Revisiting the Camino - Statistics and my book

I'm in the process of writing a children's book - well one aimed at the tweens 8 - 11 yrs as well as a picture book for under 6's about our trek on the Camino.  I'll not say too much just yet, but I have a wonderful artist on board and have written the bare bones of chapters and pages. My plan is to have it presented to a publisher by Christmas this year.

In checking some of the stages and town names, I came across a blog which reports on the statistics of trekkers on the Camino. Check out the full analysis here

I was interested to see that there is an increase in numbers over the years, particularly for Australians.

Spanish pilgrims hold the highest number of people walking ( just under 50%), with Aussies nestled amongst the top ten at 1.5%; but taking it a bit further - if you looked at the numbers as a percentage of population, Australians are right up there.

Incredible to think that this year there were just under 3000 Aussies walking at some point between January and now; and we met soooo many while we were walking.

All the pilgrims numbers for the first 9 months of 2014,1 January - 30 September  

  

The total number of pilgrims who registered at the Pilgrims´ Office in the period 1 January – 30 September 2014 was 208,007.  Compared to the same period in 2013 this represents an increase of 9.6%.

How are the English speaking countries doing?

Country	2012	2013	2014	Growth %
Australia	1362	2253	2828	28%
Canada	2121	2372	2578	6%
Ireland	3542	4407	4358	-1.6%%
South Africa	593	615	509	-19%
United Kingdom	3170	3435	3687	8%
USA	5549	8165	9257	12%
New Zealand	274	390	485	40%

A Corona - a Spanish getaway

A chance to see some sun, sand and beach is something not to be missed.  We hopped on the train in Santiago and hurtled into the countryside to A Corona - a beachside town pretty famous for is golden sands.

It was pretty enough - after we walked about a billion miles from the train station to find it. The kids and I were glad we were so used to walking as it might have been a bit annoying after the first hour of being lost int he tiny medieval streets.

We were rewarded with clear blue water and golden sands; though not as soft as the sand back in Aus, it was s delight to have it between our toes.

We slathered up in sunscreen and the kids darted off to the water, only to run screaming back almost immedialty. Yep.. Blazing hot sun, sweltering day, and the sea was as icy as the North Pole. You know the cold that takes your breath away and you begin to shiver even with your feet in it?  That.

We took the opportunity to wander the historic area and check out Hercules Tower - the oldest - still still standing ( and to my understanding) operational lighthouse. It dates from the Roman Empire - 2nd Century - so is pretty amazing. 

The day remained hot and sticky, with the water freezing, we tried to have another swim, but the cold beat us again.  It didn't stop other people though.. phew.. no wonder Europeans go crazy when they see our coastlines. 

Stone Shrine for Age at Finsterre

Hugging the edges, along the entire trail, there are stone shrines. These range from haphazard rocks piled against each other, to elaborately manicure stones set perfectly in a tower. Many are left as they are built, where others are added to by anonomous pilgrims as they set thier rocks and stones down. They can be clustered in tiny rock skyscraper villages, or set along the trail on thier own. 

The common theme however, is the intention behind the shrines.  Each have been built to honour or as a reminder of a loved one, often passed on. Many have hand written prayers under the bottom rock. Some have an order of service from the funeral. Others have a photo.

Morgan has carried Adrians memorial dog tags on his neck the entire trail ( bar the last 60 - see the amazing story in another post on how they were lost and then found and returned to us ) 

It was a very special ceremony for us to build a shrine and lay what we feel, is the last piece of our farewell in our grieving process.

We spent time alone staring out at the sea, as Age often did, and as he did last year.

Finisterre and Muxia

Finsterre is the 'official'. 0 km mark, though its a little over 100 km from Santiago. Instead of walking that extra bit, or taking the bus, we hired a car snd spent time exploring the beautiful fishing villages on our way to Finsterre. Next time we do the camino, we will def get a car for a few days and stay in one of the villages, rather than spend time in Santiago.

I've done a seperate post on the laying down of the tags. It was a pretty intense but special moment for us.

We dangled pur feet over the cliff, sat and meditated and then found the pieate seafood place we ate at last year. The pirate cook was still there, looking more like a pirate than ever. Best seafood ever - all fresh and so yum! Totally blew our megre pilgrim budget for the day..

Muxia is an integral part of the pilgrimage as it is believed that one of the early apostles, after being rejected by the locals, wanting nothing to do with Christianity, the virgin Mary floated up the bay in a stone boat and encouraged him. He went on and converted the masses, got a Monestary built and  kept the place her boat came ashore as a sacred spot. 

Its a pleasant sandy little cove which was a perfect paddling spot today.

17.5 km Into Santiago - leaving Pedrouzo

So here it is.. The last leg.

It seems totally unreal.  Here are some shots from our walk into Santiago. Along the way we stopped for fresh fruit, cut up by two kind ex-pilgrims. It was another donation tent with watermelon, fruit juices and the most delicious home made pizzas we had tasted. 

  It was very emotional walking into the square. I filmed us and uploaded it onto facebook - I got kinda emotional. 

 I have photos of us laying in the middle of the square with our feet in the air. It was a shame the Cathedral is under restoration, but you can't get all the breaks I guess. 

We were so hungry on the way in, we stopped for .. yep.. kebabs.. and I gotta say, they were so delicious.

We got into Santiago in time to catch the Pilgrims Office, so were delighted to get our certifications on the day we arrived. 

Pretty tired, so will try and catch up on the blog posts at a later date.. 

I've very proud of the kids and I am certain Age is too.

Best hotel EVER

After 53 days of trekking, sleeping in hard cold and squeaky beds, surrounded by snorers and folk who think its ok to rattle plastic bags and turn on the light at 4 am, almost anything would have ben a welcome respite when we arrived in Santiago. We truly lucked out when we booked the Smart Boutique Hotel Literario San Bieit.  Thought not quite the luxury of the Parador, it lived up to its promises of being a boutique and exclusive hideaway in the centre of the old town.

This is a photo of us flopping into soft beds and nearly crying because it was so clean and comfortable.

We loved everything about the hotel. It's location, the service, the feeling of being welcomed, the beauty of the internal design and its lively environment. We felt as cosy as at home, while enjoying the magic and novelty of being away and being spoilt.

The kitchen area was a brilliant and innovative idea - I've never seen or heard of this in any other place.  Instead of a kettle and the normal bits and bobs you find in most hotels - stuck uncertainly on some bench near the doorway, this hotel offered the first floor as a communal kitchen area. it meant that we got to meet other travellers, and was not tied into having breakfast at a set point. The kitchen was open for guests 24 hours a day, with its supplies restocked at regular intervals.

The kitchen had tables and chairs in a cafeteria style arrangement with a TV on a low volume in the corner. There was a toaster with both brown and white bread available, along with a number of spreads to put on it.

In the fridge were sliced cheese and ham, bowls of apples, pears and oranges along with several juices and yoghurts.

On the bench alongside the cereals, coffee maker and selection of herbal and normal black teas, were two home baked cakes.  These were replenished every day. Sometimes we were treated with creme caramels!

This little oasis was a real treat and such a great idea. There was space for us to eat if we bought takeouts, or we could make lunch/ dinner/ snacks at any time of the day or night.

We were literally 2 mins walk to the Cathedral, with shops and a real buzz right below us in the street.

It was a little pricier than I'd normally go for - but to be honest - I forgot about that once we settled in and relaxed. It was so worth it.

Pilgrim Mass in Santiago Cathedral

The iconic insence burner, sweeping its cleaning smoke across the church and mass in Latin is something, even if you arent Catholic, is something every pilgrim looks forward to seeing at the end of thier walk. 

Even without really knowing what is being said, it holds a powerful and moving presence. The nun who sang last year was still hard at her role today. Her incrediblly strong passionate voice rang clear across the multitudes.

I've taken some shots of the cathedral. Literally hindreds of pilgrims, stuffed tight into every nook and cranny. Whst is amazing, is knowing that it is this full every day, with new pilgrims arriving every day. 

We managed to climb down the stairs to view the tomb of St James and then secure a pozzy out of the main thoroughfare.

I believe that the pilgrims names who had arrived and registered the day prior are read out, but amongst all the other latin, it was difficult to determine if names were being read out or a shopping list!

A brilliant environment and one difficult not to be moved by. 

Easy peasy into O Pedrouzo

We walked an enormous 4 km today and stopped. One because its super hot, and two, it was a good spot to pull up before the last day into Santiago tomorrow.

I enjoyed a few lemon beers ( lots of softdrink lemon and topped with a light beer) and enjoyed it more using facetime video to Michael, as he had just finished work and cracked one open too. Aint technology grand?

Lilly remembers the town from last year, and as we walked around, it came back very quickly. 

One thing that we all remembered was the amazing sizzling steak place. After seeking it out, we had what had to have been hands down, THE most amazing steak ever. No dressing or condiments needed.. Just bread to mop up the juices ( sorry vego mates) I don't eat meat often, but for this, I make the exception.

Its a late night tonight. Full moon and important soccer ( football) match on.. Noone sleeps those nights.

About 15 or so km tomorrow, which we will attempt to do when its cooler and early.

We sleep our last night in an Albergue tomorrow night in Santiago. Its very very wierd to think this has now finished.