The Cathedral

Today I spent most of the day in and around the Cathedral.  It is one of the best conserved historic centers of the world. I began by doing a circumnavigation of the exterior of the cathedral. It has a plaza on all 4 sides, and is opposite San Martin Pinario Monastery, on the side of the Plaza de las Inmaculada. I am going there tonight to meet Annie, whom I met at Rabanal. She is staying there before returning to Ireland and we are going to have dinner. The Obradoiro Plaza is faced by the Parador, where I hope to have a free meal tomorrow. The other sides have the Plaza de Quintana, faced by another monastery, and  the Plaza of Prateras, where there are many souvenir shops.  Prateras translates as silverworker, I think.

 Then I did a walk around the inside of the Cathedral. It is so huge - overwhelming, really, and around a big section of the exterior walls are chapels dedicated to kings, and apostles, and Mary, and El Pilar, who will be celebrated tomorrow. It is a festival day, and most shops will be closed. It combines the day of El Pilar, Columbus´ discovery of America, and Army day ( big parades in Madrid).  The decoration is over the top, and everywhere you look there is carving on the walls, the blocks of stones, and the wood. I visited St James, who is the centerpiece of the altar. You can walk up behind him - he is larger than lifesize - and give him a hug. Then you can visit his bones, which are in a silver box in the crypt underneath the altar.

Then, at 11 am, I had a 2 hour tour of the roof, and upper areas. We actually went onto the roof of several sections of the church. The roof is stone, so even though it rained at least half of the tour, it wasn´t slippery, though I did have a bit of vertigo. Fortunately there were only 4 on the tour, so the guide held on to me several times when I looked nervous. The roof is full of monuments, bell towers, including one where the ringer used to live, and his animals roamed on the roof. There are towers with clocks too. The guide pointed out the chimneys on surrounding buildings. Apparently, the richer you were the bigger the chimneys. We also walked the balconies overlooking the main part of the church. Amazing!

Then I walked around the city, and that is where I  met Annie, who was amusing herself playing her penny whistle in the arcaded parts. I fortified myself with a cafe con leche and a piece of tarta de Santiago - I can only eat that pastry and one other, so I did enjoy it. It is made with almonds, eggs and sugar - did I mention it before? - I think so.

Next, I took a tour of the museum of the Cathedral. 4 floors of exhibits, plus an exterior balcony and the crypt. The audio tour was only 1 euro, so  I took it and I learned a lot.  There  were many pieces of art,  and I especially liked one of Madonna and child with an exposed breast. I will check the museum shop tomorrow to see if there is a reproduction on a postcard. It was a plaster picture in a frame, done by a woman in the 17th century, I think. There were rooms full of tapestries, and some were designed by Goya at the royal workshops for weaving. In the chapter house, there was a real live nun, who I think I saw singing in the service yesterday. She was folding a series of white gowns which I think the priests wear, and laying them out neatly folded over very antique benches. The cloister is where the priests are buried, so the walkway is lined with tombstones, laid into the cement and stone.

So, tomorrow, I will try for the free meal, visit the market, and see a few more museums. Most of them are free, or inexpensive. Then on Saturday, I fly late in the day to Switzerland. So far, I think I have used my time well. I left the albergue this morning at 8 and just now returned to use the internet. It is not a very comfortable place, so I am headed out to find a bank machine, and meet Annie for dinner at 8 pm.

Enjoy your day!

Darlene, the tourist, and recovering pilgrim

Oh what a beautiful morning!

I did ship my bag, and it was here when I arrived. Yeah! It made a terrific difference in my ability to enjoy the climb. We started off before the sun came up, but it was light. I walked with Brunie for a while, then with Jude and Roz for the rest of the day. The views were so incredible! It could not have been a more glorious day. Often O Cebreiro is foggy, and it is difficult to see the views, but today the sun shone all day, and it was about 17´though that varied according to whether we were in the sun or the shade. It might have been difficult for anyone with a fear of heights, because often the hill dropped away immediately, and the view went on forever. We walked up for about 3.5 hours from Ruitelan ( where we were awakened by Ave Maria and Nessen Dorma (sp?).Then we were at the top, or so one would think. But from O Cebreiro to Fonfria, where I am sleeping in a large dorm, there was very little flat walking, and we continued to go up and down. Sometimes the up was very steep! I was grateful, when walking near the edge, that my daypack was so light, as sometimes the large backpack can make me feel unbalanced. So it was a successful experiment, and I hope to carry it the rest of the way, without shipping it again.

The prices in Spain are so low! For instance, last night the bed was 5euros, with clean sheets and pillowcases. And for 7 euros, the dinner was the same as 5 years ago: carrot soup, best ensalada mixta I have seen, and exactly the same as my picture from 2007. Then he made me rice carbonara, while the rest had spaghetti carbonara. Dessert was a custard like pudding, made with eggs and rennet, I think. Plus all the wine you could drink, and bread, all for about 9 canadian dollars.

Today I had a cafe con leche in La Faba - like a latte, but with less milk, and it came with a little chocolate biscuit. Almost the same size as a mug at home and it cost about 1.30 Canadian, and it was delicious!

When I arrive at an albergue, I have felt exhausted, and young people wonder what I think I am doing, trying to walk to Santiago. But then the next day, they are astonished to see that I am at the same location as them! It is very satisfying to see the astonished look on their face. Today I didn´t even need a nap. It gets better every day!

Hasta luega
Darlene

A dilemma

Wed Oct 3 , Cacabelos to Ruitelan - 27 km

I´ll admit it - I was absolutely wasted when I arrived in Cacabellos yesterday at 2 pm, and the municipal albergue was not too welcoming. I could barely speak, and dragged myself to the showers and laundry. But with a nap I was able to wander the town looking for internet - couldn´t find any, so yesterday´s post got done today.

In contrast, today felt better, though the blisters are speaking, and so are the calves and thighs. I walked until 4 pm today. I took more breaks, and ate and drank more, and changed into my sandals half way through the day - all these elements helped. Plus, I walked with a few people and chatted, and it helps the kms to go faster.

I am at a favourite albergue in Ruitelan, and the meal is here, and they will make rice for me instead of spaghetti carbonara, and they have meusli for breakfast, so this is a fine place.

I am mulling over a decision. I think I will send my bag on tomorrow. It is a very challenging climb, and my bag still weighs about 11 kg - about 25 lbs. I think it is the food I am carrying, which I wouldn´t need if I could eat the bread. On the one hand, I prided myself on walking and carrying every step of the way last time. So I already proved that I could, so perhaps it is ok to send it up this time. And it will save my feet - it should be a pleasure to do the climb tomorrow, not weighed down. On the other hand is it cheating? Who am I cheating? I don´t like to see others walking with daypacks. But maybe they are doing it the only way they can. Oh well, I will give it more thought. Tomorrow I hope to stay in a recommended albergue in Fonfria, and it is about 20 km, including climbing for 8 kms

I will go on with joy, and gratitude

Foncebadon to Molinaseca 20 km

Today was soooo hard. Up at 6, and out the door at 7.30 with my headlamp on.  Up to the Iron cross, where I left stones for Judi, Peggy and myself. The sky was spectacular as the sun rose. I could see, at various times, the lights of Rabanal, Astorga, and even Leon. Then Manjarin, where I once again used the pit toilets. Thank God they were available. Then up more, then on the level to ElAcebo. From there it was downhill all the way, and the terrain was varied. Molineseca is at 500, so we descended 1000
meters over about 4 hours of walking. It really was brutal. Stone and rocks in various formations on the path.I slipped a few times, but my sticks saved me, and I knew then it was time to take a break.

I am here in a lovely albergue in Molenaseca. They are doing a communal dinner, but it is lentils and spaghetti, and I want something different, so I will walk back into town to eat. When I arrived here, I put my legs up the wall, then took a nap for 45 minutes. Now my laundry id out drying, and I had a shower.
 Hopefully tomorrow won´t be as challenging. Almost flat, with a bit of descent.

So here is my list of joy for today.
Hot oats with apricot jam for breakfast
Walking out of Foncebadon, using my headlamp for the first time, with the moon and the stars in the pre-dawn.
The view of the sky - immense - as the sun rose.
The Iron Cross against the sunrise.
A pit toilet, just when I needed it.
Birdsong in the forest - it sounded like  chickadees but unlikely
Dew soaked blackberries
Blackberries for snack all along the path.
A chat over cafe con leche with Bonnie, from the USA
Lunching on chocolate with almonds
 Vistas of green covered mountains
A body that works
Gregorian chant at Manjarin

And here is my gratitude list:
Heather and Lola for the purse and silk sleep sack
Michael, Ryan and Aislinn for the loan of a great sleeping bag
Keen for terrific boots and shoes and socks
Meg and Arlo, Lola and Cy for the walking sticks ( though I left them at home and bought some to dump here)
Louisa for the red merino shirt, which was perfect for today
Leslie for the gloves which I used for the first time today, and the teal shirt - great for cold days - and the toilet kit
Dave for helping me pick out a new backpack
Judi andPeggy for the stones, which made the visit to the Iron Cross so meaningful
You people reading my blog and encouraging me.
Everyone I have met through Caminoing
The Canadian Company of Pilgrims, Toronto branch
Hikers who walked with me in the winter.
My family, who always believed in me.

Love to you all

Darlene, the pilgrim