26 May 24-26 HOME

It is hard to end this journey.
I said goodby to my friends. This was not sad as they are friends. The sadness was waiting for the bus watching my friends and other pilgrims walking out of town."LIfe goes on".
I have been here one month and so many people have touched my heart and I theirs.
This starts my journey home.
I was able to get a local bus to Zamora, a bigger bus to Salamanca, walk 6 km across town, pickup bag and walk to train station,catch train to madrid, hotel overnight, airplane to New ork, Minneapolis & Calgary.
This is my story of a 650 walk through a beautiful country. It is so different seeing the small towns and country versus the tourist spots. I have seen parts of this country that very few canadians will ever see, I have done 3 walks here, 300km, 400km, and 650km in 3 years, I jokingly call it "similar to the australian aborigani walkabout", I am finished, I have talked to my wife Cheryl just about everyday and that is where I want to be,"now".

25 May 23 Tabara to Santa Marta

This is my final day of walking.
had a great sleep. a german lead some of us out of town as he could bypass the highway.
He said something that really sunk home. "Santiago is not the destination, but today and everyday is the destination" It meaned something to me as I was walking with friends and that was my destination. a great way to look at life.
Stopeed for cofffee at a bar just on the road at convenient spot and time. We wlaked past old "Bonegas"wine cellars built into the hill.
Lunch was great found shade, stools,
after lunch I laid down in shade and it reminded me (cheryl know this), In choices the little boy walking to the junkyard find a peaceful sunny place in the trees. this was such a hit with me.
We walked on, in my guide book there was a natural fountain coming out of an industrial building. the water was great after another 30C day.
waqlked past private albergue to public albergue, which was in a hall with beds setup on floor and 2 showers it was great as only 6 people.
The last 2 people to check in were 2 spanish men with a wagon being pulled by a donkey and a spare donkey. they were going 500 km.
It was hard to go to bed as last day. I walked around with anna and luigina and we talked to 2 old local ladies, (60-90). They gave us all a sincere kiss on each cheek for whever we were going.
This day was a beautiful destination.
30 km, 650 walked. THE BIGGEST PERSONAL JOURNEY OF MY LIFE.

24 may 22 da Granja to Tabara

first day walking with 2 women, took a little getting used to instead of just my own pace. It was a great walking day, countryside was so different, went through avery rough valley and came across a spanish man walking in the wild by himself.
Anna and Luigina were after making time and I showed them my typical break for lunch, find shade, boots off, eat, laydown for 15 min siesta, they loved it.
It was so hot in afternoon, glad to get to albergue, we got ther and happy as only one bed taken and 11 empty. we claimed bottom bunks and then 8 byclers showed up. theree ended up eople sleeping on floor so a little crowded, it waqs free, but only 1 shower and 2 toilets. we beat rush.
we had to shop for lunch food for next 2 days as nothing open tomorrow on sunday. took 2 grocery stores and 2 bakeries tofind, bread, cheese, tuna, tomatoe carrots and chocolate. (sounds gret)
dinner was really little bar but food tastes fantastic when very hungry and used up alot of energy. Very good mix of people from many differetn places.
I ran into people who had walked steadily while I had bounced around to get last halfh finished. I think I touch some people as there was an older dutch man who remebered from 25 days ago and my name and I did not remember him. Everyone is on their own journey and different people come into your journey for a day or 2 and leave to maybe never show up again. great to reconnect if meeting.

this was greatest day of scenery for whole trip.

27 km walked 618 total

23 May 21 Zamora to Granja de Moreruela

stayed in hostal, which is old, small hotel, usually above other business's and it is always confusing for me as I cannot talk to inn keeper.
up early and off to bus station, I am always a little short of info.
Bus showed up at 830, lady driver, big van pulling a little trailer for luggae. she got out and unhooked pushed trailer around and rehooked up so she did not have to back up trailer.
I rode bus for 30 km and got off, cot 1.9€, I plan o walking 11 km, git was flat grain country but walked on trails, I got there early got best bed, showered laundered and had lunch with some people.
Luigina and Anna showed up from Italy, (friends), they were starting their camino here, they had a dictionary so we could talk a little, had a coffee.
There is an old monastary 4 km out of town so we walked to look at it. This was firts time for me to take some time to go see stuff. it was 30deg C, sunny and no breeze. Beautiful monastary or what is left of it, not sure where all the rock went.
back to town and figured out route for tomorrow.
needed proceries, my gude book said little building by church so ask someone, it was still a little building 8ft X 15ft and probably had not changed in 50 years. I went to mass, which I have being doing more of. I sit and mediate as it is in latin or spanish. I think Luigina appreciated this as she is very religious but Anna stayed outside.
Dinner had to be preordered from little bar as they cooked enough food for whoever ordered. There was 6 pilgrims eating, staying there. we were in a very small albergue with 5 bunks but only six people with 2 showers and 2 toilets.

walked 19 km 591 km total

22 May20 Zamora

Day of rest. The albegue even fed us cereal and coffee for a start off. wandered around, found tourist office and found an iternet cafe. had to move out of albergue but found a hostal for 20E, small but bigger than an albergue.
I have to try and arrange bus for tomorrow morning to take me north a ways to walk part that I have not covered, as airplane is on the 25th from madrid.
Wandering around and very old castle with a lot of it intact. amazing how much rock they moved with no machines.finally got bus figured out, hard with no spanish.
will figure out if I take bus all the way or part somehow.
went for dinner with american and english and had some great garlic soup, you know when you had good garlic soup or so does everyone else.

21 may 19 Santiago to Zamora

up early and walked to bus station 1 hr only, purchased ticked and had a great bus station breakfast. good places to go for food. The bus trip was 400km and took 5 1/2 hrs, I had covered 1/2 of this distance in 7 days of walking.

Got to Zamora and my typical lost in the big city. I walked to one end and could not find any markers. stopped at a police station and 10 policmen and women helped me out and pointed me in the correct direction.Checked in at albergure and met an scotch/german lady, nice to talk to someone in same language. She was holding out here as her walking buddy had a fall and she had to get a helicopter to rescue them from the trail. it was kind of a horror story,
great day for healing blisters.
The albergue looked like it was built in hollowed out rock.

20 May 18 Outeiro to Santiago, THE COMPLETION

This was a hurried morning as wanted to make it for noon church service. glass of water and started walking, ate apple orange on route,looking for coffee. very peaceful as walking thru trees again.
Made it to Santiago early so went to find a albergue in case they were full but not open until 130. found acoffee shop and had coffee (2) and toast. went to cathedral and so many people this year so had to go find a ceckroom for backpacks. I got a credential (certificate) that I had walked to the cathedral as a pilgrim which is in latin.
went back to church and it was packed 6000 people. found a pillar to stand/sit on near front so had a good seat. the service was fantastic, the nun taught the crowd how to sing durying service and the huge incense burner made its flight. went outside for some photos and ran into people i had been walking with, we went for a beer/pop and then i split.
The group photo is of spainish men, dutch, south african, german, japanese. I had walked along ways but these guys had walked 1000-1200km and they were having a hard time on what to do now. I wanted to go get a bed, got one in a huge seminary that had been partially converted to an albergue. nice part is no bunks and a locker for my stuff with a key. went out for dinner and could not find the famous galicia garlic soup but had santiago cake. bought a couple of gits and headed to bed.
The ending was not a big splash for me like it had been in the past. I believe I have found what I needed and it is at home. Time to go there soon.
my flight is a few days away yet so I am going to go back to Zamora and walk some more with some friends, maybe take a day off first somewhere.

+/-25 km tody, 550 km in 19 day, the most of have ever done and something Inever ever thought I could do, based on weighing 255 lbs, 3 years ago.