain had stopped some time before our break, so, hoping for no more rain, I removed my poncho and jacket. As we continued up the hills, the clouds were somewhat dark and threatening. Fortunately, it did not rain, and the weather became quite nice with the sun peaking out between the clouds more and more as the afternoon came.

Part of the walk on the mountain was along this stacked-rock-wall in the forest. The path had just enough small gravel and coarse sand that we seldom encountered mud today. A little unusual, but welcome.

And sometimes the forest gave way to open fields. Quite striking and beautiful. This was a very beautiful day in Galicia, even with the morning rain

And then we would be back in forest along some land being farmed.

Ben got a shot of me where we rested for just a few minutes. We were walking very fast today. I am pretty sure our pace was averaging a little over 4 kilometers per hour even with the uphills sections. The path was mostly very good, so it made walking easy. And Ben was motivated - after a 34 kilometer day yesterday, he wanted to get to Finisterre today to see the sun set over the end of the earth, which meant another 34 kilometer day for him.

And over a rise, way off in the distance, we could see the outskirts of Cee and the Atlantic Ocean. This was even more exciting than walking in to Santiago de Compostela. I cannot explain it, but seeing the ocean for the first time since my drive from San Diego to Los Angeles on April 14 was exciting and felt very special. This felt more like an accomplishment than arriving in Santiago de Compostela. Maybe because when in Santiago, so many people were celebrating with their friends, and I saw none of the people I had walked with over the past four weeks, so perhaps I felt a little left out. I do not think so, but maybe internally there a glimmer of that feeling.

In contemplating the anti-climatic feeling about arriving in Santiago more, I think the feeling hit me was that the Camino de Santiago is more about the journey, and not as much about the destination; and arriving in Santiago meant that the journey was over. I would be walking on to Finisterre, but very few make that final part of the walk; most end their pilgrimage at Santiago de Compostela. 

On the long, steep downhill into Cee the town and the ocean are quite visible through the trees at times. Really dramatic, and the picture does not do the view justice.

And as we got closer, it was still quite a way down, but we were excited to see the ocean. We were both getting hungry; it was lunchtime, and we had little breakfast in the interest of getting started as early as possible.

An old Camino way marker of a stone wall in Cee. We arrived. We had lunch, walked around the bay, and I bid farewell to Ben as he headed on to Finisterre, and I headed up into town to find my hotel. I shall miss Ben; we walked together well, at about the same speed, and talked some, but generally we left each other to their own thoughts. A very good two days of walking. Thank-you, Ben.

I found my hotel, showered, changed clothes, and headed up the street to a laundromat. The first part of the day under the poncho leaves one sweating, so basically my clothes really needed washing for that. And later, it was sunny, and we sweated more, adding to the need for washing clothes better than in the sink. It was a good laundromat, and I even washed my hat and gloves. I'm pretty clean now for my final day walk into Finisterre.

Check e-mail, updated this blog, and I am now set for dinner.

As I reflect on the Camino journey, one of my favorite quotes about the journey comes to mind, one that I have quoted several times in my Thailand blogs. I'm reminded of it today as I contemplate the journey that got me from San Diego to Los Angeles to Paris to Saint Jean Pied de Port then across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, and now about to walk to Finisterre, the "end of the earth." And, as I also contemplate my journey home, that quotation, one of my favorites, the last sentence in a book named “Up Country” by Nelson DeMille:

The journey home is never a direct route; it is, in fact, always circuitous, and somewhere along the way, we discover that the journey is more significant than the destination, and that the people we meet along the way will be the traveling companions of our memories forever.

 “The journey is more significant than the destination…” Yes, absolutely! And what a great journey this Camino de Santiago has been! I am so grateful for this journey, and all of the truly wonderful people I met all along the way.

Next: The final walking day into Finisterre, the "end of the earth"

Negreira to Olveiroa

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Negreira to Olveiroa, Raining for much of 33 kilometers    Walking Day #33

Today it rained. When I awoke, I heard birds chirping, and that almost always means that it is not raining. And it was not. After breakfast, I met Ben from Taiwan at the front lobby of the hotel, and he said it was raining, and a look outside confirmed that between the time I went upstairs to get my pack, jacket, and hiking poles, it had started raining. So on with the poncho, the gaiters, and the cowboy-looking hat that keeps the rain off my head and because of its large brim, the rain out of my eyes. It rained fairly steadily for the next three hours, and then off and on throughout the afternoon. My poncho worked again, keeping me dry inside.

Leaving the town of Negreira, we pass under the city arch, and are about to head up the hill seen in the background. Today seemed like we were going up hill far more than downhill, it was a very tiring day physically.

Going up the first hill, the path was rocky and uneven. This is very common on paths in the forests (and other places, too ... it is very common). We were very quickly out of the town and into the forest, away from the sounds of towns and traffic, alone in the forest with the sound of the rain. 

This part and much of the forest path today had enough gravel to facilitate good drainage, so there were very few muddy places in the forest today, even though it was raining fairly steadily.

One of the Camino way markers along the path today. These markers have been very consistent since leaving Santiago de Compostela. Someone in this part of Galicia decided to be very consistent with the shell graphic on the Camino way marker monuments. When the convergence point of the lines are to represent Santiago de Compostela, then the direction to Finisterre is away from Santiago, and in the direction of the opening lines. These in this part of Galicia are very consistently made this way. And because of the consistency, when there is only a shell graphic without the arrow, we know which way to go.

We are still in the forest, and it is very beautiful at every turn. At times, the path is through a very dense part of the forest, and the path is almost like a cave in the trees. At other times, we are in partial clearing, like this one.

Or this clearing in the forest. The only problem with the clearings is that denser parts of the forest keep the rain off us, and in the clearings we get wet.

Part of the path is beside farmlands, a typical sight on the Camino.

And in this area, reforestation has taking place after forest fires several years ago. The trees here are all about the same age, and and the undergrowth thin.

My Danish friend Kenneth with whom I walked the last third of yesterday, and off and on today with Ben from Taiwan.

And here is Ben from Taiwan. We are waiting for the transport to our hotel which is several kilometers off the Camino, and Ben is seriously contemplating his post-walk Coca-Cola. (I also like a Coke after the walk, but I prefer to wait until after my shower and have the Coke cold with ice.)

In spite of the rain, this was a good day on the Camino Finisterre. Because of the rain, even sharing the walk with others, we were often quiet and deep in our own thoughts. I have been asked what I think about as I walk in quiet, or sometimes alone for hours. The answer is I do not know; thoughts come, thoughts go, and more thoughts come. Sometimes, it is much like a meditation with little thought. I do like the quiet times; they are an integral part of walking the Camino.

I have two more days of walking the Camino de Santiago: first about 20 kilometers to Cee; finally about 14 kilometers from Cee to Finisterre (the end of the earth). then the journey home starts.

Next: Walking to Cee (to see the sea), probably in the rain.