Blog No. 226 - Camino Soul Songs Part 29, 15 April 2025

On Sunday the 12th of May 2013, Harold and I walked from Melide to Arca do Pino.  The Brierley distance today was 33 kilometres.  Arca do Pino is only 18 kilometres from Santiago de Compostella.

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A few kilometres away from Santiago, I had slimmed down a lot since starting my life as a peregrino in April.  We reached Arca do Pino on Sunday 12 May 2013.  It was only 18 kilometres from Santiago de Compostella .

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Leaving Melide, the Camino stayed away from major roads until we reached the outskirts of Santiago.

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The Camino wound its way through forest once we left Melide on that Sunday.

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There was a noticeable spring in the step of every peregrino that Sunday; Santiago was so very close! 

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This cow was not at all interested in the excitement of the peregrinos who strode past it that day.  It had already seen many thousands of peregrinos.

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I never ceased to be astonished at how green Spain was.  At home in Adelaide, the grass turns brown in colour in late November and it stays that way until the rain returns in late April in the following year.  The grass in this part of Spain was NEVER brown in colour!

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We could tell we were getting closer to Santiago – there were logging trucks on the roads!

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The final few kilometres of Camino into Arca do Pino took us back onto country lanes, away from traffic. 

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Along the way, we had to give right of way to the cattle - and they were not in a great hurry to go anywhere! 

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We got to the top of a very high hill – and a large town was laid out in front of us!  We felt we could almost touch our destination!

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For a man who was then aged 81, Harold was astonishingly fit.  When I saw him in Canada in 2015, he was considering yet another pilgrimage on the Camino!  The Camino sign indicates the distance to Santiago is 29.5 kilometres.

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There was a final stretch of greenery before we reached Arca do Pino.

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Diary Entry Made on Sunday 12 May 2013 at 8:36 pm

I am at a municipal albergue in Arca do Pino.  Harold and I arrived at about 6:25 pm after leaving Melide at about 8:00 am.  The total breaks we had along the way were perhaps 1.5 hours (or less), meaning the walking time was about 9 hours.  The Brierley distance was about 33.3 kilometres.  The day was bathed in beautiful sunshine, even though it was very cold when we started walking.  There were no huge hills to be climbed and the Camino spent nearly the whole day wending through paths in forests or through quiet country lanes.

By now I am significantly fitter than I was when I started.  My muscles are much stronger and I have lost a lot of weight.  Although tired, I was not totally exhausted when we got to albergue at Arca do Pino.

Tomorrow we walk to Santiago - a mere 18 kilometres of thereabouts.  Wow!  I have nearly finished the Camino!

Distance Walked Today: 33.3 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 749.9 kilometres.

Total Distance Covered So Far: 771.1 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.

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Soul Song Number 34 - Enlightenment

(12 May 2013)

Tomorrow you walk a mere eighteen kilometres to reach Santiago.

Today you walked in sparkling sunshine.

Your feet nimbly picked their path along the route traversed by the Camino.

Rocks were no obstacle,

You skipped across the top of them.

Mud and water on the path was irrelevant,

You confidently stepped around the mud and across the water.

Fatigue in the feet and legs didn't matter.

Your fatigue had disappeared,

Banished by the long walk across Spain.

Your backpack jiggled comfortably against your shoulders.

Smugly, you watched the way markers slip by,

Ticking off the number of kilometres remaining till you reached your journey's end.

When you ceased walking for the day the markers made an astonishing claim.

There were only eighteen kilometres left in your pilgrimage.

 

Tomorrow you reach your goal.

Do you think you are enlightened yet?

Possibly, but probably not.

Perhaps you have to reach Santiago before enlightenment manifests itself.

You will have to wait and see.

Blog No. 225 - Camino Soul Songs Part 28, 14 April 2025

Check out my latest video on my youtube channel.

https://youtu.be/OF9xzGSaK9k?si=NoAbigPrRjz9XhYp

On Saturday the 11th of May 2013, Harold and I walked from Hospital de la Cruz to Melide.  The Brierley distance today was 28.7 kilometres.  Melide is about 50 kilometres from Santiago de Compostella.  According to Brierley, we had walked 61 kilometres since leaving Sarria two days earlier.

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Me with some of my wonderful, new Canadian friends on the 11th of May 2013

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Leaving the albergue in the morning of 11 May 2013.  The Camino took us up a continuous slope, winding it way towards the sky.

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It was still early in the morning when I took this photo of peregrinos stretched out along the Camino as far as the eye could see.

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This section of the Camino was tricky because it was slippery and stony; a misplaced foot could result in a broken ankle.

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This was the view once we got to the top of the uphill slope that started immediately after we left the albergue.

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The Camino always felt so much more friendly when it left the roads and dived through forests and more “natural” places. 

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When the Camino took us through small country lanes, it always felt exhilarating.  

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There were many carved images of peregrinos to be seen along the Camino.

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Walking through sections of the Camino that looked like this, was always refreshing for the soul.

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Another section of the Camino that made you feel good just by walking through it.

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Because I live in the driest State in the driest country in the world – South Australia is mostly desert – I was always thrilled to see rivers and streams that constantly overflow with water.  In my home city Adelaide, there are no permanently running waterways.  The creeks all dry up in late November and do not usually regain any water until late April in the following year.  During the period from late November to late April in the following year, extremely little rain falls and temperatures hover for days on end at about 35 Celsius or above.

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Diary Entry Made on Saturday 11 May 2013 at 8:58 pm

We arrived at a private albergue in Melide at about 4:35 pm after leaving Hospital de la Cruz at about 8:30 am.  The Brierley distance was 28.3 kilometres.  [Note: The Brierley distance was actually 28.7 and not 28.3 kilometres as stated in the diary entry.]  The distance marker in Melide indicates that it is about 51.5 kilometres to Santiago.

When we left the albergue in Sarria on Friday morning the marker said it was 111.5 kilometres to Santiago.  If that is correct, it means we have covered about 60 kilometres in 2 days since leaving Sarria.  [Note: The total Brierley distance that we covered in those two days was 61.1 kilometres.]

Today was a day for Canadians.  Eileen and Doug and Maureen are all Canadian and so too is Harold.  Harold is 81, Doug is 71, Eileen is 69 and Maureen is 66.  Harold and I had breakfast with the other Canadians at Hospital and they walked with us to Melide, where we had dinner together.  Doug, Eileen and Maureen are three very delightful people.

There was no rain today and we walked in bright sunshine for most of the day along either quiet lanes or quiet country roads.  It was very pleasant travelling and there were no huge hills to climb like the one at O'Cebreiro.

Distance Walked Today: 28.7 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 716.6 kilometres.

Total Distance Covered So Far: 737.8 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.

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Soul Song Number 33 - Canada Dry

(11 May 2013)

Take a group of Canadians.

Give them ordinary names.

Names like Doug, Eileen, Harold and Maureen.

Then mix them all together into one group of pilgrims.

What do you think you get?

Why you get Canada Dry of course!

You get five Canadians all competing against each other.

What are they competing over?

Easy question to answer.

Canada Dry compete for the right to be the wittiest pilgrim.

For example, when Doug shows a picture of his beautiful 18 year old grand daughter

You say "Can I marry her please?"

Doug says "I didn't know you were a priest John".

Canada Dry also compete for the right to be the kindest pilgrim.

For example, Harold asked "Did you see the homeless man with the dog?"

Some pilgrims had complained about the homeless man.

They saw that he had bought coffee with the money Canada Dry had given him.

The complainers thought it was wrong to give money.

It was even more wrong for that money to be spent on a cup of coffee.

Canada Dry knew better.

Canada Dry also knew how to walk.

Canada Dry knew how to make fun and how to be fun.

Best of all, Canada Dry knew the most important thing in life.

They knew how to make the world a better place,

Just by spreading a little love around.

With companions like Canada Dry.

My feet barely noticed the kilometres as they walked their way to Melide.

Even better yet,

The Camino is populated by so many people who are just like Canada Dry.

Blog No. 224 - Camino Soul Songs Part 27, 12 April 2025

On Friday the 10th of May 2013, Harold and I walked from Sarria to Hospital de la Cruz.  The Brierley distance today was 35.6 kilometres.  Sarria is the starting point for peregrinos who do not want to walk the full length of the Camino, but who nevertheless want to receive an official Credential certifying that they have indeed walked the Camino.  The number of peregrinos on the Camino increased noticeably once we left Sarria

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Me standing still; we did not stand still very often and when we did, it was never for more than a few moments.

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Perhaps this spider had been working non stop to perfect this gorgeous spider web – but maybe spiders can whip up webs like this in seconds rather than hours.  Spiders probably do not keep track of time like we do.

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Peregrinos crossing a waterway on Friday 10 May.  We would have gotten very wet if it had been raining. 

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Thi stretch of the Camino was a very easy stroll though beautiful green fields.

I was never alone when I was a peregrino.  Thousands of others were inspired to also become peregrinos.

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This was the bridge at Portomarin where we stopped and had lunch. 

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Harold was amazing.  He simply kept going all day, every day.  He was a great inspiration. 

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I was nearly always walking behind Harold.  I found out years later there were physical reasons why my walking was always so slow – especially when I went uphill.  My breathing apparatus – nose and sinuses – had never worked properly in my life.  In addition, I had a leaky heart valve.  My heart was simply incapable of giving me the supply of blood that I needed to be able to keep up with Harold or anyone else whose body was working properly. 

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Diary Entry Made on Friday 10 May 2013 at 9:17 pm

We arrived at Hospital de la Cruz at about 5:25 pm after leaving Sarria at about 6:50 am.  We had a one hour lunch at Portomarin and two breaks totalling about half an hour so we walked for about 9 hours.  The Brierley distance was about 35.6 kilometres..  There was beautiful sunshine all day with lots of gorgeous mist clinging to the fields and the hills for the first few hours as we walked.

The Camino spent most of the day winding through country paths and lanes with very little time spent beside main roads.  At Hospital de la Cruz Refugio we met Canadians Eileen, Maureen and Doug and had dinner with them.  Very pleasant evening.

Distance Walked Today: 35.6 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 687.9 kilometres.

Total Distance Covered So Far: 709.1 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.

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Soul Song Number 32 - Winged Feet

(10 May 2013)

You had never had winged feet before.

Never before did you have feet that could walk all day without stop.

Never before did you have legs that knew they could walk all day without stop.

The soft mist clung to the fields and hills as you set out.

It stayed for hours,

Providing welcome friendship along the way.

Today the Camino led you through the best of Galicia.

Through the hills and fields of green echoing with the sound of running water.

Overhead, the sun shone.

Banishing the rain of yesterday.

So you used your winged feet.

You used them to walk through the country of the "Spanish Celts,

Aware of the honour given you by this blessed day.

Wrapped in joy, you walked.

Then you walked some more.

Until by day's end, the Saint was only 78 kilometres away.

And you had walked an astonishing 36 kilometres in one day.

What a joy it was to walk on winged feet.