Tag: Santiago de Compostela

Wrapping up our stay in Santiago de Compostela.

First,we retrieved our bikes from storage at Ivar Rekve’s office located at Travesía da Universidade 1. He is very personable and we spent a good part of the morning chatting with him.

From there, we walked our bikes to Mail Boxes ETC. They have a great deal for those shipping bicycles to the US: for 199 E, they ship the bike along with helmet and bags.  This includes the box and disassembling the bike, as necessary. There must have been more than a dozen bikes in the shop today, and almost as many different bikes there yesterday.

Since I ran out of business cards, I went to the printers. The American size cards are different from the European ones, but they were accommodating and the price was reasonable. More weight, though, to carry.

Dennis tried to make amateur radio contacts, but because of the time shift, there were few Americans on the air. The balloon, though, worked well. He will try again later.

We confirmed our plans for the coming week. Tomorrow we leave to see Tracy Saunders at the Little Fox House. I am looking forward to meeting her and spending a few days resting and participating in a local medieval festival. She wrote the book, A Pilgrimage to Heresy, which I read and enjoyed. On Monday we will walk to Muxia (17 km away) then return to Santiago by bus to take the train to Santander where will take a ferry to Plymouth on July 3. There are many things do to in Santander, but since the temperatures are in the low 70’s, swimming will not be one of them.

While we are on the coast and traveling, I may not have an internet connection. In advance, I wish you all a happy 4th of July.

Today we went looking in Santiago de Compostela for three things, and managed to find two.

We have been without our comfort food, peanut butter, since April 20. Dennis has been craving the nutty spread, but it is difficult to find in Spain and Portugal. Yesterday when I asked a local grocer where I could find crema de cacahuete, I received that blank stare one receives when asking a question they don’t really understand because of mispronunciation or when asking a question so dumb that it is too painful to reply. At first I thought I had the wrong word, but she told me that yes, it was called crema de cacahuete, but that no one in Spain ate it. Perhaps, I would have given a Spaniard the same stare if they asked me where to find tripe in the US.

Today, Dennis talked me into looking at different grocery stores for our American delectable. A woman in line said she thought she had seen it in another store about 1/2 km away and escorted us to the Carrefour Market on c/ Montero Rius 33. There on the shelf, for 4.40 E was a selection of crunchy and smooth (crujiente or suave) peanut butter. It is not the natural style we enjoy but with added sugar…more like Skippy or Jif. Guess what we will be eating for supper tonight!

The second thing we searched for was a helium balloon. Dennis wanted to attach an antenna wire to the balloon and then get on the ham radio tonight from our hotel room. As common as these inflatables are in the US, they are as rare in Spain. First, each time I asked for a globus de helio, I got that blank stare. After a few tries, I realized I should not pronounce the “h” as in hello, but say the word as if it were not there; EElio. Even after pronouncing it correctly, most people have never heard of one. We ended walking about three km before finding a store that specialized in–you guessed it–helium balloons. For 5 E, Dennis walked out of that store a very happy man, beaming like a little boy.

The last item we searched for was a travel immersion water heater to boil water for tea.  We checked every hardware store, Chinese bazaar (dollar store), and unique high-end cook shops. Again we received blank stares. We did find a large one  for boiling a liter of water that would have taken up most of my backpack and cost 17 E. We decline.

Today wasn’t a complete bust. We will eat our peanut butter sandwiches, have tea (boiled with camping gear), and then Dennis will get on the air with his radio.

We arrived in Santiago de Compostela on June 25 (six months before Christmas) hot, thirsty, tired, and with sore feet. On the way to the cathedral, we got a hotel room so we would not have to carry our backpacks. From there, we limped to the Pilgrim’s Office to get our certificates of completion. The person at the office assumed I did the Camino for religious or spiritual purposes and gave me a Compostela; Dennis on the other hand received the certificate for completing the Camino for sport, culture, or health reasons. I am envious; I prefer his.

On our last days, we both developed blisters: Dennis on his toes and I on the heels. Both our feet have grown, Dennis is now a size 15.5 and I am a woman’s 9.5. At the shoe store, Dennis had only one option. If his feet continue to grow, I wonder if we will be able to find him shoes on the continent.

From the Pilgrim’s office we went to a cafe and celebrated with a beer. See how tired but happy Dennis appears. Exhausted, we tucked in at 8:30 P.M, forgetting to take an ibuprofen and consequently achy for most of the night.

In the morning, we went to the Pilgrim’s Mass and saw the Botafumeiro de Santiago de Compostela, a large incense burner swing over the pilgrims at the end of Mass. I was disappointed in today’s sermon. It had little to do with pilgrims (all about parents and educators teaching the young) and was delivered monotonously. I preferred the ceremony more in 2011, where the sermon was more appropriate for me as a pilgrim.

In the afternoon, we went in search of replacement clothes and to see which was better: sell our bikes or ship them home. We decided on the latter and will spend most of tomorrow completing the arrangements. We have decided to backpack through Europe, taking trains and buses as needed–I am too clumsy to continue biking. To date my falls have not been too damaging, but I have lost my mojo for biking. Dennis said that even though he loves biking, he loves me more and does not want to see me hurt. Isn’t he romantic! Now that decision is made, we need to plan our course, but I think we will be in England soon.

When we were on the way to Santiago, we had to transfer trains. While we had a tea at the depot, I spotted a man ordering a clear liquid, which he poured into his coffee. The bartender said it was a local beverage called aguardiente, made by distilling what is left of the fruit after making wine, very potent 42% alcohol. Last night after dinner, we shared a shot. It is very strong, like vodka, but with a sweet aftertaste.

We spent the morning sorting out our belongings: pile for shipping home, pile for backpacking, pile for leaving with bikes. Dennis then rode his bike to where we are storing it and then returned for mine, since I can’t ride on account of the gashed knee. I met him in town, went to the UPS store and then to the bus station, where we bought tickets for Lisbon. Our preparing for Portugal is done: tomorrow we are off, no longer bicigrinos but peregrinos. We celebrated this fact with a meal at Cafe Monolo in the Old Quarter; I had octopus stew, grilled squid, and half a bottle of wine.

I have an over-packed backpack. How did I manage on the last Camino? I know somehow it will all come together.

A lot has happened since Sahagún. We left town late, waiting for the shops to open to buy spare tubes after having the three flats. It was a lovely day for a ride, warming up with the sun and easy rolling hills. We decided to stay at Mansilla de las Mulasat the albergue Amigos del Peregrino where we stayed two years ago because they have a gas paella grill.  After we settled in, we walked around the town taking photos and then we had a glass of beer/wine, complements of Michel Sanchez. Dennis tried on a pilgrim costume and I tought he looked authentic. We found four other pilgrims willing to share the paella. Michel and I went shopping, and then everyone joined in the preparations. I missed this community activity earlier on the Camino Juame where there we so few pilgrims, and am glad to get back to it on the Camino Frances.

We left Mansilla in the cold weather and could see that it was snowing in the mountains. About 4 miles from León, we stopped at the famous Bar La Torre in Arcahueja. Michel and I both added to the wall mural. There were other pilgrims there who were also adding their mark to the bar front. I wonder how often the owner paints over everything, providing a clean slate for other pilgrims.

We arrived in León midday. Our plan was to quickly see the city and cathedral and then move on. And then I fell on a curb, barely 1.5 inches tall, which I did not see. Thinking nothing was wrong, I started to get up and then felt a sting. Looking at my leg, I found that I had gashed it across the kneecap. When Michel saw the 4-in. gap, he went in search of medical help. In the mean time, a person walking by saw my leg and ran to the pharmacy for saline solution, Benedictine, and gauze. He cleaned the wound, wrapped it, and left. It happened so fast, that I never had time to thank the Good Samaritan. Very quickly the rescue came and took me to the hospital, with Dennis trying to keep up on his bike. When he lost track of the ambulance, Dennis tried with his limited Spanish to get directions. At last, a Spaniard asked if he spoke German, and then proceed to explain the way to him. Dennis was relieved and grateful to her.

I received about 20 stitches and instructions to stay off the bike for at least a month. Consequently our plans changed. I have no regret about taking the train from León to Santiago, nor about missing the hills, the snow, and the front West winds. I do regret not having been able to say goodbye to Michel.

Since only the local trains take bicycles, it took us eight hours by train to ride about 200 miles between León and Santiago. It was pleasant and we got to see a lot of Galicia and the rural country side. The disadvantage was that we arrived in Santiago at 12:30 A.M., only to find that a convention had filled all the hotels. After pushing my bike around town for almost two hours, a kind hotel receptionist found us a room on the outskirts of the city, near Monte de Gozo. A taxi drove us there and we climbed into bed–exhausted–about 3:00 A.M.

Today, we retrieved our backpacks from the UPS store, did some shopping, check on the train schedule for Lisbon, and took a long nap. Tomorrow we will finish our preparations and, most likely, leave for Lisbon the following day.