Friday, October 26, 2012

Oh dear, oh dear!


The monastery was beautiful. We were taken around by a guide. A monastery is where monks live and work. They must have been busy because we didn't see any of them.


We were pleased when the hostel part of the monastery opened. We chose our bunks, unpacked our packs and settled in. Look at the beautiful paintings on the walls.


There was a very large step in the hostel and I slipped!  Oh dear, oh dear! I was raced off in an ambulance with flashing lights to Lugo. Thankfully I had no broken bones.


I was very pleased when I could sit in a wheelchair. Walking was very painful and very, very slow!


We did get to visit the famous cathedral at Santiago. It was huge and it was packed. Mr Wright thought that there were probably over three thousand people there.


We met so many people on the walk from all over the world - Chile, Brazil, France, Holland, Italy, Canada, Japan, Andorra, Belgium, Germany, USA, Austria, Australia, Sweden, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Finland, Mexico, Korea, Israel, Nicaragua, Majorca...... Now here is a challenge - how many of these countries can you find on the world map? See you soon!

The camino continued



All along the way there are statues of pilgrims walking the camino or rather resting after walking. It was good to rest too! Long ago all a pilgrim took was a stick, a gourd to hold water, a cloak and sandals. I certainly had more than that!


Sometimes we started early in the morning while it was still dark. We needed to have our head lights turned on.


Every tiny village had a beautiful church that was lovingly looked after. It was another good place to sit down.


Every night we stayed in a different place. This place is called Foncebadon and our hostel was joined on to a tiny church. It was a long climb up to arrive here and we were very tired.


Sometimes huge modern motorways passed over the ancient villages. How would you like a motorway above your house?


As we headed into the hill country of Galicia we started walking through forests. I was quietly wondering if we might meet any bears because brown bears are still found in this area. I was glad they were busy elsewhere when we passed through!


Winding down from the high hills we came to Samos an ancient Benedictine monastery. It looked beautiful as we walked down to it. I didn't know what lay ahead!

Oh what a Camino!



This is where we ended in 2009 and away we go again in 2012. This time with much smaller packs.


 The path goes on and on and on and on!


It was autumn and there was plenty of fruit along the track. Fresh figs were delicious.


In Astorga we saw a wonderful example of Gaudi architcture. Imagine living in there!




This was the only day that we needed all our wet weather gear. It was VERY wet!


Every day we would walk through ancient, beautiful villages.


Look at this amazing castle we walked past. Spain is a very old country.



And the path went on and on and on and on!

Well we finished the Camino de Santiago de Compostella, a wonderful 800km walk across the north of Spain. It is an ancient pilgrimage trail that has been walked for over a thousand years.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Dear Room 9 friends


Thank you, thank you for your beautiful letters. I have read every one and they made me smile and smile! At the moment I am writing replies to each one of you and trying to answer your questions. One more week and I will be back with you. Look after each other!