Santiago de Compostela

May 6, 2022

Another chilly start to another very hilly day, exacerbated by the fact that the first few kilometers, for a change, were downhill. This was on the N-525 but we joined the Camino after six kilometers or so. This got us away from the heavy traffic onto lovely quiet country roads (and gravel tracks and insanely steep climbs and descents).

A strange shrine in a dead tree with Pilgrim connotations that we didn't really understand. Just to the right of it was a sign warning of danger, clearly because of the dead tree.

After a vicious descent we arrived at the Rio Ulla with the railway line a couple of hundred meters above us.

While waiting for Leigh, who was coming down the hill at a more sensible speed, two dogs rushed out at me quite aggressively . One a young large Pointer type dog and the other a Chihuahua. I calmed the larger one down using my usual calm dominance approach but as I turned to go, the little stoepkakker (Afrikaans for verandah shitter, which is the generic name for dreadful small pampered dogs in South Africa) rushed in and bit me on the calf while my back was turned. Its owner was quite nonplussed while I was absolutely fuming.

Worse than the dog bite is the fact that, according to Leigh, my legs look "old". Time for some moisturizing cream.

And yet another Lavadora. This one, in Puente Ulla, has a roof to protect the village ladies from the sun and the rain.

The push (I would be dishonnest to claim it was a climb) out of Puente Ulla was on an ancient road paved with enormous stone slabs. Surely not Roman ?

From Puente Ulla, once we had escaped the old stone paved road, we decided to live with the traffic on the N-525 for a while. A great lunch stop (eggs, ham and chips so it was closer to a second breakfast) revived us and we pushed on as strongly as we could into Santiago. The route we took made finding the Pilgrims' Office surprisingly difficult but once we got there the processing of our pilgrims credentials proceeded quite quickly because I had pre-registered our details on the Society of St James' website.

Posing with our Compostelas, proof of having completed the pilgrimage.

No Latin equivalent for Leigh although I would have thought it should be Leam.

Then we made our way back to the plaza in front of the Cathedral where hundreds of other pilgrims had gathered. Luck would have it that we plonked ourselves down next to a wonderful couple from Manchester, Dave and Barbara. They gifted us a beer with which to celebrate completing the pilgrimage and we had a long and enjoyable natter. They are keen hikers and have their own hiking website covering hikes from the UK to the Himalayas although the entry which quickly caught my attention was the one for Manchester Pub Crawls.

Thanks to Dave for taking the photo outside the Cathedral.

We are in a super modern hostel about four kilometers from the Cathedral for the next two nights so we can recover before starting our journey to Barcelona by, initially, doing the Ruta Frances of the Camino de Santiago in reverse. Too knackered to think past supper and a glass of wine now so goodnight.

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 1,521 km (945 miles)

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David BrennanWow some blog guys. It's amazing
It was great to catch up with you two in front of the Cathedral in Santiago and we are so pleased you enjoyed the beer. It was great to meet you as your five or six year tour sort of mirrors ours except rather than use bikes we hike and use busses. We are going to read the rest of your blogs to see if there is anywhere we need to go. Take Care guys on the way to Barcelona
Cheers
Dave and Barbara
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2 years ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo David BrennanYou never know, I might join you on a Manchester pub crawl one day.
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2 years ago