Day77 A Laracha - La Coruna -THE FINAL DAY!

Today we employed a new tactic for my foot!  No painkillers, but I applied a lot of tape to all the right places and we decided we would not mention the foot all the way to La Coruna.  I must say it worked a treat, helped by the thought that this would be the last trek for a long while!

We continued along the AC-552 where we found a lot more traffic than yesterday.  The road is quite narrow in places with no hard shoulder and at times it was scary just how close some of the big lorries came!  After the town of Arteixo we elected to go via the AC-415 which seemed a straighter route.  This worked well although we had to climb a few steep hills before the road levelled out!

The entrance to La Coruna was a bit disappointing as we went in through a large industrial estate.  In addition we went past the local petrol refinery.  It is a sad reflection of the world that we live in that we started our walk going past the refinery in Campamento and finished it also going past a refinery, both of which were belching pollution into the air.  We thought back to our treks along the mountain tops where we breathed clean air and longed for those days again!

The road took us straight into the city centre where we stopped for a photo at the km0 marker.  Later we made our way to the church of Santiago in the old quarter of the city where we had our last stamp on our "credencial".

A tram ride along the seafront followed before we went back to our hotel for a drink and some rest.  Tomorrow morning we are catching a coach to Santiago and hopefully a train to Madrid where we hope to spend a day or two before heading south to Gibraltar.

It still feels incredible that we have walked all this way.  Earlier this evening we were sitting at a bar having a drink when we saw a map of Spain on the wall.  We stared at it in disbelief!  This will take a long time to sink in.  I am not sure how we feel at this moment.  A bit lost, I suppose.  It is already strange not to be thinking of filling our water containers and making sure we have some fruit and dry fruit for the journey tomorrow.  A short day of 15 miles or a long one of 22?  Where are we stopping for the night etc etc.

It is ironic that tomorrow it will take us just one hour to travel by coach from here to Santiago!

Today we were also able to reflect on why we started this walk.  In remembering William, we were also trying to highlight his love of music and his desire that the music scene in Gibraltar continue to flourish.  Towards the end of last year I wrote to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, The Hon. Peter Caruana, suggesting that the Government might like to mark the 10th anniversary of William's death in some way.

I am delighted to say that he replied immediately and proposed that I speak with the Minister for Culture, The Hon. Edwin Reyes, to consider staging a suitable event.  This I have done and with the help of the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society who are making all the arrangements, a concert is being held at St Michael's Cave in Gibraltar on 2nd September 2010.  Jose Maria Gallardo del Rey, one of the world's leading classical guitarists will be playing the "Concierto de Aranjuez" one of my brother's favourites and one which he played many times with many of the world's leading orchestras.  William's Ave Maria will be sung by Andrea Martin, a local Soprano, who William encouraged to pursue a musical career.  The conductor will be Gibraltar' own Karel Mark Chichon, who is now recognised as one of the leading conductors of his generation. It will be a fitting tribute to William.  Full details of the concert will be available soon.

A few years I walked the Thames Path in memory of William.  A man, Benjamin Spender, turned up at the start of the walk.  It turns out that when he was 13 William taught him to play the guitar.  He now teaches classical guitar at the School of Music & Performing Arts at Bath Spa University.  He has kept in touch with me these past few years and recently sent me a note from which I will quote the following, "Do give my regards to Judas Bensadon if you see him in Gib - we were both "disciples" of William in the early 70's.  Charles Ramirez had already left to study at the Royal College Music by then so I never got to know him.  Charles is now Professor of Guitar at Trinity Guildhall, and in his book, "Technical Development for Guitarists" which is now a major publication in the guitar world, he gives the following dedication "With thanks to the inspired teaching of William Gomez MBE........"

William's legacy lives on and it is imperative that the current Gibraltar Government and all subsequent Governments ensure that music always forms part of Gibraltar's great cultural heritage.

Day 77 San Roque Coristanco - A Laracha

After our very long and tiring walk yesterday we decided to have a short day (for a change!) and set off at 0815hrs intending to reach A Laracha, some 12 miles away. Although it was a shorter journey than usual, it proved to be a painful one as a dose and a half of painkillers failed to alleviate the acute pain in my foot!

Listening to William's music on Ana maria's Ipod helped to ignore the pain. We found the road today leading us through more built up areas than the previous days, indicating we are getting near to la Coruna. Ana maria had fun photographing lots of different flowers. At one point the proud owner of the garden she was shooting insisted that we go in and view her garden from up close!

Many passing cars hooted as they went on their way as an acknowledgement that they knew we were doing the Camino to La Coruna. It lifted our spirits somewhat and we finally arrived in A Laracha at 12.30p.m., for a well deserved rest.

We are treating ourselves to a "suite" at the only local hotel and had lunch at the town's "hotspot", a burger bar!

Tomorrow, God willing, we will reach La Coruna the end of our epic walk. We continue to be amazed that we have made it this far and it is going to be difficult to know what to do with our days once the walk is over. Who knows - we may decide to start planning the next one!

Day 76 Vimianzo - San Roque Coristanco

POSTED ONE DAY LATE

We set off from Vimianzo rather later than planned. We had arranged to have breakfast at our Hostal at 0730 hrs but when we got up we found the place closed. We couldn't just go because we still had to pay for our lodgings. After several phone calls our landlord turned up. He had overslept! He had probably been to a good party on the Friday night!

The weather was overcast with a slight drizzle as we finally set off at 0900hrs with the intention of walking some 14 miles. Unfortunately we were unable to secure any accommodation and had to carry on an additional 6 miles. The last three miles or so were pure agony as my foot had given up by then, but with Ana Maria's support and encouragement we finally arrived in San Roque Coristanco some eight and a half hours later.

The road went uphill for the first six miles or so and then levelled off. We passed innumerable villages where we had trouble finding somewhere to have a drink! at 12.30p.m. we had our weekly live chat with Brooklands FM Radio from a bus stop on the AC-552 where we updated their listeners on having reached Finisterre a couple of days before!

Eventually in San Roque we found the Hostal Alaska which being Saturday had closed its restaurant! (some things just don't make any sense at all). Luckily we found a very nice resturant nearby where we had a delicious mixed grill for dinner while watching Spain beating Paraguay in the world cup.

Tomorrow we hope to reach A Laracha which will then leave us about 13 miles from La Coruna, the end of our epic journey.

Day 75 Muxia - Vimianzo

After talking with various local people and a representative from the Spanish Tourist Office we agreed that the best way to reach La Coruna was to go via two secondary roads all the way.

And so, we set off from a very wet

Muxia, Ana Maria with her poncho on although I decided to brave the weather! We had hoped to refill our water flasks after about seven miles but found the bar closed and had to wait another hour or so before we could have a drink!

The road went up and down like a roller coaster and was quite tiring. Eventually we reached our destination for the day, the town of Vimianzo. We found everyone getting ready for a local fiesta. There is a small but beautiful castle and tomorrow they re-enact the storming of the castle in 1461.

The local bars had stocked up with special tapas at a very low price and so we went on a pub crawl, Spanish style!

Tomorrow we continue for around another 25 kms and hope to reach La Coruna in about three days. On this stretch there are no more "Pilgrims" and we are already missing their company. Walking on the road is not very exciting but it is realistically the only way to get to La Coruna within a reasonable period of time.

We are hoping that the weather will improve tomorrow as we are not looking forward to more rain!

Day 74 - Finisterre - Muxia

POSTED A DAY LATE

In Finisterre we stayed in a Casa Rural where we had one of the best breakfasts we have enjoyed on the whole Camino! The evening before we had met Felix and Francisca from Switzerland and enjoyed talking with them over a bottle of wine! This is really one of the fun things about doing this walk - the amazing number of people one meets. I have no idea what we are going to do when this walk is over!

We left the hotel at 0930hrs, the latest time we have started any day's walk, simply because we intended to do a short ten mile walk. Along the way we met a Spanish couple Antonio and Ester whom we had met before at a couple of Albergues, and a new friend Soona Kwon, from South Korea. All of them had decided to do the long 20 mile walk to Muxia, whereas we had thought of stopping in Lires, the half-way mark.

To cut a long story short, they convinced us to carry on with them to Muxia and so we ended up doing 20 miles! It was truly a fun day and we had lots of laughs on the way. At one point we knew we would have to ford a stream but were assured that the stepping stones there were above water and we would have no problems crossing.

Antonio and Ester went first and after we saw both of them sinking we decided to take

our shoes off and walk over the rather slimy stones. Soona brought up the rear and being very

small she was almost in up to her knees!

The weather throughout the day was at times overcast but mainly sunny and the path took us through woodland, roads and even the beach! At around 6.30 p.m. we staggered into the seaside town of Muxia, rather the worse for wear but happy to have done the 20 miles in one day. Ester, who is a nurse, had given me a pill to line my stomach so that I could take stronger painkillers for my foot and the combination worked well.

Antonio, Ester and the two of us decided to stay at a hostal instead of the Albergue. Mostof the establishments wanted to charge over £80 for rooms not worth more than £30! Once you arrive in Muxia there is nowehere else to go for another 15 miles and so you are caught in a trap! Thankfully we managed to find something on the edge of town where we had a very nice meal. Antonio, who runs a teaching academy and Ester had to catch a bus to Santiago very early the following morning after which they were taking a train to Ciudad Real to start work ma few days later. We have promised to go and see them when we drive back to the UK.

Tomorrow we will carry on to La Coruna. Our first stop will be Vimianzo some 15 miles away, my left foot permitting!

Day 73 Cee - Finisterre - The end of the world

Today has been a funny sort of day.  We set off from Cee this morning knowing that later that day we would reach the end of our planned charity walk of over 900 miles.  As we walked we kept thinking that it was truly incredible that we had managed to walk so far.

The weather was once again on our side and we had brilliant sunshine all the way.  After the obligatory climb early in the morning the path levelled off and we had a pleasant few miles before reaching Sardineiro where we stopped at a "chiringuito" on the beach for a coffee.  Beautiful white sands and we were almost tempted to go for a swim!

After another steep climb we had our first sight of Finisterre and its lighthouse in the distance.  What a thrill that was! We quickened our step as the path wound round the coastline getting ever closer to Finisterre.  The path eventually led to a paved walkway which took us right into town.

We had arrived!.........well, almost........the medieval legendary "end of the world" is at the lighthouse in Cape Finisterre, another two miles away.....uphill, naturally!

Reaching the zero marker of the Camino was an incredibly emotional moment.  It had taken us some two and a half months and a few aches and pains to get here!

It is difficult to adequately describe how we feel.  It has been an incredible journey. To walk over 900 miles seemed an impossible task weeks ago and all throughout the walk we have agonised as to whether we would make it or if we would let people down.  Many were the times when we thought our feet would carry us no further but somehow we always seemed to find the strength to continue, supporting each other as required.

Now that we have finally arrived we can think back to Gibraltar and where it all started.  Our initial journey in torrential rain along the coast to Tarifa, walking on the beach,  the beautiful sand dunes of Bolonia and Barbate, sipping sherry in Jerez, the flooded paths everywhere, joining the Via de la Plata in Seville, coming into contact with other "pilgrims" for the first time, forging close friendships with some of them, climbing the steepest, rockiest, most awful goat-track aptly named "Cuesta del Calvario", writing the blog each day, chatting with villagers about their way of life, "talking" with the animals, washing our clothes in cold water, sleeping in bunk-beds in Albergues, arriving in Salamanca where many of our friends finished their camino, getting to Puebla de Sanabria to collect a new pair of boots, having the odd cold shower, blisters, more blisters, even more blisters, the frustration of lack of telephone or internet connections, the amazing sight of the Puente Quinto, climbing the two highest mountain passes in Galicia in torrential rain, more floods, sleeping in very basic mountain huts,

more blisters, dodgy feet, lots and lots of laughter, walking "on top of the world" along mountain crests, getting to know "new" pilgrims, giving and receiving words of encouragement, showing the newcomers how to tend to their blisters, getting lost, having our mobile phones run out of battery or credit or both at crucial moments, the odd row, more blisters, more laughter, arriving in Santiago and its amazing Cathedral, the Pilgrims Mass there and witnessing the swinging of the "Botafumeiro", being told to rest my feet for two or three months, getting ill, both of us getting ill, feeling miserable, getting back on our feet, determined to carry on, more aches and pains, lots more laughter and eventually arriving in Finisterre.  WOW!

One day we may be able to communicate more cogently exactly how we feel today.  For now let us say that we are tremendously proud of what we have achieved so far.  Our only regret is that our fundraising efforts have not yielded the desired results.  That said, this was never just about raising funds for charity.  It was more about remembering friends and family who are no longer with us and sharing our experiences with loads of people in many parts of the world.

We thank you for your support and if you think you have now got rid of us you have another thing coming!  Tomorrow morning we continue our walk towards Muxia and hopefully La Coruna which we hope to reach in about a week's time.  If we achieve that we will have crossed the whole of Spain, something which very few people can claim to have done!  Who knows,  maybe we will be the first! We will continue to post our blog until we finish so please watch this space!

We have drawn our inspiration from our parents, all of whom have always encouraged us to believe that all things are possible.  Also from people like Cristabel Watson who walked from Gibraltar to La Coruna a few years ago via a shorter but arguably more difficult route, in the amazing time of 42 days.  From Frank Gardner, the BBC security correspondent whose fighting spirit in the face of huge adversity shows my "feet" episodes as somewhat unimportant and irrelevant and Rosie Swales whose book " A little run across the world" set us thinking if we could try and do a mini-version.

I'm not sure that we have succeeded, but we have certainly had a lot of fun trying!  We very much hope that our footsteps may serve to guide the many that will undoubtedly follow.

Day 72 Lagos - Cee

We are slowly getting back into our stride and the walk today of 25 kms proved less exhausting than yesterday. The sun shone again and it was very hot but thankfully less humid.  The countryside was just as beautiful.  After a few stiff climbs we found ourselves "on top of the world" with the valleys below.

On a day like today it is great to be alive and out in the countryside.  It was very peaceful with only the sounds of the birds and the river below to disturb it.  Today in contrast to other days we saw very few villages and those that we saw were dotted with splendid "Horreos" the old granaries so typical of this part of Spain.

In the village of Hospital the road split into two with one going in the direction of Finisterre, which we followed, whilst the other took a short cut to Muxia.  The path led us to the sites of two shrines both which supposedly have springs which in the past have cured ailing feet!

We couldn't resist the temptation and dunked our feet in the running water which was freezing!  It was good fun and a welcome respite from the heat of the day.  So far I cannot report any miracle cure as my foot still hurts a lot!

The final approach to Cee was down one of the steepest and longest rocky paths we have experienced.  By the time we got down to sea level our legs were like jelly -  I really must stop drinking the local wine!  The good news is that today we reached the Atlantic Ocean, a welcome sight after almost two and a half months!

Once in the Albergue I realised I had left my towel in Negreira so it was off to the centre of town, where much to my surprise I found a splendid sports shop complete with a selection of sports towels.

We are now sitting down in a local bar waiting to watch the Spain Portugal match, which should be a cracker!

Day 71 Negreira - Lagos

A long tiring walk of 27 kms today, 28th June 2010, my 65th birthday!  For a birthday treat Ana Maria arranged for a car to collect us from the Camino and take us to a nice hotel in a nearby town, complete with jacuzzi!  Such luxury for a poor old peregrino!  Such a devoted wife!

There have been thousands of birthday greetings from all over the world (well, a handful at least!) and it´s been a very nice day.  Many thanks to the many who did phone or text or sent emails - it´s good to know so many people care.

The weather was rather hot and humid today with temperatures of around 28 degrees with the result that even the excellent wicking properties of our "technical" shirts failed to make the grade!

Still, the scenery was once more delightful, although a few very steep hills had us gasping for breath at times!  Photos will need to wait for another day as we have experienced some "technical difficulties" and no- I am not drunk! (photos now posted!)

There are now some 40 kms to Finisterre, the end of our charity walk.  All being well we will be there in two days.  After that we will decide whether or not to carry on to Muxia and La Coruña.

How does it feel to be 65?  Only my left foot feels 65, the rest of me is still in the mid forties!

Does this mean I am entitled to a state pension now - fantastic.  The drinks are on me!

Day 70 Santiago de Compostela - Negreira

This morning we both woke up feeling a little bit groggy, looked at each other and said "today we leave no matter what!"  It was a good decision.  14 miles and six and a half hours later we arrived in Negreira with only another 50 miles or so left to go to Finisterre.  It has been an exhausting day, due mainly to our poor physical state following being bedridden for a few days!

At the same time it was great to be walking the grreat outdoors and breathing fresh air again.  As we left Santiago via its great Obradoiro square a troup of horseriders were arriving.  The streets were otherwise deserted.  The first marker we saw informed us that there were 88 kms left for Finisterre!


The path soon took us through parks and leafy suburbs of Santiago.  This became a pattern for the day as we travelled through beautiful woodland and rolling countryside going through numerous villages and hamlets on the way, including the picturesque village of Ponte Maceira.



The village is divided in two parts with a stone bridge straddling the river Tambre.  The bridge is late 15th century but was restored in medieval style in the 18th century.

The day, which had been cloudy to start with, soon became sunny with a light cool breeze, making walking very pleasant.

When we finally arrived in Negreira we were starving as we have not been eating much these past few days.  After lunch we were told that the Albergue was full so we went to find a private one.  After depositing our rucksacks we hightailed it to the nearest bar to watch the England-Germany game.  We are now paying the price as our German friends on the Camino have now started to phone in and the situation is getting QUITE STRESSFUL!  Katrin, we are never speaking to you again!

Right now we are in another bar watching the Argentina - Mexico game and I hope this also is not going to prove too stressful.  Germans I can handle, Ana Maria is a different proposition!

Tomorrow we have a long day which we are trying to split into two easier stages.  At the moment we cannot figure out where we are going to sleep tomorrow night in order to achieve this, but we keep on trying.

A number of you have been in touch tonight wanting to know about my foot.  I have taken the view that the foot will not stop us getting to our destination.  It may take us longer than planned, but we will get there!......but thanks for asking!