LP and VQT

 Posted by VT There’s no place like home.  A good friend (CZ) had fresh fruit and salad ingredients from Whole Foods delivered to my house - what a great welcome home gift!  Of course we got up this morning and walked with PN one of our morning walking friends.   Until next Camino best wishes to all who read our little blog. Buen Camino! Refrigerator magnets.  Added a few new ones.   Fresh fruit and salad ingredients.  A couple of sprouting onions were the only fresh food in my house so this food gift delivery was very much appreciated.   Peruvian daffodils blooming in my front yard.  

 Posted by LP (Photo of broken down green door) I had a wonderful time - I am very grateful for the opportunity to travel and see the world, and walking the Camino is an excellent way to see the world…we are all the same on the Camino, all with the goal to walk (and find sustenance and accommodation along the way) - there is no vehicle or barrier of any kind, so you feel (especially on the feet!), see, hear and smell the world! My sincere thanks to everyone who made this adventure possible, my lovely spouse GJA; my supreme Camino companion VQT; my loyal family and friends who offered support and encouragement; the new friends I met along the way and anyone who showed the slightest interest…..I appreciate you all 💚💚💚

 Posted by VT At the Madrid airport.  Had tea and a croissant and waiting to board the plane.  We had booked a return flight for May 30th and when we realized we had overestimated the time we needed for this Camino we changed our flight to today the 23rd.  Booking change resulted in seats in row 52.  Good news is it’s a 2 seat row.  The joys of travel.    Buen Camino.    Yellow painted arrow   It will take awhile to break the habit of looking for Camino arrows    LP reading on train.  

 Posted by LP and VQT Photo of a large Camino de Santiago sign We’ve stayed in 22 hotel/hostel rooms We’ve walked just shy of 300 miles We’ve done our laundry 3 times We’ve been away from Atlanta for 28 days We’ve lost zero toenails (but one of LP’s is looking dodgy!) We put on our rain jackets twice….only to take them off again 10 minutes later  We now have 3 additional certificates/Compostelas (for walking 200+ miles on the Portuguese Camino, for completing the final 100 km and therefore being considered a pilgrim, and for walking to Finisterre) - for context, apparently 428,000 were issued in 2022 We’ve created close to 100 blog posts We’ve met hikers from age 9 to 80+ We’ve enjoyed the company (and managed to communicate) with hikers from all over the world - with some of whom we will remain in contact (via WhatsApp) Photo of numerous Camino signs in close proximity  VQT taking the photo of lots of Camino signs in close proximity 

 Posted by VT Today we say goodbye to Santiago de Compostela.  Our train to Madrid leaves at 10:20.    Yesterday we shopped.   Both LP & VT are wearing new t shirts - LP’s is of course green and stylish - VT has on a souvenir tee.    Santiago de Compostela is a festive city that welcomes all pilgrims with bagpipes, cafes and restaurants, street artists, shops (both souvenir and nicer clothing & gifts), a Ferris wheel and open arms.   The number of Camino pilgrims is growing and my hope is the numbers of people do not overwhelm the city. Standing in the square of the cathedral you see the large Ferris wheel.   The circled cities are where we stayed walking the Portuguese Coastal Camino.   The circled cities are where we stayed walking to Finisterre.   Buen Camino.  

 Posted by LP We had a lovely day enjoying Santiago….and we only walked 3 miles! We saw the giant incense swing at the 12 o’clock mass in the cathedral - there were thousands there, most of whom had completed a Camino - the priest said, “The Camino begins when to are back at home” (the photo is the huge silver incense holder seen against the ceiling of the cathedral) (The Botafumeiro is the biggest incense holder you’ve ever seen, it takes 8 people to swing it!) We saw/heard a drumming group in the cathedral square -  there must have been 80 of them (wearing green t-shirts) - everyone was having a great time (the photo is a huge crowd of people on the steps of the cathedral and in the square) We visited the Two Marias (statue) in the park (the photo is VQT and LP with two brightly painted life size figures) We ate delicious Bico ice cream with the charming M family from England/The Netherlands (the photo is VQT and LP with the parents and two sons of the family) ……and we returned to Th

 Posted by VT Last night at 7:00 we sat on the front steps of The Green House Restaurant waiting for it to open at 7:30.  It’s a tiny vegetarian restaurant we ate at last year with our Camino friends M & J from Greenwich.  Inside there are 3 tables that sit 10 and 6 stools at the counter.  Outside there are 2 tables that sit 8.  That’s it.   It was worth the wait.   Menu posted outside.   Chana (owner & chef) with LP.   VT and LP sitting at one of the tables.  VT wearing her new bright red Santiago sweatshirt - now that we don’t have to carry or transport items any longer we can buy souvenirs.   Appetizers and sauces.  We opted to get all 3 appetizers.   Today we plan to attend mass at 12:00.  Wander around the city, watch pilgrims come into the square at the Cathedral, and maybe eat dinner again at The Green House.   Also we need to get organized for our train trip tomorrow to Madrid.  

 Posted by VT  We managed to get on the right bus and the route went along the coast.  As we breezed by we saw many sights we had walked by and were thankful to be riding and not walking back to Santiago.   We checked into our hotel and retrieved our duffle bag we had stored there.  Not that it contained any clean clothes.   Went souvenir shopping and now drinking a beer.  We hope to eat dinner at a vegetarian restaurant that we dined at last year.  The restaurant sits maybe 12 people so we’ll arrive before it opens and be waiting at the door.   Bagpiper pipping in the pilgrims.   The cathedral is so incredible and the sky so blue I had to take another photo.  

 Posted by VT Today we take a bus back to Santiago de Compostela.  In 2.5 hours we will travel what took us 4 days to walk.  Last night didn’t rival Spring Break levels at a US beach town but it was definitely not a quiet night.  There were sounds of celebration into the early morning hours.  Gotta love the young and remember the days when you were also out partying. Finisterre Compostela.  Our 3rd Compostela.  Pilgrim statue on road to lighthouse.   Boats in harbor.  Morning view from our hotel window.   Look who we met at bus stop.  J from Vancouver.  

 Posted by LP Walking to Finisterre felt like some unfinished business (from last year when we ran out of time) being completed - and let me tell you, the End of the World is (1) a long walk (2) stunning, especially on a sunny day like today, and (3) particularly windy - here are a few photos to prove we made it there: The view from the top…out into the Atlantic (with the blue sky and a few fluffy clouds) LP and VQT at the 0 kilometers marker - see the lighthouse in the background  VQT and LP having a beer at the “End of the World” LP and VQT at the door of the (still working) lighthouse at the End of the World/Finisterre   I grew up with the BBC - the shipping weather forecast is broadcast several times a day on BBC Radio 4 (we used to call it the Home Service), regarding the weather in the waters around the British Isles - Finisterre is one of the areas (but I understand it has since been renamed Fitzroy) - hearing the word Finisterre reminds me of “home!”

Posted by LP It might be our last day of walking, but it was just that….more walking! Cat on a hot tin roof - snoozing feline Wall and plant pots decorated with shells……lots and lots of shells LP pointing to the obvious on a map of the region…..”you are here” Modern sculpture of a pilgrim along the coast as we walked out of Cee We walked out of the woods and there it was…Finisterre The view across the sandy beach as we walk into Finisterre  Met this good looking “perro”….could be Esme’s Spanish cousin Wall of bottles and mosaics at our charming hotel in Finisterre  50 shades of green - a mosaic wall at the interestingly decorated hotel 

 Posted by VT Another incredibly beautiful day.  We walked almost 14 miles today.  Hard to believe this long walk is over.  Here are a few photos taken today. Blue shutters.   Blue door.  With stone wolf on house.   The last church we stopped at this morning.   Madonna statue in the church.   LP walking up the path leaving Cee.  A large green lizard on top of a stone wall.  The ocean.  Green and blue waters.  Rocks.   VT with monster statue.  Very odd statue in the middle of the woods.   VT peeking around a large fluffy towel.  We are always happy to see large fluffy towels.