Final Thoughts .........

So, it was a wonderful month. We have remembrances of early morning, smells of the countryside, wild fennel, figs and grapes. There were the tranquil, empty villages, and the kindness of strangers. There were places: Lisbon, Porto, Santarem, Pontevedra, Casa de Fernanda (with the wild Portuguese songs), Coimbra and the wonderful walk up the coast immediately north of Porto.

The Brierly guide, warts and all, was essential. While the Magwood blog, Trepeditious Traveller, was wonderfully practical and informative.

Finished - next to the Cathedral

There were some things that were a challenge. South of Porto, so many dogs seemed to be out of control - the three of us and our walking poles kept them away, not sure how this worked for some of the lone travellers - no problems after Porto. You have to have a supply of clean water with you because the font supply is unreliable as to cleanliness. It is much more hilly than we were led to believe. The first eight stages are essentially 30km or more and it is impossible to shorten them as there are so few interim towns with suitable accommodation. Nobody can measure on this Camino - when the notice says 'Cafe 100 Metres To The Right', you need to double it, and then add on a bit more!!

Queuing for our Campostela certificates

In Santiago we met our German friends Carlo and Waltraud - they have been very special to us since Porto. One person, prominent from the pre Porto stages, was Alan from Greystones - we have not met him yet in Santiago but expect to see him on our plane tomorrow.

There were lots of people we met on the way whose name we didn't know. We quickly gave them nicknames and these included: Alitalia, Desperate Dorothy, Bulgarian Bob and The Golden Girls ( a group of three Spanish women all over 70 who made speedy progress).

The Botafumeiro

And finally. We have encountered many people in Santiago whom we knew, or half knew, from the Camino Portuguese. One of those whom we got to know really well was Stephen, the chef from Derry, and we bumped into him again (after two weeks) at the Cathedral mass. It was really great to meet him. He related two stories to us. The first was about the very wet day two weeks ago. He was walking with three others and they were completely soaked through. They came upon a posh-ish restaurant in the middle of nowhere and were desperate for some kind of nourishment. They were dripping so much they asked if they could have something outside on the porch, but management insisted that they came inside. They did, and had a beer and the cheapest food on a very expensive menu. The bill for the four was still heading for €80, but when they went to pay, the manager informed them that it was on the house. Very impressive!

The second story was that he had walked for the past few days with a Cork couple (Ger and Mary we think). In conversation with them it transpired that they were following this blog and he was able to tell them a little about us. So, Ger and Mary, if you're still following the blog, Buen Camino!!

We fly home tomorrow. I thought I was finished with Caminos, but Mary has just mentioned Camino del Norte that goes through Irun, Bilbao, Santander .....................

Buen Camino