Geo: 42.8756, -8.5444Slept in until 7:45 and after a brief breakfast of yogurt and fruit at The Way, we were on the Camino for our last 25 kilometers. We left at the same time as the only other guest, Roger, from Switzerland. Roger had already hiked 1200 kilometers from central France and planned to hike onto Finisterre. Finisterre is on the Spanish coast about a 100 kilometers beyond Santiago. First coffee and second breakfast was in Amenal, about 10 kilometers. The amazing thing was that Wendy was there. This is a woman who we hiked/matched up with during our first four days and had not seen since. We continued in the shade of chestnut and eucalyptus groves and a steady incline to Lavacolla. Here we had a coffee and banana and bumped into Lisa & Mark. ... read more

Geo: 42.9203, -8.30471Rare night of both of us sleeping well. Last night as well as our last two on the Camino are in private rooms - no more dorms!We didn't get up until almost 7:30. We had breakfast at the albergue with Amparo. She loved our granola and acted like she may start going to the markets for breakfast and lunch supplies. We left at 8:30 and Amparo may have been the only pilgrim left.It would be a great hike today with rolling hills, very small villages with almost every residence attached to a dairy barn, and almost all in the shade. During the first hour there was a perfect inversion with the hill tops poking through the clouds/fog hanging in the valleys.Our book talked of the 13 century church and the pilgrim hospital (today's albergues) ... read more

Geo: 42.8442, -7.74767Dave had a restless night after Sue jabbed him twice for snoring. When the lights came on she apologized because it was the guy next to us!We had breakfast of our granola, yogurt and orange with a grande cafe con leche, at the albergue restaurant next door, same as last night. Lisa joined us and we didn't hitthe Camino until 8:45.It was steady uphill with one serious climb. We grabbed a couple of bananas at an oasis half way to the 11 kilometer village of Calvor. Here we had coffee and the last of the cookies given to us by a German woman at the albergue in Carrion. The scenery remained mountain grazing but as we ascended the clear skies gave way to fog. This would be the first day in memory that we ... read more

Geo: 42.7558, -7.24069Saturday October 1, Foncebadon to PonferradaLast night was the most quiet of the entire Camino, none of the eight of us snores!!! At dinner we had all agreed that there was no need to head out until after 7:00. Cruz Ferro was only two kilometers.The night before, we had brought our 1/2 dry laundry in and put it on a drying rack; we woke up to find that the proprietors had moved the drying rack to the front of the pot-bellied stove and everything was dry. It really is the small things that make such a big difference! We loved our fellow pilgrims here and the amazing hosts.After breakfast of coffee, juice, toast, and jam, we headed out about 7:30 (sunrise wouldn't be until 8:22). The timeline becomes important when you think of Cruz ... read more

Geo: 42.6057, -6.81009After coffee and our breakfast of yogurt and fruit, we were the last pilgrims to leave the Albergue Tio Pepe at about 7:50. The dawn light was great for a picture of the church before heading out of town. This would be another 30+ kilometer day and we would be leaving the long, flat and pretty desolate Meseta scenery behind us. It became more rolling with irrigated corn fields and herds of dairy cows. The Cantabrian Mts. loomed in the distance, some 50 kilometers out.Our first town would be Villavante where we stopped at a bakery for a fantastic chocolate filled croissant and a cup of coffee at a bar/restaurant to wash it down. We hooked up with Daniel and took a picture of him and his cool Camino arrowed shoes! Unfortunately, this may ... read more