Camino de Santiago – Day 4 From Samos to Ferreiros

This was the most gorgeous day of all. Probably (and I’m just guessing here!) because the sun finally decided to come out. The truth is that along the way, several former pilgrims told us that the stage from Sarria to Portomarín is one of the most beautiful and, indeed, it was as you can judge by the pictures. It was also a hard day (yet another). When we woke up that morning in the Samos Monastery, we knew that once again we had to walk a stage and a half if we wanted to be all together again at the end of the day… and some of the pilgrims that we have been walking along with for the past days actually did it, they manage to arrive to Portomarín. But I didn’t, and neither did Nico.

After days of non-stop walking the body starts to “complain” and you have (or at least you should) pay attention to what it is telling you. That’s why, despite the good weather conditions, me and a couple of two more pilgrims decided to call it a day in a little (very little, only three houses little, to be more precise) village called Ferreiros, half way between Sarria and Portomarín. And it was actually the best decision we took!

In the shelter, a former primary school adapted to receive the pilgrims, we meet some new people, like Alejandro and Albino, two men from Vigo that have been doing the Galician stages of the Santiago Path for years now. This was their 13^th time, which makes them experienced pilgrims and people worthy of taking advise from. They would also deeply “touch” me a couple of days later and contribute to change something inside of me, probably for ever. In this shelter we also became closer from two Irish guys and a girl that we had been seeing on and off since O Cebreiro and with whom from that night on we shared our path, meals, talks, laughs and pains.

It is funny how, even if you start the Camino alone, you always end up finding amazing people. And even if you’re more the silent walker type you always feel the presence of other pilgrims (sometimes even former pilgrims). And no, I’m not talking about spirits but about the sights and messages that former pilgrims leave along the way, to encourage you to carry on and sometimes to even advice you which are the best places to get food. As you can see by the last photo, the messages written on the wooden boards on the bunker bed above mine in the Ferreiros’ shelter, “told” us that the restaurant that was a little bit further, down the hill, was better than the one closer to our shelter. And so we followed their “advice”. The food we had that day for dinner was probably the best during all the Camino (and the company made it all even tastier). Thanks former pilgrims!

And although the sun came out eventually, because the morning was still very cloudy I barely took my camera out of its case, so if you want to see some beautiful pictures from the kms between Samos and Sarria, check Jaime Varela's blog. He is one of my fellow pilgrims and a very talented photographer as you can judge by yourselves in here. 

And also to see more pictures (taken from me, but without the LOMO fish eye), please check here. 

Camino de Santiago – Day 3 From O Cebreiro to Samos

Despite our amazing dinner, the night in O Cebreiro shelter was hard. First because I was full and second because the dormitory was full. It felt like if we were on a refugee camp, with the air thick as onyx and orchestral snoring included! So, waking up in the next morning, having barely slept, with snow, fog and proper cold weather outside and knowing that we had to walk a stage and a half (more or less, 31 kms) if we wanted to spend the next night in the Samos Monastery, was hard. Also, my comfort and confidence levels in myself weren’t yet recovered from the toughness of the previous day. But because this stage was supposed to be downhill, I decided to keep walking… This is actually a great lesson that I learned in the path (and that can be easily applied to life and help us to be less anxious): we always know when we start the Camino but we never know when or if we will finish! So, step after step, another day and another physical and physiological test was overcome.

We arrived in Samos before the sunset and even had time to visit the beautiful Monastery where we would spend the night, the oldest shelter in the Camino (the monks have been accommodating pilgrims since the 6^th century). It was a beautiful experience!

As well as the lunch we had, with some of the pilgrims that left in that same morning from O Cebreiro (some of the people who snored all night long!) and that arrived in Triacastela at the same time than us. We were a lot at that lunch table, all trying to get to know each other, while enjoying great food and wine. Another very simple moment, but as touching as this, was when in the middle of the morning we passed through a village with no more than 10 houses and a very old lady came out and offered us recently made pancakes with sugar and cinnamon. A humble gesture that helped us to keep going…

To see more pictures (without the LOMO fish eye), please check here. 

Camino de Santiago – Day 2 From Pereje to O Cebreiro

The next morning we woke up, not even dressed (because in the “Camino” I learned that it is more practical, and warm, to sleep with the clothes that you want to wear the next day already on), and immediately started walking…

We had only half a stage and knew that we were supposed to climb, but oh boy! what a climb! O Cebreiro is 1.330 metros above the ground level and it was the place where we knew we had to spend the night, nevertheless there were moments during the day when I thought I wouldn’t be able to arrive. But I did, and because they didn’t have a bus stop, I decided to keep walking the morning after. Because if they had one… I’m not going to lie to you, that day was so hard, climbing for 8 hours across the woods and the mud, with non stop rain and my clothes soaking wet, that if arriving to O Cebreiro I would have seen any bus stop I would have jumped on the bus and came home. But it wasn’t and I didn’t! Live has its mysterious reasons.

And it always finds a way to compensate the bad with the good. So, that day, after hours waiting in line to use the dry machine (to dry all – and I mean, ALL – my clothes, in order to take a shower, get read of the soaking wet clothes I had on my body and put on something clean and slightly drier) I finally picked myself up and left to have dinner in one of the cozy restaurants in O Cebreiro. Dinner was a major strength restorer, both because of the delicious food and because of the company. Over dinner we closely met Jaime, Roberto I & II, Silvia, Gonzalo, Guy, Carlos and José Maria. Some of the people that would keep us company until the end of the path!

To see more pictures (without the LOMO fish eye), please check here. 

Camino de Santiago – Day 2 From Pereje to O Cebreiro

The next morning we woke up, not even dressed (because in the “Camino” I learned that it is more practical, and warm, to sleep with the clothes that you want to wear the next day already on), and immediately started walking…

We had only half a stage and knew that we were supposed to climb, but oh boy! what a climb! O Cebreiro is 1.330 metros above the ground level and it was the place where we knew we had to spend the night, nevertheless there were moments during the day when I thought I wouldn’t be able to arrive. But I did, and because they didn’t have a bus stop, I decided to keep walking the morning after. Because if they had one… I’m not going to lie to you, that day was so hard, climbing for 8 hours across the woods and the mud, with non stop rain and my clothes soaking wet, that if arriving to O Cebreiro I would have seen any bus stop I would have jumped on the bus and came home. But it wasn’t and I didn’t! Live has its mysterious reasons.

And it always finds a way to compensate the bad with the good. So, that day, after hours waiting in line to use the dry machine (to dry all – and I mean, ALL – my clothes, in order to take a shower, get read of the soaking wet clothes I had on my body and put on something clean and slightly drier) I finally picked myself up and left to have dinner in one of the cozy restaurants in O Cebreiro. Dinner was a major strength restorer, both because of the delicious food and because of the company. Over dinner we closely met Jaime, Roberto I & II, Silvia, Gonzalo, Guy, Carlos and José Maria. Some of the people that would keep us company until the end of the path!

To see more pictures (without the LOMO fish eye), please check here. 

Camino de Santiago – Day 1 From Ponferrada to Pereje

This year I decided to go north, to León and Galicia, and experienced some of the treats Spain has to offer and much much more. Not only I wanted to discover more about those two regions, but I also wanted to accomplish a goal: complete part of the Santiago Path in 8 days. And I did it! Here’s a little diary about my life changing experience on this centenary path.

The first day I arrived to Ponferrada, in León, early in the morning. From there to Santiago de Compostela, trough the path there are 208kms. To tell you the truth, the first day was quite easy. I’m used to walk a lot. Plus, my fiend I (which I haven’t seen for some time now) and I had a lot to catch up, so the time flew and step by step, but the lunch time, we arrived to Villafranca del Bierzo. According to my guide, this village (very posh village, to be exact) marked the end of the 23^rd stage of the Camino, but we felt pretty o.k. and decided to keep going… just a little bit further, to the next village: Pereje.

The shelter in Pereje was very cute and typical (despite the fact the heat wasn’t working) and we stayed in the same room as some of the people we’ve meet along the way in our first day. All together we had a great dinner in the only bar of the village and exchanged our experiences. 

To see more pictures (without the LOMO fish eye), please check here.