We rose early and had breakfast at the Komorski's apartment and then waited for Anna to pick us up for our days journey. Last night Natalia's uncle, aunty and cousins came around to meet us and catch up with Tim. It's difficult when you have no knowledge of the language spoken but we were kept involved and it was a lovely end to our stay. On hearing of our trip to Auschwitz tomorrow, Natalia's uncle was concerned that I didn't think it was a Polish camp, and I wonder if this is a concern to many Polish people. I think most people know the evil behind this. We had a great stay in Poland, largely due to the love and hospitality shown by the Komorski's who kept inventing new ways to make our stay better, but ... read more

Today was a bus trip to the Costa da Morte, the Coast of Death. One theory for this name is that it was thought to be the end of the world. People thought the sun was gone in the west each day and was reborn in the east the next morning. Columbus found the world to be round and that theory was debunked. Fortunately for us our bus pickup point was around the corner at the Plaza da Galicia, so after some breakfast we joined about another 12 people on the queue. Our bus was a large luxury vehicle so this was definitely easier than walking. Our guide was a young Spanish woman and after checking us on, we headed to our first destination, Negrario . This is a small roman hamlet about 15 minutes from ... read more

Today is our last day of walking and I layed in bed, before anyone was awake, and pondered one of life's big mysteries; how does an Australian iPhone know what time it is, and even deeper, when to change for Spanish daylight saving to start? That's about how complex my thought processes have evolved to since starting to walk 33 days ago. I usually don't know what the date is or what day of the week it is. Really! This blog has helped me keep track of time. When your daily routine is reduced to eating, sleeping and walking you really lose track of other aspects of life. I think that's why some of the people you meet and then bump into for the next month become an important part of your life. You all have ... read more

Having had little sleep (see previous post) I was not looking forward to today but it was the last long day and is meant to be a relatively easy walk. We had yoghurt and fruit for breakfast and left at 7.30 am, with about 1 1/2 hours walking in the dark. We walked for about an hour before a bar loomed in the distance and the warm reception at the door lured us in. It was a nice old stone building with loads of character so the stop revived us and set us up for the task ahead. The paths since Sarria have been very good and I imagine are well maintained due to the increased crowds on the Camino. We walked through pine forests, gum trees and oaks, so the scenery and scents along the ... read more

Today we rose very early, had a caffe con leche at a bar, and walked in the dark for the first 40 minutes. You could tell immediately the numbers on the Camino had increased. The peaceful morning was gone and many new walkers were upbeat, enthusiastic,and laughing and joking. The first couple of kilometres out of town were steep uphill on rocky paths; the crowd quietened down as people became aware of the path ahead. We all think it is easier than it really is and I hold some of the guidebooks responsible. They certainly are out of touch on some of the conditions, describe sections in ways that don't reflect reality, and play down the fitness required and the strong likelihood of feet becoming a painful problem. We consider ourselves lucky that we can spare ... read more