Nevertheless, We Persisted

Hiking Days 35 and 36     May 14 & May 15 

Melide to Arzua

Miles   10.0

Total Miles   495.8

Ascent   900’

Descent   1060’

Arzua to A Rua

Miles   11.8

Total Miles   507.6

Ascent   768’

Descent   1115’

I am doing the last two days in one blog due to lack of WiFi last night.

Saturday May 14 was overall an unremarkable day of walking. 

The miles are short and the scenery is  much like the rural and farm areas we have seen for many days. The difference today is the number of pilgrims. Once we connect with the Frances at Melide, the path is literally a swarm of people. The photos below highlight this difference.

                                    The Camino Primitivo just before it joins the Camino Frances

                                      The Camino Frances, just 35 miles from Santiago

The contrast is shocking after we have spent 6 weeks on the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo. On the del Norte we went some complete days without seeing another pilgrim. In spite of this we have a reasonable day with nice weather once again. We arrive at our hotel just before noon and are forced to go in search of beer until our rooms are ready. We discuss that we should have combined today and tomorrow into one 22 mile day. Today’s hike was just too short and we can all “smell the hay in the barn”, the barn of course being our finish in Santiago.

Sunday May 15 has a weird start. 

We agreed to have breakfast at the opening time of 7:30 am. We arrive to find 10 others already waiting for the breakfast room to open, While we wait another dozen or so come down the hotel stairs and slide past us to get closer to the entry door. We now have almost 2 dozen hungry pilgrims in front of us. I play the Covid card and suggest we head back to our rooms for 30 minutes then return for the buffet. Bill and I have a Covid test in 3 days which is required to fly back into the US. If we fail, we get an extended vacation at Heathrow Airport for 5 or more days. That is not a good option for us!

So we leave the locusts to enjoy the early buffet. We will return later.

Last night was rain and thunderstorms, so after our delayed breakfast, we are out the door into very cool temperatures and cloudy skies. It looks like it could begin to rain anytime. And shortly it does just that, starting out as a light drizzle.

Before long we see Wendy (Netherlands opera singer) and Nynke (Netherlands psychologist) at the first rural cafe along the trail. We have not seen them for a few days and we stop to chat. As we talk, the rain increases in intensity. We all agree to meet in two day after the famous cathedral mass in Santiago. As Bill, Scot, and I depart, the rains eases up….good timing!

The rains continues on and off for most of the day and at times it is accompanied by a significant wind. The path today is almost all unpaved and the walking is easy. The ups and downs are still with us but nothing like those on the Primitivo.

                              The beer bottle cafe which we remember from 3 years ago when when did our thru-hike of the Camino Frances

                                      An unidentified flower that we have not seen before.

                                The wet road and the much drier path….we are hiking on the paths today

About mid day, Scot and I reach our 500 mile point. In the last six weeks we have walked 500 miles, from the Spain/France border, along the northern coastal part of Spain, then southwest towards Santiago. Almost all the way across Spain from east to west. It is hard to imagine walking a continuous hike of 500 miles, but you just start out, one step at a time and weeks later you have completed 500….and well over one million steps! Now we have only 20 more miles to go!!

                                Scot with 5 fingers in the air signifying the 500 miles we have hiked

Tonight we are staying in another tiny, remote village. There is only one restaurant open for dinner, but it serves food all day which is a rarity in Spain, so we are happy.

Tomorrow should be interesting. Our last day of hiking, but not exactly as planned. It was planned as a short 12.5 stroll into Santiago where we would spend two nights and attend the famous Cathedral pilgrim’s mass at noon the second day. BUT….  Iberian Airlines cancelled our flight from Madrid to London. And there were no replacement flights that allowed us to make our connections back to the US.

So we had to move the Santiago to Madrid to London flights ahead by one day. Then we staying at the Terminal 3 hotel at Heathrow for the night. Therefore we don’t have the extra day in Santiago.

But we refuse to miss the Pilgrim’s Mass. Three years ago when we did the Camino Frances, the cathedral was undergoing a multi-year renovation and the Pilgrim’s Mass was not being held at the famous cathedral. We plan to start hiking at 6:30 am (in the dark?) and force march to Santiago. Entry to the mass is cutoff after the first 700 people arrive which is usually by 11 am for the noon mass.

We are hoping for light rain to keep the crowds at bay and a slight tailwind to push us along….