Ger Moroney

Thankfully, a relatively short walk today, well 23kms, as every part of my body ached, but a really hot shower, some stretching excercises (well quite a lot) and a delicious breakfast in the beautiful restored Pazo de Sancta Maria set me up for the day. The weather was dry though it took a while for the dawn to break, over the rolling hills but it looked so peaceful and calm. Yet, by the time we set out it had begun to rain quite heavily. It seemed so much worse as we went through the old town as rain poured straight off the pan tiled rooves onto the street below.

We seemed to be in a much larger group of pilgrims as we set off relatively late this morning. If I’m honest we were loathe to leave the comfort and luxury of the Pazo, but we still had over 41kms to go to Santiago over the next two days, but it was definitely a case of head down, and putting one foot in front of the other, until the rhythm of the walk was restored.

Another, group with their spiritual leader began the days walk with prayers, may be a decade of the rosary as their spiritual leader  started with “Ave Maria” and continued until it was the group’s turn to respond. Their concentration on prayer appeared to add a spiritual dimension to their walk and I didn’t even have the dawn chorus to cheer me.

I decided to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, on paths gravel or over trails, at least you could feel the rhythm and it was accompanied by the rhythm of hundreds of other feet. However, today was a day of walking beside national roads on asphalt, or crisis crossing them, to reach Amenal this evening it added another dimension but it wasn’t as pleasant as walking through pine, or eucalyptus forests or emerging from them out onto beautiful countryside.

A break for lunch, brought a change in the weather, which lifted our spirits and made the walk a lot easier. We peeled off our wet gear and set off refreshed. It was easier to pay attention to our surroundings, to notice the wild hazelnut trees, or the wild vines growing at the edge of the paths. Or to dodge the water laden chestnuts as they fell from the trees. A brush against wild fennel released a faint aniseed aroma but thankfully the scent lingered on my hand.

We crossed through a number of river valleys, small and large rivers, streams or mere brooks, all rushing, spewing, and foaming following the recent rain. Then on to another walk through another forest, still lush and verdant in October though in the past couple of days Autumn began to appear as oak leaves turned yellow, orange and burnished gold, but green leaves predominated.

A fork in a road reminded me of a poetry line on the road not taken, this one like many others was a “Complementario” or alternative or easier road across a valley, but it definitely wasn’t taken on this occasion, we just wanted to take the shortest way to our next destination.

A s the day wore on our spirits flagged, the final walk of the day through a fragrant eucalyptus forest, down into a river valley only indicated that we’d need to climb out of it again to reach our hotel and overnight stop.

The hotel was a welcome sight and we sat on the sunny terrace sharing our experiences with other walkers as we enjoyed a welcome beverage or two.

A bath in the room, a long soak in a hot bath so, very welcome, to ease the weary bones and an early dinner, before retiring to bed. This hotel was outside the town but right beside the Camino path for the following morning.

Some photos of the day.

Early morning over Azua valley

Ominous rainclouds

Dappled sunlight

Camino way marker

Still waters

River bridge

Lonely way marker looming in the mist

We listened to the weather forecast and rain was forecasted after lunch atapproximately 2pm. It started to rain at 2.15pm but more on that later. It was also the longest leg of the journey with over 29kms to be completed we were warned that it was to be our longest day.

At the beginning of this leg a group of pilgrims were led in prayer by their spiritual director, a reminder of the origins of the way. It also reminded us of the pertinence religion has in others lives. It was a reminder of the fundamental rules of the Camino to honour and respect other travellers we met along the way and their beliefs.

It was unusually bright for the commencement of our walk and we were serenaded by the dawn chorus. An immediate climb brought us out through sleepy rural villages, with the silence of the morning being broken only  by the sound of the gravel crunching underfoot. It had a steady immediate rhythm,  yet there were echoes of the many thousands who had also trod this path before us. While there was many “Buen Camino” greetings there was a lot less chatter from the many travellers we met enroute.

We had decided to stop more frequently as this walk was of 29kms duration on top of   22.1 kms and then 24.8kms the second day. At day end we’d have walked the equivalent of a marathon  + an additional 31.9 kms. I wondered how I’d never read or seen anything about the physical challenges of walking this distance over this short time span? Naivety ? Was I so intent on achieving this goal I ignored anything that didn’t encourage my view. Probably a mixture of all three but in one respect I was pleased that I had set myself this challenge.

Early in the afternoon a mist developed into a downpour. The last three kilometres were fairly challenging and we were staying in a hotel beyond the town. It was worth the weight as they beautiful log fires burning in the grates as we entered the main building and the heating was on in the rooms which were located around the main reception area. It was a little bit of heaven on earth, and very welcome.

These are a few of the photos I took on this leg of my journey.

Another early start at 8.15am. Dawn had yet to break and the mist clung to the hillside. The very first stage of the walk took us back over the river Mino  but further up the gorge away from the town. It was quite mystical and though we had joined a large group of fellow travellers who all seemed in fine spirits silence descended on the group as we took in the sight.

The first kilometre or two was through a long a steep track in a pine forest. I’m not sure whether it was the powerful scent, the soft dawn breaking as we walked through a ‘dew’ shower falling from the over hanging branches or all combined that created a sense of another world away from the 21st century. Spiders webs glistened in the dew while blackberries appeared like purple jewels on the brambles.

We met many travellers from across the globe who were all on this journey, some choose to share their stories while others much like myself felt it was the right time to  walk this path. Some started the journey as we did on the 9th October while others had commenced  their walk along the way in September.

Again there were beautiful views through river valleys or around the side of an area known as Rosary Heights, then dropping down into Palas de Rei. The walking day ended as it began with the final walk through a pine forest serenaded by a lone blackbird. It was a wonderful end to a challenging walking day.

We had lovely food in a local restaurant which translated as the house of the forge, may be another interesting story but we retired to our hotel for a welcome siesta.

These are some of the varied sights we passed on day two.

Misty morning

Weeping web

Woodland walk