Camino Portugues Day 26: Lisboa to San Francisco

Mike's fado lyrics: "Someone left the abuela cake out in the rain so I walked 20km on wet cobbles to buy another but the bakery was closed. From a window I heard a little girl cry Mama, why are your hands so cold? I sat at an outdoor table where a white dove was flying high above. It crapped on me. The winner takes it all."

He was referencing some obscure topics that came up during the walk.  ABBA and other stuff.  It made more sense when I read it with very little sleep.

We were both up early.  It was the first time in a shared room this trip.  It amazing how quickly your own room becomes a necessity.  A few years ago we always shared rooms and now I seem to need the alone time.

We got an Uber to the airport and arrived with plenty of time.  The lines went pretty quick.  I loaded up on chocolate at the duty free because Laurie told me to.  I managed to get one of 4 without nuts that Aidan could eat.  We had a coffee near my gate before I headed out leaving Mike working on his client's hack.  The flight was fine.  Sat beside a youngish tech guy who worked at Facebook starting in 2009 so I think he was basically retired to Lisboa.  I managed 5 movies: Gladiator I, Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Gifted and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

And then I was home.  It all feels like a dream.  A 600km dream.

Just to follow up on my packing.  There were several things I never used and should not have bothered and one I wished I had.  My GoPro, headlamp and Tesalate towel were never used and not worth taking.  I also, did not need the SD card reader.  I barely needed my sunglasses but that is another story.  I also would have been fine with a single pair of hiking pants; my plan to alternate every day was unnecessary.  The one thing I did need was my last minutes reject: the heavier blue long sleeve shirt. Definitely, wanted that most evenings.  Other than that everything was necessary and used.

Camino Portugues Day 25: Santiago de Compostela to Lisboa

The first non-walking day!  We walked to coffee and churros at a place Francisco and Jeanne found.  They walked us back to our hotel and said goodbye.  Their plans for the day was Camino tattoos.

Our hotel guy called a taxi for us and we were soon at the airport.  Over the next 7 hours we spent about two hours in the air and 4 in airport lounges.

I passed out at take off on the Madrid flight.  I woke up as we were taxing and had a chat with the DC college student sitting beside me.  He did a week long Camino course for credit.  They made him write essays along the way.  He walked from Saria and concluded walking wasn't really for him.

Mike was work on a hack on his work systems during the lounge time.  He'd been notified yesterday and was doing what he could remote desktop to home and then remote desktop to the client's.  Go away for a few days and hackers be hacking.

We got a little exercise in MAD going 90 gates to the lounge.  Again I had trouble finding the lounge I have been in about 5 times.

The MAD-LIS flight was on an old Canadair plane.  These things are like cigar tubes with wings.  So long and skinny with barely room to stand in the center of the plane.  Lots of snow on the mountains around Madrid.

We caught an Uber from the airport to our hotel where we had just enough time to drop our bags, drink the small bottle of port in the room and walk over to the fado show.  We were just in time.  The show tonight was good but I think the one I saw a year ago was a little sadder, more fado.

I imagine fado songs to be stories like: "My fish net had a hole.  I came home with none.  My wife hit me with a cod and my kids threw tomatoes.  I went to the bar and my best friend was drunk.  He wouldn't buy me a drink and punched me.  Every morning I fish."

We then had a fancy dinner.  It was pretty good.

Early flight in the morning.

Camino Portugues Day 24: Padrón to Santiago de Compostela

Coffees in the hotel bar while the rain got tired.  It was supposed to be less than 1mm of rain each hour most of the day and that's what it was when we started. Less than 1mm an hour is enough to keep you damp but you don't have water in your shoes.  I had the waterproof socks on anyway.

Today never felt hard or painful.  We walked a serpentine route around a more main road.  Our roads and paths had very little traffic but quite a few Pilgrims at times.  We seemed to be the fastest and passed many who were trudging along in their ponchos. 

We didn't stop much today.  About 6km in and with 8km to go were the only stops.  At the first stop Francisco got nipped hy a small dog I had just petted.  

We met a brother/sister combo from Toronto who Mike and I chatted with.  Then I moved ahead and then Mike moved ahead, Francisco and Jeanne had pushed on much earlier.

Mostly I walked without a poncho as it not usually cold and not usually raining hard enough to keep you wet.  After our last stop it did rain a little harder and got cooler so I did put it on coming into Santiago.

For the last 3 days I have been walking without tying my shoelaces.  It has been working really well for me and a lot of my foot pain has gone.  I do get more stones but it is also easier to get them out.  It is a little harder to run crossing the road.  BUT ... so much less foot pain.

The southern approach to Santiago de Compostela is not nearly as impressive as the eastern.  Last Camino I could see the cathedral spires for the last 5km.  I could never see them this time.  You also don't get bagpiped into the cathedral square.

In the cathedral square we hugged, took pictures and drank the beer Jeanne had carried from Padrón..  We went for lunch and then hotel checkin.  A hot shower on a cold day was great.  I learned that waterproof socks get really nasty on the inside.

After a rest, Mike had some work to do but I met the kids for a beer.  We decided on a nice place for dinner and picked up Mike.  It was a really good choice.  The food was excellent.  Wine was less so but the meal made up for it.  

After we visited the Pilgrim and went to bed.  No walking tomorrow... so strange.

Camino Portugues Day 23: Caldas de Reis to Padrón

This morning seems so long ago 14 hours later.  We were allowed to sleep in because of the short day so I woke when I woke.  We had a 9am meet up in the bar of our hotel.  The woman at the hotel said it should open in a few minutes just before 9.  It was not open when we left town after coffee at another place.

It was raining.  During the day there were a few breaks; some lighter rain and some absolute torrents.  The ponchos was on most of the day.  Mike's quality yellow poncho ripped at some point during the day.

It would have been a nice walk but for the rain.  Some small roads and a lot of well maintained forest path.  Even with all the rain we could avoid the odd puddle.

We stopped for coffee about 6km by which time we had picked up a San Francisco girl name Melissa and an Estonian woman.  Both walked with us for a while but eventually slowed down.  Jeanne and Francisco took off and left everybody behind.  Mike and I dropped Melissa and the Estonian woman was so tired from trying to keep up the J&F, she didn't even try to stay with us.

We didn't bother stopping and just kept moving.  The was a long string of soggy Pilgrims behind us.  After crossing a long bridge I looked back and saw at least 20.

Mike had brought me water proof socks and I was wearing them for the first time.  They did help but rain running down my pants entered the sock from the top at my ankle.  When that started happening it was like walking in a bag full of water.  When I took them off the water poured out.

With about 5km to go it started raining really hard.  It was like that when we got to town and had to check the location of the hotel.  I had the wet hands plus foggy glasses phone issues.

When we got to the hotel Francisco and Jeanne were on their way to get food.  They did not like the people at the hotel restaurant and insisted on a nearby place. They made the miscalculation of not changing out of wet clothes.  We would met them after putting on dry clothes.

When we checked in we brought in so much water we soaked the floor of the reception area.  When getting his passport Mike bent over and because he had not been wearing his poncho his hood had filled with water, dumped another bucket full of water on the floor.

In the room I made puddles everywhere.  I tilted my shoes and a puddle formed.  We were so wet.  

We met for food a a nearby Argentinean meat house.  Good menu del dia for 14€.  

The hotel had a laundry next door and while I napped, Jeanne did our laundry.  Thank you!

Dinner was the Argentinean place again and we decided on the meat platter for two and a few sides for the 4 of us. The waitress told Francisco that would not be enough for us and talked him into the plate for four.  The plate for 2 would have been more than enough!

Final day tomorrow.  Hard to believe.  Time has no meaning at this point.  25km to go and then I can heal.

Camino Portugues Day 22: Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis

Last night I had one of the worst sleeps of my life.  My exhausted brain did not figure out how to turn down the heat in the room and instead opened windows.  There was a hurricane outside and windows were banging; garbage trucks were collecting and late night people were walking home.  Mostly the room was so hot I could hardly breathe.  In the morning Mike came by and asked why I didn't just turn down the thermostat.

As we were leaving Jeanne messaged that she forgot her charger in the room.  We explained the situation to the old woman at the front desk and she demanded Mike be a hostage while I went up to the room.  Charger found hiding in the bathroom.

The first half of the day I was a zombie.  I did not take many pictures.  The weather was changing all the time.  It was a poncho on, poncho off kind of a day.  The route was pretty nice with small roads, well maintained, wide trails through the woods and paths through vineyards.  When things are in bloom, the walk today would be quite something.  

The sun did come out at the end and we walked into Caldas de Reis with a bit of nice weather.  We had a few beers in the bar attached to our hotel.  The kids were staying across the street.  After they went to check in, Mike and I had a few more.  We had a beer with an Englishman named Simon we have seen since Porto.  

For dinner we went to a restaurant with Francisco's name: O Loureiro.  We had steak and it was big.  I could barely finish.  Now to bed and an even shorter day tomorrow.  The next day is Santiago de Compostela and the end.  The kilometer markers are ticking down rapidly now.