Was it really time to do something else again? Yes, although the timing for practical and family purposes was somewhat too close to the other Camino, but there were reasons why it could not be done much different. Rainy season in the Camino area start about this time of the year. Later it will only become worse. Additionally, the Camino closes in February, and, as a relevant reason to do it now, the Camino establishes an age limit: 67 years. Since I will be becoming 67 next year, this was the time to go. We, i.e. Ignacio Fombona, Mauricio Salazar and myself, have been looking forward to this trip for a while. If I remember correctly, reservations were made about 4 months ago. Such an anticipation is required because the number of people allowed daily to ... read more

Since I have arrived yesterday I have had a great number of very emotional moments. First to get to the cathedral of Santiago, the real end of the trip. Later I went to an encounter of pilgrims; people that have gone through the same experience. It is ammazing how many people you know, some better than others and some just from seeing a couple of times. Everywhere people greet you as if you have known each other for years, even tough you may have walked with each other just a couple of hours or even less. The same happens in town walking around. Gives you a real nice feeling.This morning's pilgrims mass was very emotional. A beautiful ceremony that ended with the "swinging of the botafumeiro" ( un ... read more

Route: O Pedrouza to Santiago de Compostela Just a brief note for now: I have arrived in Santiago de Compostela. Difficult to describe my emotions: gratitud, satisfaction, happiness on the one hand, sadness on the other hand because the adventure comes to a close. Hard to grasp that I just finished walking almost 800 km and that it really ends here and that on monday I will be traveling back to Venezuela to be with Margarita, who I have been missing terribly here since my arrival.I will keep you posted on other things that may occur while I am here.... read more

Route: Palas de Rei - Arzua One of those days that you have to decide whether to take a short (18-20 km) walk or a longer one (28-30 km). No lodging in the middle. I left the decision to this morning depending how I was feeling. I felt great and decided to go the long alternative. I made no mistake, with exception of the last couple of kms, I felt great without major physical issues. The issues today came from other sources, from above, rain. I just left the pension this morning or I had to seek refuge to put on my rain gear (poliners so no water runs into my shoes and an all covering poncho). Stopping until the sky clears is not an option on the Camino. The initial 3 hours I walked with ... read more

Route: Sarria - Portomarin Today brought some positive things. The day was very nice and the Camino very diverse. Galicia is very beautiful but at the same time somewhat backwards. Again a chain of very small villages half abandoned with purely old people. Interesting is to see that when you put 2 Gallegos together for one reason or another the tend to speak very loud. Their language definitely is quite different. All signs are in Gallego, as if this were a different country. I send my backpack by transportation today and did 23 km in about 6.30 hours. Took it easy particularly in the descents. I am still hurting but the pain is manageable. Hopefully it will get better the next couple of days. Sarria where I started this morning is the starting point for a ... read more