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After 22 hours of that particular misery known as international
economy class air travel, I am finally home. That's just aircraft
time, not counting all the time wasted in airports.

As usual, I have tried to avoid sleeping while flying, So I didn't
sleep from rising at 6.00am Monday (local time) in Barcelona till
midnight Tuesday (local time) in Sydney. I didn't feel too bad
yesterday but fairly tired today. Trying to revert to normal timing
as quickly as possible.

I will miss Spain, such as scenes like the attached photo (San Millan)
but it is great to be back. Thanks to all who have read this blog and
especially to all who have posted comments.

Cheers
John

Cobla Popular

Performers dedicated to that Catalan sound!

A couple of observations on Barcelona. Firstly, coffee in the tourist
and fancy restaurants seems to be made for tourist tastes. The only
place to get a decent coffee is to go to one of the small, local and
typically spanish bars (it's also a lot cheaper!).

Have also found that my poor Spanish (Castillian Spanish) is less
welcome here than elsewhere in Spain. Catalan is the local language
although most people know Castillian. It seems to be FAR more
acceptable for me to just use English.

I've found myself totally ignored when I use the phrases that have
served me quite well up till now. Serves me right, I guess, for my
poor language skills.

That said, it's still polite and acceptable to use the Spanish
greetings and farewells, and helps to know Spanish numbers.

My extended stay in Barcelona was unintended and forced on me by the
unavailability of an earlier flight home. I do love the place but
it's more fun with company.

Cheers
John

Last Day in Spain (for now!)

The first part of today was spent dodging heavy downpours and looking
around Barcelona.

The highlight was a free concert of 'Cobla Popular', traditional
Catalan music. The orchestra was quite small but interesting in a
very idiosyncratic way. At one point, the conductor (who was seated
with the orchestra and also played a type of recorder) took an
extended phone call on his mobile, while continuing to keep time!

The performers used a variety of local instruments and had an unusual
but lively and entertaining sound. They attracted a large audience.
The performance ended when another sudden deluge sent both performers
and audience scurrying for shelter.

I must say that I am looking forward to getting out of all this rain.

Now I have settled back in my room to watch the Brazilian GP. Will
Hamilton get his world championship?

Cheers
John

Barcelona - Day 3

Another damp day. Oh well! The forecast is for a change tomorrow, it
will still be wet but a bit colder.

Started the day with breakfast at Taverna del Bisbe, where Gen and I
had a most enjoyable dinner one night. Breakfast was good but the
coffee was only just OK.

After a bit of a walk in the rain (I'm wearing the full waterproof
outfit today!) I went to an exhibition of Dali artworks. He certainly
worked hard at being an eccentric!

Wandered some more as the sun came out for a while. Then joined the
crowd watching some bomberos (firemen) scale the outside of an inner
city building. They did it the old way, going from balconey to
balconey using a ladder they took with them as they ascended.

Didn't work out the reason for their efforts. There was no smoke or
sign of fire.

Cheers
John

Rambla de Mar

Friday lunchtime, this place is never quiet!

Tried twice to visit the docks and all the boats, the first time I
just got thoroughly soaked. Tried again an hour later and made it.

During a leisurely lunch at one of the dockside restaurants, I watched
the sailing vessel Cervantes Sa Avedra dock. A very leisurely
process. It took nearly an hour to get itself sorted but didn't seem
to be in any hurry.

To be fair, I think most of the time was spent waiting for two port
authority workers to show up.

Being on the docks in a prime tourist area, every person eating in the
restaurant seems to speak either English or German. Mostly Americans
from the cruise ships.

Soaked again on the way back to my hotel. Now for a siesta and will
try walking-about later - might wear my waterproof pants next time!

Cheers
John

Barcelona

Yes, it's not the Camino but rather it's Las Ramblas in Barcelona.

I've now started the return journey to Australia with a quick flight
from Santiago to Barcelona. On Monday I begin the arduous ordeal of
the flight back to Australia. Give me a 37km walk any day!

The newspapers and TV news have been giving quite a bit of coverage to
the snow, especially in Galicia. I do feel for the peregrinos who are
still walking. I really was very lucky to have such a dream run with
the weather, only 4 seriously wet days while walking from Logrono.

Speaking of Logrono, the albergue I stayed at on the first night
stands out for me as my best albergue experience. It was one of the
best nights for me on the whole camino. Subsequent experiences varied
from OK to horrid but I can't say I'm a fan of that style of
accommodation.

Another positive experience was a brief but happy one. It was meeting
the priest in Boente. Instead of the usual locked church, this small
church was open and the priest stood outside warmly greeting everyone
who passed.

Several times similar things happened. Leaving Burgos, a gentleman
gave me a long lecture (in Spanish) about a Camino-related statue. He
was enthusiastic about the Camino and and left me feeling emergised
despite the light rain that was falling.

Another time I was feeling very weary with quite a way to go and a
French-Canadian couple came along and we chatted for a while. They
quickly left me behind but I felt much better for the company. I saw
them again in Santiago as they set off for Finisterre.

As happened last year, I haven't recovered from the tiredness that I
experienced on the last couple of days of the Camino. I think this is
due to abandoning my gluten-free diet during the walk. I should
recover quickly once I'm back on the straight-and-narrow.

I managed a good gluten-free meal on my last night in Santiago.
Malaysian style fried rice served in a Turkish restaurant. No soy
sauce but it was delicious.

Cheers
John

Santiago Day 2

Ah! Cafe Rosalia, the best pinchos and tapas in town. This little
bar/cafe in Rua Do Franco (eat street!) is a special place where Gen
and I spent much time last year. It combines good service, a warm
atmosphere and great food. I had a fabulous lunch of various pinchos
and vino tinto, as tradition requires.

Earlier I had wander the streets before going to the Cathedral for the
daily, midday pilgrim mass. Much less crowded than in May but still
more peregrinos than I expected.

At the Cathedral I met up with Vernon and Hilda, I last saw them just
before Burgos - such a long time ago. We had drinks at the Parador
where they are staying. One day I will have to stay in that fancy
establishment instead of just visiting.

The snow yesterday fell in Cebreiro and on areas above 1000m, more is
expected today. Pity the poor peregrinos still walking in such
conditions.

I saw little wildlife while walking, the path is probably too well
travelled. This may be just as well! Yesterday, a 100kg, 180cm bear
was killed by a truck near Trabadelo. Trabadelo is between
Villafranca del Bierzo and Vega del Valcarce, an area where the camino
travels thru some fairly rugged terrain.

I had read in the local papers that bear and wolf attacks on livestock
are becoming more frequent in Spain (as best as I could translate the
articles). Could make walking in Spain even more interesting.

Tomorrow I fly to Barcelona for a few days before flying back to
Australia. I am not going to walk on to Finisterre, it's a walk too
far for me at present and it's too cold!

Cheers
John

A Timely Arrival

The big story on the local news tonight is all the SNOW that has
fallen. Looks like about 6-10cm in places.

Now I'm not sure where this snow has fallen but it is the local news
so I'm guessing it's here in Galicia.

I thought is was cold today!

Cheers
John

Sent from my iPhone

Santiago!!!!

A chill morning with alternating spots of weak sunshine and very cold
showers saw my slow progress into Santiago.

For some reason I have run out of energy today, doesn't matter as I'm
now safely ensconced in a nice hotel.

Made it to town at 12:20, so went straight to the Pilgrim Office and
completed the formalities for my 'Compostella'. Then after finding
accommodation went to 'eat street' for a bit of lunch.

I couldn't find our favourite cafe, as I can't recall it's name, I'll
have to try again later with glasses on. Contact lenses are good for
me for walking but a real limitation the rest of the time.

The travel desk which is situated under the Pilgrim Office was
unattended so I'll have to try there later too for a flight or train
back to Barcelona.

Cheers
John