On Monday, we will have spent 33 days and walked more than 400 miles on the Camino de Santiago. As we hang up (throw away?) our hiking shoes, some notes from the trek:
Ways of Spain: The Spanish people take time for each other, especially family. The pace of life is slow in villages along the Camino. Children are treasured. We have watched as villagers stop parents or grandparents pushing strollers so they could see the babies. I heard someone remark, “That baby will be a teenager by the time they get to the end of town!”
The people: The Spanish people have been most welcoming, kind and helpful.
Music: There is a strong Gaelic cultural influence in northern Spain, particularly in the Galicia region in which we have walked the past few days. Saturday night, a nearby city had a bagpipe festival. At dinner Saturday, the music playing in the restaurant reminded us of music played during a Scottish ceilidh.
More music: Bruno Mars songs are often played in bars and restaurants here.
Day packers: During the last week, we have seen more and more people having their luggage or backpacks shipped ahead to their next stop. There are services that will do that for about 7€ a day.
Crowds and heat: We are glad we came to the Camino in the spring. Green hillsides, flowers everywhere, and a lack of crowds (until we neared Santiago). It would be an entirely different Camino in the summer, when the number of pilgrims quadruples (or more) and temperatures soar.
Climbing: There have been steeper and more frequent climbs and descents than we anticipated. We often gained 500-1,000 feet in a day. The most for us was 2,400 feet. Much of the trek has been between 2,000 and 3,000 feet in elevation. This builds endurance, though, especially when carrying a 20-pound backpack every day. We push up the mountains much faster now than we did the first few days.
Cool trip: Temperatures for our trek have been cooler than we expected. We have had just a few days over 70 degrees. Most have been in the high 50s or 60s, some never reached 50. Good walking weather almost the entire trip.
Cuckoo birds: For evermore, we will think of the Camino every time we hear a cuckoo clock go off. The bird is ever present here and greets us daily, especially during the chilly mornings.
Bars: Oh, how we will miss the Spanish bars! They are a regular oasis along the Camino, offering a rest stop and bathroom break along with coffee, toast, sandwiches, pilgrim meals, drinks and much more. Many, many pilgrim friendships begin at the bars. People most often sit outside to watch the Camino go by.
carryoncouple 
Leave a reply to Andy and Roberta Brake Cancel reply