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To the End of the World
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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    O Cebreiro

    10 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Passed the hill and after almost punching out an Australian “pilgrim” made it into the rolling hills of Galicia just fine.

    Thunderstorms awaited us on the other side and after one last ascent to the Alto do Poio I walked in a slight drizzle that soon turned into a refreshing sprinkle and, by the time I’d reached the albergue, thunder and lightning.Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Albergue (the best on the Caminos)

    10 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The best albergue on any Camino, hands down. Vegetarian and gluten free dinner, amazing(!) hosts, and it’s so comfortable and warm, I don’t want to leave.

    Outside a thunderstorm rattles the landscape, inside laughter and happiness. A true mountain hut feeling of warmth and shelter.Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Samos

    11 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Samos is a double edged sword for me. On one hand, it’s a good stop after 20kms downhill that tends to tax my legs more than any incline and it is home to one of the oldest monasteries (and important Camino monastery at that) in Europe.

    On the other hand it’s deader than Kurt Cobain. The only restaurant in town opens at 8:30pm, there is little to no shady rest anywhere, and the populace is very rural agrarian, meaning few bars.

    At least there’s a supermarket, so bread and cheese are an option. But it’s not ideal, which is why most pilgrims take the shorter route over San Xil to Sarria on this leg.

    I wanted to see the monastery and so I am here, sweaty, hot, hungry, and bored. Thank Zuck for the Internet.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Portomarin

    13 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Portomarin is all my deepest Camino fears and dislikes come alive. I am sleeping in a room with 129 other pilgrims, 95 percent of which started this morning in Sarria and are celebrating their time away from parents or spouses with copious amounts of alcohol.

    The Way echoes hiking sticks without rubber caps (why one would need hiking sticks in suburban Galicia is beyond me). You're on the Camino, not in the Arctic, get some rubber caps.

    There are boom boxes playing Spanish rap, groups blocking the way, lines in front of toilets, and more. Oh and prices have quadrupled.

    It's the final test before Santiago. I shall not fail.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka
    Careful, crazy dog, knows Karate.
    1I received a stamp from there local cops

    Palas de Rei

    14 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    While Palas has some industry to its name, the majority of its current wealth stems from pilgrims. There's very little more to say, it's a thoroughly boring, pilgrim conveyor belt town.

    The probably best thing about this town is Zendoira, an albergue I have stayed in a few times in years past and did again this year.

    Oh and meeting the Dutch nurse from Navarra again, together with a host of cool peregrinas from Vancouver, Australia, Iceland(!!!!!!!!!!), and Germany over dinner.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Rain

    16 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    I seriously doubted we'd see any of it this year. But here it is: rain on one of the more exhausting days on the Camino. No peaks to climb, no deserts to cross, just staccato hill walking, 300 up, 300 down.

    Tonight is my penultimate night before Santiago. A short walk to the Monte do Gozo tomorrow, a night outside the city as the pilgrims of old did (the name of the town before the Monte is "Lavacolla" which translates to "wash your balls" and harkens back to a time when pilgrims had to bathe and delouse before entering town).

    Last night I feel into bed straight from dinner. The 30 days are taking their toll.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Arzúa

    16 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    It feels totally weird to have less than 40 kilometers to Santiago. I am so used to the triple digit way signs with impossible serving distances.

    But here we are.

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    O Pedrouzo

    17 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    The less I say about this town, the better. Tourigrinos (tourists cosplaying as pilgrims) and greed rule the one street everything happens on, food is expensive, portions are small, and quality is low.

    It rained all day, which had the beautiful effect of bringing all the eucalyptus trees alive. The smell was at times like an olfactory sledgehammer to the brain. Despite not being native to Galicia, the eucalyptus tree has become its regional symbol and a major source of income (after pilgrims). Oaks have all but disappeared in favor of the tree.

    Today’s walk will be short and sweet. See you on the hill outside of Santiago.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Monte do Gozo

    17 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    There is a simple but sad truth about the Camino Frances. Commerce and pilgrimage always live hand in hand, but their proportions change.

    True, the bars and cafes, albergues and supermarkets everywhere on the Way benefit greatly from being on the Camino, but they’re living in a sort of friendly symbiosis with the pilgrim. They provide services, transport backpacks, rent space and bicycles, always have a happy “Buen Camino” for those passing by, and in return pilgrims leave their money.

    The closer one gets to Santiago, the less the Way is about pilgrimage and the more it is about commerce. As pilgrim numbers increase, so do prices into the almost predatory. Friendliness and welcome disappear, replaced by grim greed and open disdain for the hordes of cash cows passing by.

    The last 100 kilometer to Santiago are a stark reminder, that there is nothing spiritual or religious about this former penal walk. Santiago itself is a Disneyland for Catholics, insert 5€ to confess here, pay €25 to see St. James, €450 and we’ll swing the Botafumero. Beds are 4x the cost of a cot in the Meseta, food is mediocre and served in small portions at prices that feed two for a week elsewhere along the Camino.

    I do not walk the Camino for those final 100. Tomorrow morning I’ll be passing through Santiago as fast as I can, heading into the hilly hinterlands towards the Costa del Morte and the End of the World, Fisterra. Here, long before Christianity, our ancestors buried their dead, believing their souls to be closest to whatever is behind the endless angry sea that never returned ships setting out to explore it.

    A dark and angry sea awaits me. And, more to the point of my post, humans who gladly trade good food and accommodation for a pilgrim’s coin. Out there, the soul roams free, uncaged by screaming advertisements luring it into expensive traps.

    To me, those last four days and the walk through Santiago tomorrow are challenges like the rain, wind, sun, and dust. Things overcome with happy thoughts that eventually steel the mind and free the soul once they become an ignorable background to the beauty that is the Camino.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Santiago de Compostela

    18 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    My pilgrimage isn’t over, but this is a major stop along the way. Arrived this morning in Santiago, had coffee, pushed my way past tourists, and had another coffee, for good measure.

    My albergue in the hinterlands confirmed they’re open, so I only have 12 more kilometers to go today. The terrain will become decidedly more hilly (“looks like arterial fibrillation” as a fellow medic remarked) and lead me up into the highlands before the Costa de Morte.

    And there are miracles on the Way: I bought a hoodie. I walked 800 km in the night and rain in a T-shirt, but now it’s time. Want to be comfortable on the rocks in Muxia.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Ventosa

    18 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Right after Santiago the Camino calmed down again. Prices tumbled and tonight I am sleeping in an amazing albergue with bar and garden for 15€. They even have USB outlets in the cots. Yay!!

    The forests are the same as they were in the three days past, but now I have the calm and time to appreciate them.

    And it’ll get warmer the next few days. Just in case, there’s the hoodie.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Negreira

    19 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Early on I’d made the decision to take it slow for the final walks to the ocean.

    Remember that one time you were on an amazing date and dragged out the good byes because it was so good? That’s what I had planned.

    Instead of 35s or 30s I’d walk 10s and 20s, just fast enough to enjoy an extra day in Fisterra before closing down this adventure in Muxia.

    Except, that won't work.

    Today I was walking to Najera after a great night in one of the best albergues on all of my Caminos. The sun radiated a mild warmth onto my skin, the forest smeller of life and summer, and I actually took until 9:30, four hours after my usual starting time, to leave.

    There are much less pilgrims on this stretch. It is more lively than the Meseta, but most stopped in Santiago and will walk to Negreira, so I'll meet them tonight.

    Turns out, though, that the only albergue within 25 kilometers has suffered the same Post COVID syndrome if many of its sisters before Santiago, not giving a crap syndrome, and not responding to calls or texts on WhatsApp, so I have to walk 27 uphill to Lago, where an albergue was able to accommodate me.

    Still, it'll be an amazing walk, 900 altitude meters uphill, good for a bit of cardio 😛    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    A walk in the woods

    20 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    As I left Negreira I spotted this statue of a farther going on his pilgrimage while his wife sat behind, holding a toddler and his son trying to hold him back by the seams of his pants. A powerful image.

    The sun rose as I climbed my first hill, and soon the landscape was bathed in red and warm rays. The path is mostly forest, so it is shady and cool, but the occasional clearing provides warmth and happiness.

    15 more kilometers, 15 down, with the landscape flattening noticeably. This will be a good day.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Lago

    20 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After a 27 kilometer walk over acutely rising and falling hills, I am in Lago. Today was the day of great new acquaintances. The 11 year old who walked the Camino de Norte with her mum, the daddy-daughter powerhouse who walked the Primitivo, and the Brits who are high school friends and use this walk to catch up.

    Tomorrow I'll walk to Cee (pronounced "the," about 25 kilometers from here) to see the ocean. I can't wait.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    Corcubion

    22 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After a night in the industrial harbor part of Cee that is best never spoken or written about, I left late, had coffee, and am now in the next seaside town of Corcubion.

    This isn’t my final destination, which lies uphill between here and Finisterre, a short walk away. Good thing it’s close, too, as the albergue is between nowhere and nothing, meaning I am carrying five extra kilos of food for tonight and tomorrow morning.Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    The Beginning of the End

    23 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I have arrived at the End of the World. The beginning of it, at least. From here I’ll spend a day in Finisterre (Romans called this area “finis terrae” the end of the world) and then walk along the coast to Muxia, the end of my journey.

    How does it feel? Unreal at times, it feels simultaneously like yesterday and a lifetime ago, that I walked the hot and dusty roads of the Meseta.

    I still (after many Caminos) can’t wrap my head around having walked 1000 kilometers across a country to be here.

    But here we are. The end of the world. Where the sun goes to die, where the stars guided me since the first night in Navarra.    Читать далее

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  • MikkaTo the End of the WorldMikka

    To Muxia

    26 августа 2022 г., Испания ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    So, well … guess that’s it. Arrived in Muxia, got my certificate. It’s not the last update, that will be tonight after I spent time on the rocks, but it is the end of my journey.

    Thank you for coming with me on this amazing 43 day trip through Spain, from the mountains to the sea, through the desert, over hills, past Roman ruins and modern cities.

    Thank you for your comments, DM, calls, and voicemails. Thank you for your encouragement and wishes. Thank you for being my Camigo/Camiga.    Читать далее

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