Roaming Rocks ~ Page 3 of 29 ~ Sharing Kindness Rocks along our many adventures!

Miles: 16.43/Steps 35,976

Morning selfie at 5:30am in the pouring rain!

It was dark and wet at 5:30am. I was really happy to have my headtorch. Because it was raining so much, there are several streams down the middle of the path that we would never have been able to maneuver through in the dark.

Savina looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame with her poncho and pack. It rained the entire walk into Santiago.

There have been so many snails on the path. So many, that I have seen locals picking them up off the ground to cook!

We made it to Santiago de Compostela! Only 2 miles to go to get to the Cathedral and H and Cat.

One of our favorite breakfasts on the Camino is Napolitano’s (chocolate croissants) and fresh orange juice. There were no open bars in the morning and we settled for a place with horrible OJ and a horrible muffin at the 5th mile. Even though we were close to the finish, we decided we needed one last good breakfast and found a cute aesthetic bar with amazing Napolitano’s! In hindsight I am not sure if we were really hungry or we just didn’t wan the Camino to end.

We finished breakfast and started walking our last few steps. It felt like forever until we could see the cathedral in the distance but I totally choked up when I saw it!

Howard and Cat were there when I finished the walk. I cried when I saw them! It was so good to hug both of them. We’ve been apart for 40 days. At times it felt like an eternity and I ached for them. At other times it felt like time had stood still and we weren’t apart for that long. I am a lucky wife and mom and can never express how much I appreciated their blessing for this walk.

We started this together and we ended it together!!! It was a perfect ending.

Nikki and several of my friends were also there to greet us!

The bagpiper plays as people walk in. He was on break when I walked thru but I could hear him while we were taking pictures.

We went to the 12noon pilgrim mass and then we to check into our hotel and change into dry clothes. Unfortunately they didn’t swing the butofumero at that mass so plan on going tomorrow with hopes they swig it.

I went to the Pilgrim’s Office to get my final stamp and my Compostela. They wrote my name in Latin, “Nicolaidem Gill” on the certificate and handed it over. I had pre-registered last night.It was such an efficient and easy process and only took about 15 minutes. It was the official end to an amazing journey.

Since I had lived in Santiago de Compostela before, I definitely remembered some of our favorite bars. I got the word out for people to go to “Pub Momo” at 7pm on June 7th. (The day I arrived). Well….if you know me….you know I can be a bit extra. Word got out and whispers of the party circulated to everyone who was on the Camino. People started telling me that there was going to be a party at Pub Momo! It was hilarious! About 100 people showed up! I recognized/knew about 75 of them! It made me so happy to have everyone there, be able to introduce H and Cat to everyone and properly say goodbye to everyone and have closure on the walk.

Although I did warn them, the bar didn’t believe we would have 100 people show up so they were a bit short staffed but we made the best of it!

We finished the night walking past the cathedral to our hotel. It was stunning with its lighting!

It was an amazing day and the close to an amazing chapter. I couldn’t be prouder of myself for walking the entire Camino. No taxis, no buses. Just me. There were physical challenges and mental challenges and I did it!

I met people who will be life friends, I heard stories and talked to people I would never have had the chance to meet in any other circumstances. We had a cohesive and caring tribe by the end. Everyone came from different backgrounds and everyone had their reasons for walking. That said, we were all very similar. We was all there for a life experience, we all persevered through something very hard and we all supported each other during hard times and laughed through the good ones together.

As I close this chapter, I couldn’t be more excited to start the next chapter…. The “Gill 2023 Spanish Road-trip” with my 2 favorite travel partners! We will explore Santiago/Galicia for 2 days and show Caitlyn where we lived and then explore Spain for 2 weeks. Let the adventures carry on!

Over the last 37 days on the Camino I walked 614 miles and took 1,346,280 steps! I have met more people than I can count and have endless memories that I will hold near to my heart forever.

Spoiler Alert: I made it! (More details to come tomorrow.)

By admin

On June 8, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023

Best welcome ever!

Day 37: Arzua to Amenal

By admin

On June 8, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023

Miles: 17.15 Steps: 37,549

Todays selfie (with the moon photobombing me!)

This guy…I think his name was Andrew, has passed me very early the past 3 mornings and there is no one happier and friendlier then he is. I just felt he needed to be in the blog as a memory!

When you are tired, your mind does funny things. Walking up on this stick with plastic on it, I thought it was a stuffed stormtrooper doll on top of a stick!

I walked through a mist most of the morning. It was eerily peaceful.

This was the cutest and most affectionate dog. It was so sweet! I really wanted to bring him home.

So many flowers today!

Sabina and I walked the first 3 days together and thought it made sense to finish together! We purposely booked the same hotel the last night so we could walk into Santiago together. So glad we have kept in touch through the Camino!

Because I have been having problems with my heel, I have been altering where I put the pressure on my foot when I walk. We took a break to get a drink and I checked on my foot and was shocked to see that it looked like I grew a 6th toe. I need to reach out to my podiatrist and get something scheduled when I get home. Pretty sure there is some damage but nothing is stopping me from walking to the cathedral!

So happy I was able to meet up with my friend in Amenal! Such a great surprise!!

We ended the night with a nice dinner with Savina, Lou, Misghana and Dadi! We stayed at the Kilometro 15, which is 15 km from the Cathedral.

I can’t even believe to comprehend that tomorrow is the last day!! Woohoo!

Day 36: Palas de Rei to Arzua

By admin

On June 6, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023

Miles: 22.13/Steps: 48,445

Todays Selfie:

Morning selfie in the moonlight (kind of).

I left really early today since it was an 18 mile day. The sun was still sleeping but the moon lit the way for me. It was a gorgeous morning. The birds were singing and the chill in the air was the perfect temperature.

I love this picture! You’ve got the Camino arrows telling you which way to go, the beautiful church and at the bottom right you can see the road with the columbarium on the side which is the wall that holds the ashes of dead people. You can just wave to Grandma when you are driving by!

The path was beautiful today with a canopy of trees overhead most of the way.

I am not sure what is supposed to be stored in here but it looked pretty impressive.

The even have modern technology in Spain. This building felt like it was out of a futuristic film.

Mid day snack! Orange juice and churros with chocolate.

This was so special. We crossed over this bridge and there was a lady giving waters and snacks for a donation. She was lovely and it’s always nice to be surprised in the middle of nowhere with a kind gesture!

The perfect picture…a fountain, the cross, the church and the old men chatting.

I decided I needed a break and I put my feet in the freezing water of a stream on the side of the path It helped them so much! I was able to get 2 miles out of them without any pain afterwards.

Once I got to Aruza, I stopped at a vending machine to get a snack and was shocked when I looked at the top shelf. Who would consider buying a vibrator from a vending machine? I wonder if they sell many.
So many pilgrim statues…I stayed at A Casa do Lajueiro in a private room. It was clean and quiet and exactly what I needed for the night.

I met up with Savina to have dinner together, bought some ice cream from the store and then ended early!

Day 35: Portomarin to Palas de Rei

By admin

On June 5, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023

Miles: 18.2/Steps 39,853

Morning Selfie

The morning started off a bit hazy but it burned off pretty quickly.

It’s funny how easily the brain gets trained. Walking up to this mile marker and tree trunk, I fully believed the stump was shaped like a pilgrim because there are so many pilgrim statues along the path. Upon closer investigation I realized that no….it was just a tree trunk.

Galician granaries can be made of wood or stone but they are always raised from the ground by standing on pillars. They are everywhere! They helped to keep the crops away from animals and were mainly used to dry and store corn. The granaries are on most farms and differ in size. Although most are old and falling apart, they are beautiful to look at.

More views!

Typical Spanish breakfast. Spanish tortilla (think egg and potato quiche with no crust, cafe con leche and fresh squeezed orange juice.

There are so many cute dogs protecting their farms.

I have always thought white horses were quite mystical.

As we walked into town, we were greeted by a bagpiper.

I stayed in Pension Restaurant Casa Camino II and it was ok. It advertised that it had a bathtub but was completely disappointed when I saw this as I walked into the room. I actually had to laugh out loud because I would have cried otherwise. I don’t think Rocket would have fit in the tub to be honest. I felt bad because I convinced Joanna to stay here as well but I was happy to have her as my neighbor. We went across the street for dinner and drinks and then got to bed early because tomorrow is a big day.

Day 34: Sarria to Portomarin

By admin

On June 4, 2023

In Camino de Santiago 5/2023

Miles 17.84 Steps: 39,054

Todays selfie.

Pictures with the Sarria sign as I walked out of town. To give you some back history, Sarria serves as the starting point for the last 100km of the Camino de Santiago. 100km is required to get your Compostela which is essentially your participation ribbon for doing the walk although about half of the people start earlier on the Camino and about 30% of people start in Saint Jean Pied de Port, France which is where I started. With that in mind, there are so many new people on the trail. Lots of Spaniards and school groups also start from here as well. Most of these new “pilgrims” are walking very fast, have clean clothes and clean shoes and very high spirits. You can totally tell the difference between them and people who have been walking the past 30+ days.

Several goats were feasting on the trees as we walked out of town.

It was a very beautiful walk through forests a lot of the day.

There were tons of villages along the trail today that gave more insight into the daily activities of people who live in the countryside. There were several dogs guarding their homes and there were also a lot of cows.

The path of the Camino is usually pointed out by yellow arrows or yellow concha shells. I loved this arrow so much.

The official 100 km marker. (62.137 miles left!). It’s a shame it is so vandalized.

There was.a fun scramble down the hill before we got to the river.

And there was a fun bell to ring before we crossed the bridge into town.

It wouldn’t be a Spanish town if there wasn’t a steep set of stairs to climb before getting into town.

136 beds in one room!

I arrived in Portomarin pretty early and stayed at Albuergue Ferramenteiro. It has one big room that sleeps 130 people in one room. For an alburgue of this size, it is amazing how clean the facility and how kind the front desk staff was. Joanna and I had a lovely afternoon of drinks, food and laundry before heading back to our hostel for the night.

Day 38: Amenal to Santiago de Compostela

Spoiler Alert: I made it! (More details to come tomorrow.)

Day 37: Arzua to Amenal

Day 36: Palas de Rei to Arzua

Day 35: Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Day 34: Sarria to Portomarin