Day 40..

Palas de rei to Arzua…30 km

We decided to do a couple big days so we would only have 10 km on the last day and be in time for mass at 12pm. We leave Palas de rei by the way of the Compo de Romeiras a meeting place for pilgrims, where traditionally, groups who had embarked on the pilgrimage joined together spontaneously. Truely beautiful landscape through very ancient villages, with historical monuments.Legend has it that pilgrims had a custom of picking up stones in Tricastela to leave it in lime furnaces in Castaneda near Arzua. The material was prepared here to build the cathedral with the pilgrims collaborating with the work in this way. This fact symbolizes the general participation in the great constructive effort involved in the cathedral and also demonstrated the joining forces and solidarity that the way endows on each act of pilgrimage.

Saw old grocery man with his truck visiting the villages, beautiful reflections in streams, found out what storage huts built high were for corn. What they do with bodies that are in graves on top of each other…that one was puzzling, I they were for ashes but no, they put some special chemicals on the body so it rots, coffin is on slight slant so fluid doesn’t sit on body but it is totally sealed in concrete so no smell..bones remain. You see when you walk through these places things are done differently and me being curious I need to know the answers.Left in sunrise arrived in sunset… had whole apartment to ourselves ,wood burner for heating and even a bath.

Day 41.

Arzua to Lavacolla…..29 km

Left on crisp frosty morning again but nice to walk in. Such beautiful country through the Bush, I  had a wonderful day, just observing everything , feeling great knowing I had nearly achieved my goal of walking St James Way.. Camino de France to Santiago..800 km. We meet cool people along the Way..I was ready for a stop knowing we had about 5 more km to go, Janine said ” no picnic stop yet” .I said ” I am visualizing a bar with glass red wine..We walked through the tunnel under the road and there it was. We went in and I needed to use bathroom, the lady said we are closed, I asked to use bathroom knowing Janine would talk her into selling us a wine. Sure enough she did, the lady left shut door and we sat outside having our wine with 3 little kittens playing with us.

We headed off for last leg of journey for the day and we met a very old man struggling to walk down steep road cause it had just been sealed. We arrived at our accommodation to find it was like a holiday house and sharing with two other couples. Lovely wood burner and bath..what you need after big day walking.

Blessings

Angel xx