What we Love

“The things that we love tell us what we are.”
~St Thomas Aquinas

Western Ruahines - Heritage Lodge

This summer, Forest & Bird have been running a series of walks to various parts of the region. Today the bus trip was taking us to Heritage Lodge in the Western Ruahines, run by the Deerstalkers Association. We were met at the carpark by a member who told us that there are not so many (exotic) deer by the river flats in this area these days. It seems that many of the deerstalkers are just as interested in preserving other wildlife, especially the endangered blue duck which is found in upper reaches of the river. The deerstalkers are heavily involved in a scheme in which trap lines are being laid to catch stoats and rats, in the hope that blue duck will be able to extend their range.

It was a gorgeous summer's day, sunny but not too hot. The first part of the walk was over farmland on which quite a lot of bush regeneration is happening, and we had beautiful views of the ranges in all their rugged beauty.

Here is one of the traps, a DOC approved design, that obviously caught something if you look at the tail. If you are horrified by trapping, I am sure you will get over that if you read a little about the impact these introduced animals, especially stoats, are having on our endemic birds.

There is a wonderful little humped bridge to cross once you reach the bush area.

We were warmly welcomed into Heritage Lodge and people ate their lunch there. Well, at least most people ate their lunch there: I had got my wires crossed and thought I was on a half day trip so had just brought a snack with me. Then we had the options of relaxing in the hut, taking a 'hard' walk down to the river and back up, or taking an 'easy' walk along the ridge line. I opted for the easy walk!

We arrived back in town at about 4:45. Fortunately for the others involved in my Sound of Music rehearsal, this did give me time to whizz home and have a shower first!!

For those who would like to know more about the Oroua valley stoat trapping project, there is a pdf file you can access part way down this DOC volunteers page, under the "Oroua Valley Stoat trapping project" heading. Actually, I found this whole page quite enlightening... I had no idea I could volunteer to do some of these things!!

Beehive Creek

Today I joined PNTMC for a family walk on the Beehive Creek walkway, up in the Pohangina Valley.

Lovely views were had across the valley to the Ruahine Ranges behind as we started off. The forecast was for plenty of warm sunshine, and it certainly felt warm as we first headed up the road so we could make a circuit.

We weren't the only ones out enjoying the day: we were passed by quite a few vintage cars out on a rural rally. It came time to head off the road and up the hill on farmland. Felt very warm making that climb, and I was the slowest...... I am always the slowest up the hills.....but I don't think I was as slow as last time I made this climb two years ago.

I was reminded as I climbed of the lovely walker from the mountains of Grenoble, who passed me heading up the steep road out of Montbonnet last April. She was sticking with me, but I told her to go ahead, as I knew I was holding her up. She kindly replied with the French understanding that 'each person has their own rhythm' that always makes you feel better when you are the slowest!

Once we had descended the hill we all gathered under a shady tree for a rest and drinks of water. Someone produced some "Buzz Bars" since we were on the Beehive Creek track.... And here Doug demonstrates the only kind of snake you get in New Zealand - edible ones!!

It was a great day out, with all ages on the tramp. Here a very young tramper descends from the stile. Who knows where this young one will choose to go in the future?!

Much of the last part of the walk was down the stream itself. It was just heaven splashing through the water, which was actually quite low, and warm. I caught sight of this native koura in the stream bed. Maybe it wasn't in the best condition, being out in the daytime, and with the water temperature as it was. If you want to know more about koura though, here are some links, from DOC, RSNZ, NZ freshwater org, and a photo from the Rimutaka Trust.

After the big splash-along, we collected our lunch and found a shady spot to enjoy our lunch in the nearby picnic ground. Then we headed home, but not before the tramper's traditional cone icecream treat from the Ashhurst shop ;-)

Out on my old 'training' route in the sunshine

This has been an awfully lazy holiday. And I haven't exactly been up early often. So when I decided that today was the day I would walk my old 'training' circuit, Old West-Turitea-Greens-Kahuterawa Rds, I knew I would have to set the alarm to get up early enough to beat the heat at the end of my walk.

The alarm came as an awful shock before 6am. I had prepared my day pack yesterday evening, so somewhere in my befuddled brain I knew I was off out walking, but somehow I forgot I was at home, and in my confused state I was trying to work out exactly which village in France or Spain I was in, and what day it was....etc.....

I set off with the early morning sunshine, and after an hour or so I met the traffic on Turitea Rd starting the journey to work. And shortly after that I became desperate for a cafe in the next local village where I could get a cola kao con leche. No such luck on the rural New Zealand route I was on of course!!
I was glad to reach upper Turitea then Greens Rd, where I got to climb. I had forgotten quite how steep some of these climbs were. But I see now why they stood me in good stead when I had to climb up and down so much in the early days from Le Puy.
The first part of the climbing was in lovely shady bush, but later on the walk became more exposed to the sunshine.

After three hours walking I felt quite tired!! But a circuit is a circuit, and I was only just over halfway. I sat down on the grass verge for a snack, enjoying the hill view. At least I didn't have to worry about snakes in the grass here at home, just the odd cowpat or two.

After four hours walking I received my 'reward': at the high point along Greens Rd you suddenly emerge to this view over the Manawatu Plains. I remembered walking here not too long after I arrived home one winter's day, when it was bitterly cold, wet and windy along here, and I needed to don all my warm layers. Today by comparison, it was obvious from the outset I had much more need of sunscreen and a sunhat and plenty of water to drink.

Lovely blue skies, and warm and calm today.

I thought I caught sight of the red under-feathers of a kaka swooping by.
And finally I was into the home stretch down Kahuterawa Rd. We used to have a Camino saying that the last four kms is the hardest, no matter whether you walk 14km or 28km. Today I walked about 20km at a guess. And the last four kms did feel like the hardest! The soles of my feet are not quite as accustomed to walking as they were just a few months ago!!
But ahhhhhh........ it was a lovely summer's day!

Postscript: Next day: I didn't wake before 6am today- without benefit of the alarm I was back in holiday mode and it was nearly 8am. My muscles are also a bit stiff, unaccustomed as I am to regular long walks now!!!

Happy New Year 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!!!
OK just cos we are 'early' here to welcome in the New Year.... here are some photos from how we rocked in New Year 2009 in Palmerston North Square.

There was a great party in the Square in downtown Palmie, and the crowd had a really good vibe. Lots of families, lots of people of all ages. First photo is of the two 'vocalists' from Abba Addiction who started singing soon after I arrived, about the same time as a shower of rain arrived at about quarter to eleven. Fortunately, the rain never came to anything much.
By the way, all these performance shots are taken via the wonderful big screen.....I couldn't see the stage for all the young ones dancing;-)

With about twenty minutes to go before midnight, the act shifted to a group called Sound Workshop from Hamilton. They'd performed earlier in the evening as well I gather, before I arrived, and were back on stage by popular demand. They rocked!

They were really energetic and a whole lot of fun to watch and listen to.
Their drummer enjoyed turning on a show.
And this vocalist seemed to really enjoy what she was doing.

It seemed no time before the countdown clock was whirring it over for the last minute of 2009 in our part of the world.
And then the fireworks began from the top of the Council Building. Such an ugly building usually...... nice to see it can look attractive for once.



And then when the fireworks were done, Sound Workshop took to the stage again so everyone could rock on!

Stanfield Hut

I joined a PNTMC tramp to Stanfield Hut today, just the three of us, in glorious weather, about 23C, warm but not too hot. They had a lovely new sign there at the beginning of the walk, and we could clearly see the little 'grunt' we faced at the beginning to climb up to Holmes Ridge.... nothing like the grunt to get up to the top of the ranges on the other side though! However, four months after getting home in a fit state, I was appalled to find that after winter laziness, I found it a real grunt up that hill!! (Mind you, it was quite steep and rugged underfoot, and I don't recall anything quite so tough on the Camino..... or maybe there was and I was fitter then!!!) No photos of the grunt.... I was too busy holding onto trees getting my breath back as I climbed!!

After climbing the grunty hill, we reached a 4WD road, then walked along the ridge top for a while, until it was time to descend again back down to the river. We had a short break before we tackled the river section, and there I distinguished myself by grabbing hold of some ongaonga- native stinging nettle- as I passed. Ouch!!! Not nice!!! I plunged my hand into the stream a few times to feel the cool water and try to reduce the stinging feel.

Twenty minutes or so later, we reached the hut and ate lunch in the sunshine. Too nice to sit in the hut. This native clematis was flowering near the long drop.

The return trip was via the river, and we walked along the river in the sunshine, and crossed the river numerous times.....numerous numerous numerous times.... as you do sometimes in Kiwiland. Water level was quite low though. Lots of debris still lying around from the 2004 floods when the water level would have looked completely different through here. Various plants starting to colonise the rocky areas.

At one point we had to negotiate our way under this massive fallen rimu tree.

And just to finish off, this is a shot of some ongaonga I saw as we were ending our tramp. Looks vicious doesn't it, with all those nasty looking spines. Next time someone warns me there is ongaonga nearby, I will try to remember their warning as I pass!!!

The Camino keeps following me!

One of the remarkable things about the Camino has been the re-discovery of contacts since I came home. While walking, I only shared my e-mail address with two people. But since I have come home, contact has been re-established with a whole bundle of people I walked with. People have tracked me down via other people, via photos on blogs, etc. The nature of the Camino was such that you sometimes walked with people for a few days, but then you never saw them again, as your pace of walking differed. But in those few days, you often came to know those people in a special way, as you walked together in the landscape, and/or shared evenings in the albergues/gites.

The latest 're-discovery' was yesterday. There was a French couple I met after three weeks of walking in France, "les DDs", who I saw often for the next month, but who 'disappeared' after Viana in Spain (near Logrono.) Three of us, who had often walked with them, wondered where they were, whether they had suffered an accident, or whether some event at home had meant they had to leave the Camino. It was their plan to walk from home to Santiago, then walk home again.

As it turns out, though we never saw them again after Viana, we only just missed them in Santiago, where they arrived on July 7th. That was the day we took the bus to Finisterre, then I left early the next morning to take the train to France. They had a fortnight's rest in Santiago, then began the return walk home, arriving back where they lived in France on October 31st, seven months after leaving home. I am proud of the 1500km I walked. But it pales into insignificance against their 3600km!!!

Trouble is, they only speak French, so I need to e-mail them in French, and I am already forgetting my French fast! Just as well there is such a thing as Babelfish these days!!!

Desert Rd

Last week I took a drive up the Desert Rd, and had spectacular views on the way north. First up here is Mt Ruapehu, which had its drama last year when the crater wall finally had an expected collapse, letting a lahar loose.

Mt Ngauruhoe was looking deceptively peaceful with its snow covered peak.

And just north of Taupo, I took a walk around the Craters of the Moon, which I had heard about from my cousins but never made time to see before. Lots of steam rising from the ground, and one dramatic large mudpool. Quite a reminder of the activity that always lurks close to the surface in this whole area!

World Famous in Palmie

Palmerston North has quite a few events that are 'world famous' here in Palmie.... The Sakura springtime festival at IPC is one such event, and this year the weather has smiled for the cherry blossoms and the multicultural crowd drawn to see them.

And just like they do in the parks of Japan..... people pose to get their photos taken under the blossoms.

And tomorrow there is another legendary Palmie event... the St James Gala Day. Let's hope the sun shines for them as well......

Walking from Le Puy to SJPP- YouTube

Here is a slide show of some of my photos taken while walking between Le-Puy-en-Velay and St Jean Pied de Port, along the Chemin de St Jacques. I left Le Puy mid-April, experiencing some snow in the early days, then 30+ degrees by the time I reached Conques a week later.... I was very happy when I arrived in SJPP late in May, and am still amazed I did it!

My Camino in Spain -Youtube slideshow

I have been making various slideshows of my Camino photos, and this one is of the route I walked along the Camino Frances. It starts from St Jean Pied de Port in the south of France, across the Pyrenees, then along to Santiago in Galicia in north-west Spain.

The music you might find a bit repetitive and not all that interesting.... but I have been experimenting using Garageband and I am only a beginner ;-) (We all have to start somewhere!)

Moana Roa beach

One of the things I realised doing the Camino was that a major 'love of my life' is walking outdoors ;-) And I have just joined Forest & Bird to do some more of that.

This morning I joined a group to walk at Moana Roa, down Parewanui Rd from Bulls. We walked in the sandy area just inland from the beach, until we reached the estuary where the Rangitikei River arrives at the sea. The great thing about going with F&B is that there are real experts who tend to go with you. Today our leader, Viv, was someone who had a lot of knowledge about coastal plants. She pointed out the native convolvulus (pictured).

She also knew a lot about where katipo live. She searched under a few likely looking small logs, and pointed out some nests to us. Then someone, using what we had just learned about their habitat, turned over another small log.... and hey presto, we were viewing a real live katipo, complete with a bold red stripe on its back! You can find out more in this local DOC report, and on the Te Papa website

And Viv also had a photo of a banded dotterel so we could look out for them. It wasn't long before we saw one.... though they blended in superbly with the stones and dunes. You can see a wonderful photo of one on this website.

Back home!

With my combo of stand-by and waitlisting, I had a long wait in Singapore, but there were a few things that made it easier. I was able to take a shower in the transit hotel. Then there were a couple of 'rest areas' in Terminal 3 with big long stretch out chairs so I was able to lie there quietly for a while with my eyemask on, even though sleep still eluded me.

And they have some excellent services for stand-by passengers in Singapore, run through the Tourist Board. You can get a free shuttle to a couple of places in the city if you want. (I felt a bit too jaded for that one.) They also have a couple of free tours, and I took the "cultural" one at 4pm. They take you out through immigration, then onto an air-conditioned bus. We had an excellent guide who gave a real insight into Singapore's history. And it was amazing to be driven through Chinatown and Little India by bus. I had been to both places before, but in Singapore's heat, you tend to wander them slowly, not going too far away from the MRT station: in the bus we saw interesting parts of these areas that I hadn't passed through before.

Then when we got back to the airport, I didn't need to go airside straight away, and I was able to take advantage of the greater range of cheaper eating options in the basement of T3.

Finally it was time to board the flight back to Auckland. It was slightly shorter than the one from Europe and time seemed to pass a little more quickly, though sleep still eluded me! We had a strong tailwind across much of Australia and made good time. I found it strange that it was possible to cover more than 1000km in an hour when I had just taken many weeks to walk the same!!

In Auckland the people at AirNZ made the necessary changes to my final flight, but it seemed like all the flights to PN were full and I had a long wait. Then suddenly mid-afternoon, I heard my name paged...... Someone hadn't turned up for a PN flight, and the lady in the ticketing/coordination area had remembered me from the morning. Sudddenly I found myself issued with a new boarding pass, and I was off on the final leg home! I was so impressed by this excellent bit of personal service, especially since by this stage I was so very tired.

And so I have had two sleeps (of the jetlagged wake-up-early variety!) back home. And this morning I am even feeling slightly 'normal' again.....

The long way home!

Monday we journeyed to Finisterre...by bus! It was a fitting end to the journey to walk to the lighthouse at the "end of the world".

And since then I have been "on the way home". I took two trains from Santiago back to Paris. The first, daytime, didn't take the same path as the Camino, but it traversed the same landscapes. First the lush green of hilly Galicia, then the flat more barren expanses of the Meseta, much drier than when we walked there a few weeks earlier. Lastly the climb up towards the edges of the Pyrenees, though this time it was often through tunnels when the going got steeper! I reached Hendaye after nearly 12 hours in the train, then slept in a couchette overnight to Paris.

My first job getting back to Paris was to visit Singapore Airlines to try and find an earlier flight home. I was very impressed by their service, but the flights out of Paris were very full and I remained wait-listed Thursday evening... I rested two days with ny friend at Bonnelles, a peaceful place outside of Paris, then headed to CDG to try and get a flight on stand-by. Success! And now I am at Singapore for 12 hours awaiting my onward flight to NZ. I will be tired at the end of all this, but eventually I will be home!!!

Santiago!!!

We only intended going to Arzua from Melide, only 14km, but another 15km to the next albergue...But when we arrived and it was only 10.30am, and it wasn´t raining, and all these new pilgrim albergues were on the unattractive main street, we decided to continue....

Spent the night in a pleasant pension at Brea. Real sheets but the snorer #2 from hell- and again a woman! But that left us in striking distance of Santiago.

Next morning it was very humid for our last start, and before long it had turned to constant rain - not hard rain mostly, but more than drizzle. By the time we were getting closer to Santiago, it was very misty in the rain, and you could hardly see ahead at all.

So that led to an easy decision: we stopped at Monte de Gozo, five km from the Cathedral. I had heard about this place and it sounded like army barracks, but it was actually very pleasant. It is all divided up into well separated cubicles with room for eight in each, and the hospitalero was very friendly. Lots of people we had seen on the way also stopped here... Big advantage..you can stay three nights, so we were able to make the last walk with only a day pack, and leave the big pack here at MdG, and come back on the bus!!!

This morning we left soon after 7am so we could get to the Cathedral Square while it was still quiet. We met several people we knew on the way...

Soon after 9am I found the Pilgrim´s Office and joined the queue to get my Compostelle. The French couple just ahead of me in the queue knew how far I had walked, and pushed me in ahead of them when it was their turn... The young woman who served me was very pleasant. All the people on the list just ahead of me were students who had started in Sarria. My two credentials were full on both sides and didn´t need much checking, and I now am the proud possessor of a Compostella with my name on it in Latin!

Went to the pilgrim Mass at 12...jam-packed.. and lots of people circulating while it was on..... young pilgrims were given some parts to play. Spied a man we had met sometime ago on the track... so lovely to see him again. He finished several days ago, but walked on to Finisterre. (I will take the bus on Monday!!) Had lunch with him and L and D. A celebration!

Lestedo and Melide

Well, interestingly, the day after Portomarin, the tracks didn´t seem quite so crazy-full of people. So I guess we just struck more than a few weekend groups on Sunday, and/or that the big crowd has now moved further ahead than us! We are still finding it easy to get accommodation, and it seems like we are here in a ´lull´before the big holiday crowds descend.

Yesterday we left soon after 6am again, and it was quite misty. We headed down the hill to where a footbridge crossed over the dammed river/lake, and crossed it while it was still darkish. The next bit of the walk headed uphill through some beautiful forest, and for the first time I used my little torch to light the way a little.

We planned about a 20km stretch to Lestedo, in the countryside, rather than head for the next biggish town. The day´s walk passed through what was evidently a very historic part of the Camino, and we passed several signs that indicated where former hostels and cemeteries for pilgrims were located, as well as several small churches and very old looking crosses. There was Celtic settlement here as well. (In fact, every time I have heard it, the local music has been very similar to Irish music.)

We were very happy when we reached Lestedo, to find that the spot was indeed very tranquil. There was room for just 10 in the small albergue; the bunks were comfortable and well spaced out; the shower room was huge; and there was a comfortable lounge to relax in, as well as a large garden. Perfect for not walking far! And the promised rain never started until it began drizzling a little in the evening.
Someone told me that a group of ten(!!!) New Zealanders were staying in a Casa Rural not too far away, but so far I haven´t met up with any of them. I haven´t met 10 fellow Kiwis in the whole time I have been walking so it is amazing that there should be that many within a few hundred metres of me.

This morning at about 5am I had my first taste of proper Galician rain, when it woke me up as it thundered on the roof. Thankfully, by 6am it had all eased off again, and though we walked under skies that were threatening at times, we only needed our raincoats for a short period.

It was lovely walking again, a lot of it on leafy lanes and past little hamlets, and to be sure there are rich rural aromas in places. We crossed several old bridges and saw many small churches, and that always gives a sense that many pilgrims have passed this way in bygone centuries.

Melide is quite a big centre, but the path into it was very pleasant, partly through a forest and a little village where we had our credentials stamped in the church. Even when we need to walk near roads in Galicia, they are usually very quiet ones, and the path for us is well separated off.

We are staying in the Galician albergue here in Melide, and I wasn´t sure I was going to stay here as I had heard bad things about how dirty it was last year. However, although the bunks are quite cramped, the new organisation managing the Galician albergues appear to have cleaned things up a bit. There is a Christian group outside singing, and they have made Paella for lunch etc. I haven´t had any though as I don´t want to be hauled into a witnessing-type convo..... chicken that I am!!! (Actually I am probably safe as I doubt any of them speak English though I might be wrong!)

Only 50km left to walk, and we are expecting to walk into Santiago on Saturday.... Then I will hopefully head to Paris on Tuesday. And I am longing for some blob-out time. Still don´t know how long it will be before I can get a flight home.... have heard nothing more about my wait-listed dates so far.... Am looking forward to some nice long rests on my own bed though!!

Portomarin

Yes... Spain won the European Soccer Cup! We went to bed early but the news was obvious when all the hooting and tooting started in the roads outside!

Started early today and it was cool to begin with. The last couple of hours getting into Portomarin have been quite warm though- but I gather we might be seeing some of the famous Galician rain tomorrow...

There were some lovely leafy walks down quiet country lanes again today. Coming into Portomarin there was less shade, then we came to a place with flags including a South African one... so Sil... I didn´t see Gordon but I enjoyed one of the cold drinks he provided and left him a note saying hi from you.

The nature of the trail has completely changed after Sarria, as many are just doing the last 100km for their Compostella. Track was crowded!!! And I found that a little hard to handle! However, we quickly found a quieter albergue with a cubicle for 3 that L D and I am sharing. Off for a shower in a minute.

Not sure when I am coming home. Tried to change my flight dates but things are full from Paris via Singapore to NZ all July. So time will tell! Might have to buy a little tent and go camping somewhere.....

In Sarria

Triacastelo was a little town with a street that had quite a few small private albergues and a couple of restaurants, and pilgrims tended to sit at bars and watch the world go by...

This morning it was misty and I wondered how it was on the top of the mountain: was it clear and sunny with a view down to the misty valleys like yesterday when I walked? Or was it misty up there today as well?

It was a bit of a climb this morning and then a bit of a descent. But I was in love with the walk the whole way: this part of Galicia is certainly very leafy and green. And although the mist may have hidden some of the early views...... it kept things cooler which I am always glad about! The walk was partly on very quiet roads and partly on farm tracks. At one stage I came out of a small village bar where I had had a second breakfast, to find that the cows were being herded along the ´main street´. I took a photo as the Freisan dairy cows passed by....

The mist began to lift around 10.30am, and by 11am it was starting to be a bit sunnier, and soon Sarria appeared in the distance below. I thought that I might perhaps continue onto the next village where there was a small albergue, since it was cool enough still. Sarria looked quite large and I was a bit worried about getting lost.... but shells soon appeared in the footpath....

I was heading up the main historic street to pass on out of Sarria, passing several albergues, when I heard my Quebec friends call out... we had been in different places for a few days. So I forgot my plans to go on. They had certainly picked out a comfortable albergue: Don Alvaro. The atmosphere here is lovely, and so are the facilities. There is a foot bath outside with jets of cold water. There are sun loungers where I spent an hour relaxing. I feel I could easily stay here another day on holiday!!

In Triacastela

I am glad I decided to stay on in O´Cebreiro for the night. The weather stayed clear all day (though a cool breeze got up later) and the views were magnificent all day. A woman at the restaurant told me they had been having a lot of misty days with no views, so I struck it lucky. It was great to feel like I was on top of the world for an afternoon.

This morning I rose early and the glow of dawn was visible over the mountaintops. A special moment. There was a bit more climbing to do, to a couple more peaks... I was surprised to see heavy mist nestled down in a few valleys well into the day, as I was walking in such clear sunshine.

It got a bit wam near the highest peak, but a lot of today´s walk was shaded by banks with trees, or under shady pathways. The path passed through several farming villages where people were hard at work. The hills were beautiful and the green reminded me of home....

And now I am in Triacastela, and am about to have lunch then go exploring....

Two Mountains- one misty, one sunny!

A while since my last catch-up! Skip San Javier if you are in Astorga: bunks are crowded under the roof area and the dorm was really hot!

However, the next day was a great one, with the joy of heading towards mountains again. There was thunder and lightning as we left Astorga, but it never rained where we were. (Heard the next day that they had huge hail in Molinaseca that caused huge damage.) We walked on a path that had many wildflowers. At one stage we had the company of an elderly Spanish man, whose opening comment was that nature was so precious.... Lyne gave me her Quebec badge from her hat today, so I am an honorary Quebecois pilgrim now!

Monday evening I stopped in Rabanal, run by the London-based Confraternity of St James, and their albergue is the most welcoming I have been to in Spain. I got to meet Brendan, from the Santiago forum, and his wife, and another Irish couple. All four were hospitaleros for a fortnight, and they made everyone so welcome, chatting outside for a large part of the afternoon and evening. Rabanal is a lovely village that you see as you start climbing towards the mountain with the Cruz de Ferro.

Next morning was the climb to the Cruz de Ferro. It wasn´t long before I was in mist, and it was not to be a day of views. But it meant it was not too hot for walking or climbing either! It was an easy climb, a few hundred metres spread over quite a few kilometres. The cross itself is known to be a place where pilgrims leave stones for sins etc.... I chose not to leave anything. My friends L and D had been looking forward to this spot but were disappointed by the mess some people had left there. I was surprised by how small this cross was....

I had decided that I was not going to push on another five km to the next village anywhere I didn´t have to, if it was too hot. But the mist fooled me. It rose just after I left the last village before Molinaseca, so I ended up walking in the heat anyhow!

Next day I stayed in Cacabelos. The best thing here was that they had massages on offer in the evening at the albergue. So I booked in for a leg massage, and it was wonderful timing for me. My leg muscles have been feeling very over-used... and the massage released all the tightness and the pain. So good walking now!

Yesterday I followed my new heat rule and stopped walking in a little village called Trabadelo after 20km. The municipal albergue here was lovely and so very clean. There were only five of us here and I was the only woman, so I got a room to myself, and I was the only one using the women´s toilets and shower room!!! I also used the washing machine and dryer to wash all my gear: I had a whole lot of bites on my back after the night in Cacabelos, not sure if they were bedbugs or a mosquito.... but am trying to eliminate the chance of carrying anything on....

Today was the last significant climb of the whole journey, to O´Cebreiro. I was a bit concerned my shorter day yesterday would end up with me climbing in too much heat, but I actually enjoyed the climb very much. I am quite fit now, and just take these things at my own pace. The views were gorgeous on the way up. I was sweating like a pig, but so was everyone else. The bars along the way were doing a roaring trade!!! And I have decided to stay the night here in O´Cebreiro in the new revamped albergue. The village here is historic and looks very interesting. So I am about to go and have a spot of lunch then go exploring. I haven´t even had a shower yet- that´s what internet addiction will do to you when you have a new fix after several days!- But I figure I will only get sweaty again anyhow!!

Only 150km to go now folks. Seems amazing but everyone is now counting down the days until we finish walking!