All good things go by three

  Second but last day of the Camino Pilgrim mass is really worth joining. A totally engaged sister with guitar Leads the music throughout the mass and does a great job getting everybody fired up about the short distance left to Santiago. Rise and shine at 5:45 am and off I go. Since my hotel is located at the entrance to Arzua I have an additional km to walk. Amazing how many people are already on the Camino. It supposed to get hot today so everybody tries to beat the heat with an early start. I meet Nicole from Denver, seen her almost every day; we finally talk and she invites me to a place in Santiago:‘Come to Momo Bar on Wednesday night - we all celebrate there.‘ The first 10 km today are challenging with some 800 meters incline, but I am also fully charged with Adrenalin in sight of the finish line. There I spot my 3 musketeer from Canary Islands; they must have started at 5 am.‘We want to invite you for drinks in O Pedrouzo.‘ Will have to pass on this as my plan is t...

  Off to Arzua In the evening I have diner with Donna from Sydney. ‚There seems to be nobody at home anymore. All Australians are on the Camino‘, I joked. ‚Yes, the Camino became quite popular. We don’t have anything similar to this. I started May 5th in Saint Jean Pied du Port. My friend got me hooked on this, she organized everything. But then after 5 days on the Camino she injured herself and was limping. She dipped her feet into ‚myrick water’  on the way which made things actually worse as she continued walking with wet feet.’  There it is: another victim of the Camino! I start my day early at 6 am as I intend to walk straight to Arzua today. After less than an hour I reach Palas de Rei and decide it’s much too early for a break so I continue through fields and forests to O Coto where I find a little cafe on the side of the street. After O Coto we cross into the province of A Coruña in the state of Galicia. Melide is next; most of the city was built in...

  Hello A Paso de Formiga During one of my previous Caminos I passed by this place and was enchanted about the cool bar and nice guest rooms - so I thought let’s give it a try and stay there tonight. But first I had to leave Sarria in the right direction - as I went to the monastery yesterday ( 100 meters above my hotel) I saw why I lost my way on the two previous Casinos - I oversaw the right turn to the monastery before because of the stunning SARRIA sign. When I get to the monastery for evening mass though I have to realize that no mass takes place here tonight - so I walk back down to the church in town and join the mass there. Early in the morning this extra way came in handy as I now know that I have  to pass by the monastery first. The way today is challenging 1500 meters up and 1400 meters down the path. I don’t think I ever sweat as much as today in my life. At the first downhill I hear a Brazilian lady scream from the top of her lunges into her sm...

  Hop over to Sarria My mom always used to say: if you have nothing good to say don’t say anything, especially when it’s about the church. Well, that’s her….now here is me and my experience at the monetary Samos. I get to Samos around noon and my room is supposingly not ready; so I join a guided tour through the monastery which is very informative, but as I find out later, some of the facts were altered a little bit. We are told that there are 11 monks currently at the monastery - which later turns out to be only 5 including 2 Novizes. That is kind of strange, because fellow pilgrims reported that there were at least 40 monks 7 years ago during mz first Camino. The Mo starry burned down twice. In the 16th century and in 1951 due to an explosion in the destillary and was rebuilt every time. So ye, Samos was founded in the 6th century and is probably one of the oldest in Europe, but the building itself is from the 20th Century. 5 years ago the leadership in this monastery changed and...

Off to Triacastella and the monastery of Samos The state of Galicia, which capital is Santiago de Compostella, is probably the most mysterious state along the Camino. Like no where else in Spain pre Christian thinking and cultures from up to 4000 years before Christ have left their marks on this beautiful state. The most significant traces were left by the Celtics from 500-135 BC. They influenced the language and gave the name of the state. The little museum village O Cebreiro and the monastery of Samos are the most significant spots before Santiago de Compistella. Last night I saw a photograph of the O Cebreiro village 100 years ago and it looks almost the same: round celtic huts and stone ways. The Camino takes a constant up and down in the beginning passing the famous San Roque pass with its pilgrim statue. I thought it was much bigger and am somehow surprise how little it looks this time. The last climb of the day ( so I thought) was the steep little path up to the Alto do Polo. I ...

  Galicia is calling Last night I was way too tired to wait for long to get diner. When they still did not seat me after 45 min I decide to skip diner and get some food from the supermarket next door. After all I am relaxed. When I check into my Hostal for the night I see a sign for massages. ‚Can you recommend this therapist?‘ I want to know. ‚ She is a magician‘, Manuela responded at the reception. And soon after I am all set for a 6 pm massage. Her office is just around the corner but on the 4th floor - no elevator. A short fat and gentle lady opens the door and I did not expect anything, but boy did she deliver - she gets so many knots out of my body that I feel revived and join yet another mass around the corner. This little village has 3 monasteries and 7 churches - if you ever need extra blessing this is the place to get it. In the morning I start at 6 am. Fog is still lingering around and even an hour later it’s still cloudy. The Camino Leads alongside the National Roa...