Day 20: ok, ok. One more Dog With A Blog

Can Cooper get any closer to Bailey?

"I love you, Bailey!  Please hide in my house when they want to take you back to Colorado for the winter."

I'm looking forward to seeing both cute puppies on Wednesday when we get back to Gladwin. 

 

Day 20: Last day in Santiago.

We toured the cathedral today. Here are some photos. Remembering that the church was originally built 800 years ago in 1211 with many years of additions added throughout the ages, is pretty awesome. It's definitely not the prettiest cathedral in Spain (we think Burgos is) since it is mainly Gothic and Baroque period architecture. 

This is a self portrait of the main architect, Mateo. Pilgrims have been touching his head, because he was known as a genius for 800 years so now he has a big barrier around him. 

This cathedral was one of the first to use monuments in the entryways. They tell a story, religious and political. 

The columns also have intricate stone carvings from 1211. 

We are headed to the airport in a couple hours so this concludes Mary and Sam On The Way. We hope you have enjoyed our blog and we thank you for following us on our 300 mile pilgrimage. It's been a lot of fun writing to you.   Have a great summer!

Adios amigos!

Happy Birthday, Dan!

My son, Dan, turns 28 today. Happy Birthday!

Dan and his girlfriend, Courtney. 

We visited them in Chicago just before leaving for Spain. 

Day 19. More pictures of Santiago.

Sam likes this picture because his shadow is in the picture, too. 

Saint James the martyr and moorslayer. Seems like an oxymoron to me. 

Streets of Santiago this morning before the crowds came through. Another pretty day. 80 degrees and sunny. 

Our hotel tonight.  Its called The San Francisco monumental hotel.  It's a converted 13 th century convent/Abby of San Franciscan nuns. Rooms are very nice.

Side view of the cathedral. 

Tomorrow, Monday May 19,  we are going to take the tour of the cathedral and see some more sites around here. We leave for the airport at 8:30 pm to fly from Santiago to Madrid arriving at 11:45 pm. Then we have an airport hotel because we fly out Tuesday, May 20, back to the good old USA. 

Buenas noches. 

Day #19: Santiago. We made it!

I am holding up our Compostelas in front of the cathedral of St. James in Santiago de Compostella. 

At the noon pilgrims mass today they did perform the incense ritual from medieval times. I video taped it but the blog doesn't allow me to load it. :(

The choir was singing throughout the mass and it was pretty amazing. If you want me to send you the video just email me and I'll send it to you. 

The cathedral is going through major renovation of one tower. 

We just checked into a nice hotel near the center of town. It was a great day!  We were very happy to get here safely and accomplish our goal of completing the 300 mile pilgrimage; even if it took two trips to Spain.  The pilgrim's mass was truly a spiritual experience that welcomed us into the city. 

Day 18: Last night on the Camino.

We walked 8 miles today in 4.5 hours. We have a very nice hotel in a small village 6 miles from Santiago...our final destination! (I'm doing the happy dance). 

We are sending BOTH packs on the taxi bag express tomorrow. Sam has finally agreed to send his forward because the cathedral in Santiago doesn't allow packs or poles. So we are planning on going to the 12:00 noon pilgrims mass so we have to stow the packs early. We are hoping that the noon mass does the ceremony of the swinging of the giant incense burner called "Botafumeiro". This ceremony was done in medieval times to fumigate the sweaty, stinky (and possibly disease-ridden) pilgrims. The ritual requires 6 attendants to perform it. It was shown in the movie "The Way". It looks cool. 

Resting by a stream today. Last quiet time before Santiago. Another gorgeous day. 

We are expecting large crowds as we enter the city tomorrow based on what we read in the guide book. Tour buses, tourists and pilgrims. The trail was the busiest that we have ever seen it. 

We are both excited and thankful that we have made it this far on the Camino safely and in good health. No blisters or limping!   We have seen so many walking wounded. Tonight's restaurant had a sign that said in 4 languages:  "Please Do Not Take Off Your Shoes!"  

Thanks for sending your positive energy to help us finish this Camino. We are very excited and happy!

Day #18. Dog With A Blog

Lacey reports that Bailey Bo and Cooper are inseparable!  So cute. Both dogs look pretty content. 

Top Ten Lessons Bailey is teaching Cooper:

1.  "Now, Cooper, if you have to poop go     in Ty's yard."

2.  "We have to patrol the beach at least 6 hours a day."  I'm glad you're here---it's a big job"

3. "Chipmonks are sneaky, we chase those."

4. "Squirrels can't be trusted either, we chase those."

5. "Geese are just nasty, we chase those.  Basically, if it moves...we chase it." 

6.  "Don't eat Cindy's bird suet. It does awful  things to your digestion". 

7. "Don't be curious about the little fawns. Behind every fawn is a big deer or Buck...I learned that the hard way!"

8.  "I'll show you where the old rotten deer carcasses and bones are in the woods. Don't bring them to Mary though, she yells and makes you throw them away."

9. "After you have gone swimming, it feels great to roll around in the sand!"

10. "The biggest thing to remember on the lake, nobody is a stranger and everybody is your friend."

;)

Day #17. Quaint & Quiet hostel in San Irene. Only 15 miles to Santiago!

Sam could not believe his eyes with the manufacturer of this tractor...Lamborghini 

We walked 10.3 miles in 5 hours today to arrive in a very small village of San Irene. The village consists of 2 hostels and a bar. This private hostel has 15 beds and it's very nice.  It's like staying at your grandmother's house. If your grandmother was nice. 

 The women running the place are very friendly and kind. It has a large back garden where everyone sat and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day. 

Dinner was community style with everyone from our hostel. We sat with 2 women from Australia (Ingrid & Margaret), 1 from Seattle (Tracy ) and 1 from Holland (Marisha). The duplicate table next to ours was people from France & Germany. 

Dinner was excellent. A local white fish in a light sauce. 

We have poor internet connection here and I'm the only pilgrim still awake, so good night!

Day 16: Home is where you hang your hat

Tonights hostel. It's booked full for 50 beds in 3 rooms, 1 bathroom for men (3 showers, 3 sinks, 3 showers), same for women. Sam says I'm making it sound bad. It's clean. I'm hoping all these people don't show up tonight because right now it's half full. 

We walked 8.6 miles today but it felt longer because all the hills and valleys. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 80 degrees. Above is a picture of one of the many eucalyptus forests that we walked through today. Nice scent. 

This is a picture showing the church facade that is pictured on the 10 €uro note. It is a 14th century church in Melide. I'm holding a 10€ note to show you the picture...it's a little small but you get the idea. 

Same church door. Pretty cool

What is Aunt Jemima doing in Spain!  We have seen very few people of color in Spain. They do have waffles here though. 

Here is a pilgrim with his horse carrying his pack. He and his horse have the bunk bed next to us. 

More lovely scenery. No rain since we've been here. It's supposed to be 85 degrees tomorrow and we have 10.1 miles to hike to our next village. So we are getting an early start to beat the heat. 

Day #16. Answer to jeopardy question

What is a Bee Hive?

We saw one with the little door open and it looks just like the bee hive boxes and honey comb trays in USA. 

Thanks got playing. 

Day # 15: Octopus Dinner

This  city is famous for fresh octopus!  It's called 'pulpo' in Spanish. Santiago is also famous for it. This guy must pose for pictures 50 times a day. Seems to love the tourists. 

Restaurants that serve octopus or pulpo are called Pulperia. We chose the oldest (60 year old family business) and most famous Pulperia to have dinner. We figured it's best not to take a chance with getting served a bad pulpo. 

 It was very good once you got past the tentacles and suction cups. This plate of boiled octopus was enough for both of us for dinner, plus bread and vino, of course. 

It has a very meaty consistency, not slimy or gritty. Yummy!  Aren't you surprised I actually tried something kinda gross?

Today we finished walking 100 miles in 11 days! We have 33 miles in 4 days left to walk to Santiago. We arrive Sunday morning. Wow. 

The next 2 days, we are in regular hostel dormitories. Stay tuned for those pictures. ;)

Love,

Mary & Sam

Day 15: Continued Trek to Melide

Sign post that lead the way. 

The people here seem to work very hard on their farms without benefit of John Deere. The big farms have the huge tractors and trucks but the average Spaniard farmer is doing heavy physical labor --both men and women. They all seem old, too. I know that 50 is the new 40, but definitely not in Spain!  All the young people (age less than 35) seem to be gone to the cities. The people in these small villages are all old!

This is the oldest crucifix on the Camino. It dates back to the 14th century. For some odd reason, Jesus is sitting down. 

Stone carving on a small village church

Continue on to the next page to see our octopus dinner tonight!

Day #15. Jeopardy question

Here are more pictures regarding the question "what can be found on every rural farm house property?" What is this? Since nobody got the correct answer in the form of a question, here are More examples:

Some of these structures are made of wood and some are made of brick. They seem to show affluence of the family by how elaborate the structure is constructed. They have a definite purpose. 

I'll reveal the answer tomorrow. (Cliff hanger)