Days 41-46 - To Muxia and back to Santiago
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Wanderer
09 Juni 2013 | Spanje, Santiago de Compostella
As I left Fisterra I took this book from a take-and-leave shelf at the hostel, "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (you may have seen the movie). There's way too many pages - in other words it's way too heavy for me to carry on the Camino, but it's such a good read! I love it!
Made my way to Muxia in one day. Lots of forests, mainly. The area just surrounding Muxia itself reminded me of Donegal, Ireland. Lots of rocky terrain. Even though it was only 31 km, I was exhausted by the time I got there and couldn't get myself to find a grocery store and cook, so I just treated myself to plate of calamari at a local restaurant. Stayed at a government-run hostel which was very new, clean, spacious, with luxurious lounge areas and even a roof terrace from which we could watch the sunset. What a relief compared to that dump I was pretty much forced to stay at in Fisterra. Took the time to visit a beautiful little church just off the coast, and went down to the sea to throw in my last dreadlock. Got a little too close for comfort, and a wave hit me. Only water of course :)
In Muxia, I got my last certificate - so now I have the set of three: My Compostela, my Fisterrana, and my Muxiana, as they are called.
On my way back to Santiago, I found a hostel with a missing hospitalero/a two times in a row. No host to be found at night, and no host there in the morning either. So I pretty much slept there for free, and just took the liberty of stamping my own credential. Stayed in Olveiroa at some point, in an old farm that smelled of cows which were no longer there. Their neighbor's cows moo'ed me to sleep. So charming!
The roads in this area really aren't marked very clearly; That is to say, they're marked in the opposite direction, towards Muxia and Fisterra, but finding your way back to Santiago is a real challenge. It's not a matter of following the signs in the other direction, as there really aren't any signs. At intersections, they'd just painted a scallop symbol on the road, on the part where you're supposed to go when you're walking to the west. That left me with two or three other choices. And I didn't always pick the right one, causing me to take detours. Yay. But I got there in the end. Sunburned and all, the place was soring hot, and the sun was right in my face as I headed back east.
The third night out of Muxia was spent at this really old house, with no curtains, no furniture... just some matresses on the ground, a bunch of blankets, a working toilet and sink (wow) and a bag of cement. Otherwise completely void of... anything. Reminded me of my last days at the house in Schiedam. It was marked as an official hostel though, and I stayed here with a number of other pilgrims. No fixed price (a 'donativo'), but each of us left a few euros. It was clean, if nothing else :) Made friends with a couple from Iceland/Romania who spoke 8 languages. So cool.
The heat really got to me the day after that. I had to stop everywhere to get more water. When I finally got to Negreira, where I had stayed on my way to Fisterra, I decided to call it a day. The hostel I wanted to stay at was full though, so I was forced to stay at a more expensive, private one. Oh well, I paid a few extra euros but got a real bed with sheets, and a real towel in return, so I didn't complain :) One guy in the dorm snored in such a way they could've recorded him for use @ Efteling.
Lost my sunglasses at one point - not exactly practical if the sun is right in your face and you're trying to read a map. But, it turns out the Camino works in mysterious ways. Ran into a Polish lad who'd lost his flash light - so I gave him mine as I wasn't using it. When I told him I'd lost my sunglasses, he said he'd seen a pair in the grass beside the road a few miles back. And indeed, I found a pair of sunglasses right where he said they would be. And everything turned out just fine.
When I finally got back to Santiago, dragging myself into the city on my last drops of water, I couldn't care less about the cathedral and just made my way to my hostel to get some food and a shower and to put my feet up. Such a contrast from when I got here last week and was totally in awe about the place and was really into the spiritual side of things. Spent the evening with an international crowd, sharing Camino experiences. A great way to end my journey :)
The day after, still in Santiago, I ran into someone working with a Dutch bicycle transport company, loading bicycles into their van. She offered to take my pilgrim's staff home to Vessem for free! That saves me a very expensive cargo fine from Ryanair.
My last night in Santiago was spent in a dorm among people who were apparently trying to break the world's snoring record. It was like being next to the dragon Smaug (from The Hobbit) with a stuffy nose on one side, and an army of lumberjacks on the other.
Made my way to Muxia in one day. Lots of forests, mainly. The area just surrounding Muxia itself reminded me of Donegal, Ireland. Lots of rocky terrain. Even though it was only 31 km, I was exhausted by the time I got there and couldn't get myself to find a grocery store and cook, so I just treated myself to plate of calamari at a local restaurant. Stayed at a government-run hostel which was very new, clean, spacious, with luxurious lounge areas and even a roof terrace from which we could watch the sunset. What a relief compared to that dump I was pretty much forced to stay at in Fisterra. Took the time to visit a beautiful little church just off the coast, and went down to the sea to throw in my last dreadlock. Got a little too close for comfort, and a wave hit me. Only water of course :)
In Muxia, I got my last certificate - so now I have the set of three: My Compostela, my Fisterrana, and my Muxiana, as they are called.
On my way back to Santiago, I found a hostel with a missing hospitalero/a two times in a row. No host to be found at night, and no host there in the morning either. So I pretty much slept there for free, and just took the liberty of stamping my own credential. Stayed in Olveiroa at some point, in an old farm that smelled of cows which were no longer there. Their neighbor's cows moo'ed me to sleep. So charming!
The roads in this area really aren't marked very clearly; That is to say, they're marked in the opposite direction, towards Muxia and Fisterra, but finding your way back to Santiago is a real challenge. It's not a matter of following the signs in the other direction, as there really aren't any signs. At intersections, they'd just painted a scallop symbol on the road, on the part where you're supposed to go when you're walking to the west. That left me with two or three other choices. And I didn't always pick the right one, causing me to take detours. Yay. But I got there in the end. Sunburned and all, the place was soring hot, and the sun was right in my face as I headed back east.
The third night out of Muxia was spent at this really old house, with no curtains, no furniture... just some matresses on the ground, a bunch of blankets, a working toilet and sink (wow) and a bag of cement. Otherwise completely void of... anything. Reminded me of my last days at the house in Schiedam. It was marked as an official hostel though, and I stayed here with a number of other pilgrims. No fixed price (a 'donativo'), but each of us left a few euros. It was clean, if nothing else :) Made friends with a couple from Iceland/Romania who spoke 8 languages. So cool.
The heat really got to me the day after that. I had to stop everywhere to get more water. When I finally got to Negreira, where I had stayed on my way to Fisterra, I decided to call it a day. The hostel I wanted to stay at was full though, so I was forced to stay at a more expensive, private one. Oh well, I paid a few extra euros but got a real bed with sheets, and a real towel in return, so I didn't complain :) One guy in the dorm snored in such a way they could've recorded him for use @ Efteling.
Lost my sunglasses at one point - not exactly practical if the sun is right in your face and you're trying to read a map. But, it turns out the Camino works in mysterious ways. Ran into a Polish lad who'd lost his flash light - so I gave him mine as I wasn't using it. When I told him I'd lost my sunglasses, he said he'd seen a pair in the grass beside the road a few miles back. And indeed, I found a pair of sunglasses right where he said they would be. And everything turned out just fine.
When I finally got back to Santiago, dragging myself into the city on my last drops of water, I couldn't care less about the cathedral and just made my way to my hostel to get some food and a shower and to put my feet up. Such a contrast from when I got here last week and was totally in awe about the place and was really into the spiritual side of things. Spent the evening with an international crowd, sharing Camino experiences. A great way to end my journey :)
The day after, still in Santiago, I ran into someone working with a Dutch bicycle transport company, loading bicycles into their van. She offered to take my pilgrim's staff home to Vessem for free! That saves me a very expensive cargo fine from Ryanair.
My last night in Santiago was spent in a dorm among people who were apparently trying to break the world's snoring record. It was like being next to the dragon Smaug (from The Hobbit) with a stuffy nose on one side, and an army of lumberjacks on the other.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
