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Friday July 3
Today we arrived in Sarria to start the last 111km of the Camino de Santiago.
After making our by bus from Lugo to Sarria we checked in to our hotel and then went out to grab a coffee and read over the notes about our hike for the next 5 days that were provided to us.
After that we went and had a bite to eat. Half way through dinner this group of older men sitting behind us got up and then came back with some instruments and then played and sang just sitting around their table. It was quite the site and was really cool, it seems like it was something that they got together and did every week.
We had an early night as we knew there would be some long days ahead.
Saturday July 4
We set off at about 8:30 in the morning. The weather was great, sunny but relatively cool which was great, and unexpected. Today we were leaving Sarria and heading to our first stop in Portomarin which is about 23.5klm. This stretch of the Camino was probably the nicest in regards to the views. Our elevation for this stretch started at 450m above sealevel and we gradually climb to 700m by about the 14km point at which time we decend for the last 9km to 370m. This stretch started to put a little strain on my knees. When we got to Portomarin we checked in to our hotel and had a quick shower to try and refresh. The legs were pretty sore at this point, but no blisters thankfully. We went and had a couple of beers while sitting on a patio. Then the gauchos came to town. Basically cowboys. They strolled in on their horses looked around a bit and taked then rode off. Dinner wasnt open till 8 and we were starving. We were the first in and were out before anyone else showed up. Dinner was good, but sleep was even better.
Sunday July 5
Muscles a little sore this morning and tough to get out of bed. After we had breakfast and checked out we started on the 2nd stage of our journey. Today our destination is Palas de Rei which was 23km from our starting point. The only tough part of today is that the first 12km is up hill with the elevation change of 400m. NOt as nice as the first day, but still some really nice views and passing through these sleepy villiages is really neat.
Once we arrived in Palas de Rei we were ready to stop walking. Both my knees were now aching and Nats foot was too. OUr acommodation felt a little like we were at summer camp. We walked down into town for a beer and ended up watching the end of Wimbeldon, which was a pretty crazy match.
Dinner was okay, but not as good as the first night, and like the first night, we were sleeping by 9pm!.
Monday July 6
The toughest day yet. 28.5km to Arzua. This was tough and the day was a little overcast which didnt help the mood. We did see some funny things like the group of wild dogs that acted like a gang as they walked along the paths. We stopped and had some lunch in Melide and it was very hard to get started again but with another 14km to go we knew we had too. We finally arrived in Arzua and the hotel was next to the information office, so when we saw the sign that said it was 500m we got really happy, but that was until we realised that they cant seem to determine distances very well as it was probably about 1.5km away. We then went to the pharmacy and bought old Rowley a couple of knee braces as i was having a tough time even walking. We then were told at our hotel that their restaurant was overbooked but they had booked us in down the street and everything would be taken care of. Dinner was great actually and it worked out well that we had to go outside the hotel to eat. Slept okay that night but had to keep rolling over to relieve the stress on my knees (ya ya boo hoo)
Tuesday July 7
Left our hotel slowly, but then were able to get a pretty good pace up to our next destination of Rua 17km away - you have no idea how nice it was to know that we only had to go 17km!!! It was nice to be walking more in the countryside again as the day before was more near major roads. Rua cam eup quickly and we were there not too long after lunch. We sat out back of our place and had a couple of beers. Dinner was good, but the wine was, how you say, garbage. The only way we could drink it was to have a mouthful of salad and then drink some wine and the oil and vinegar seemed to balance out the wine.
Wednesday July 8
On our last stretch to Santiago. Only 19 km to go. THis was the least picturesque as we passed by lots of outlying areas, the airport, tv stations. The thing that annoyed us the most was they stopped the distance markers at aabout 13km to go. (these things gave you hope and they were usually about every 500m) once we got in to town it was a long walk to the Church and the people in the city were actually very rude.
Arriving at the church was a relief and a great feeling. We then went and got our official certificate for completing the Camino (albiet we finished the minimum required)
We had a few well deserved beers in the afternoon and then went out for tapas that night that were really really good. Tomorrow, no walking, just 10 hours in a car to Sevilla!
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