Woo hoo! Look at us and our Certificates....

Linda and I were so excited to receive our certificates! Posing on the steps the Catheral and getting ready to celebrate with some good food and wine. Tomorrow, we will all go to the pilgrims mass and the final blessing for all pilgrims.

Arriving in Santiago de Compostela

We saw the first sign of Santigo and I just had to take a picture of Linda and Andrew. We walked quite a way into town until we reached the plaza where all the pilgrims gather to celebrate and get their certificate. We were all so excited!! More pictures to follow....

16k and we are on our way....

The local bread(Pun) truck delivers to the locals daily. I caught this lady picking up her bread as we were walking through Monte do Gozo. A view of Santiago, we are only 2 k to finally arrive!!!!

Some of our relaxing moments..Click....

Andrew taking a break midway through our 32k today. Kate relaxing and checking her facebook and email...

More Photos of our Journey today....

We walked through some beautiful smelling euycaliptist trees for miles today. We also came across some locals riding on their horses and enjoying the nice weather.

Santiso-Castrofeito-O Pine

We left this morning from Melide. Our plan was to walk to Santa Irene, but all alberguea and hostels were all full, so we ended up at a really nice place called ¨Casa Bao¨ in Santiso-Castrofeito-O Pine. We have really nice rooms and the food was great! We walked over 32 k today and tomorrow we are only have 16 K to Santiago de Compostela!!! The following photo´s are the terrain and rasberries for sale $1.50 E. More photos to follow...

Melide

The gentlemen is preparing fresh octopus for anyone who chose to try it. The house was made of old stones, but they added a more modern look with lots of glass and plants. We will be walking 25k tomorrow and rest for the big day on Saturday!

Casanova

As we were walking through the village called ¨Casanova¨ I decided to take these photographs. I believe they store their grain for the winter in these interesting structures.

Photos of our day on the road to Melide

I caught Andrew in a pose with the 69 k marker. Most of our day was enjoyed walking through these beautiful tall covered trees which the trail goes through, beside the small villages we encountered.

Walking to Melide...

We left Ligonde this morning and continued to walk up and down hills all day. The terrain was mostly beautiful green trees shading us as we walked through cobble stone villages. It was partly cloudy, as the sun peaked out once in a while. We arrived in Melide about 2:30pm today, which is in a some what large city. We are staying at an alberge with 100 beds. It is only costing us 3 euro, but we usually have to put up with the snoring. We all like the private alberge´s, which we get a room with 4 beds or a smaller albergue with 20 beds or less.
We have only 50 k left and will arrive in Santiago de Compostela this Saturday! We are so excited, but at the same time will miss this beautiful place. I will upload photos as soon as I find a place the fits my USB stick. Adios for now...

On our way to Ligonde

Linda and Kate are crossing the bridge out of Portomarin. We are on our way to Ligonde and will stay there for the night.

Portomarin

We arrived in Portomarin late this afternoon. Portomarin was built close to the river hundreds of years ago. It was flooded and they had to build the city up on the hill. If you look close at the photo of the river, you can still see ruins of the orginial city. The other photo is the church located in the center of town. We have 90K left of our journey and haven´t decided yet where we will stop tomorrow afternoon.

More photo´s along the way to Portomarin

On our way..

We left this morning for Portomarin. Andrew is standing next to a beautiful painting on the wall outside of Sarria. We walked and walked and finally found the mark for 100k to Santiago de Compostela. I am so excited as you can see!!

Sarria

On our way to Sarria....As you can see the cows followed me from Fonfria (Just kidding). Andrew is crossing over a small stone bridge and feeling pretty good, hoping to catch a ride...

Fonfria

As we were entering into Fonfria, I decided to take this beautiful picture of the village. Life in the village is pretty busy with the animals roaming down the main path through town. This is where we ate fresh cheese within a hour of it being made. So, so good!

O'Cebreiro

Over looking the beautiful valley outside our albergue in O´Cebreiro (We walked up those mountains.). The other photo is a traditional Irish looking store also in O'Cebreiro. It was a very cute village.

Climbing a mountain Glaicia

We climbed and climbed very rocky terrain through most of the mountain on our way to Glaicia. Linda and I were so happy to reach the top and a marker to prove we did it!

Galicia, O´Cebreiro, Fonfria and Sarria

We traveled up the biggest mountain in in Northern Spain and entered Galicia a couple of days ago. The view was incredible. The mountain kept going up and up into several small villages, where we would take a break to catch our breath. We cross over rocks, mounts of dirt and sunny weather. We stayed over night in O´Cebreiro. The albergue overlooked the mountain. The village was like a movie set in Ireland. Beautiful stone walls and green as can be.
We left the next morning and walked to a small village called Fonfria. The village had cows, chickens, cats and dogs walking down the dirt road. We bought fresh cheese made with in a hour from one of the locals. It was so good on our fresh french bread.The scenery was like a picture from 100 years ago. The houses were all made out of stone and slate. The albergue was quiet to sleep and the meal filled our bellies.
We left this morning on our way to Sarria to travel 30k. On our way we walked up and down hills, through creeks, muddy trails, friendly cows bell rings and a beautiful view of Sarria. We arrived today at 3:30pm to shower, eat and rest for our adventure tomorrow. I will send photo´s of our journey when it is available to upload my pictures. Good night for now....

More photos´s at Albergue Brasil in Vega de Valcarce

Here is the entrance to "Albergue Brasil" with great music, food and decor. We really liked this place, especially the food!

Arrived in Vega de Valcarce!

We arrived in Vega De Valcarce after walking 30k through vineyards, villages and towns. The Camino de Santiago followed the river almost the whole way. We decided to stay at Albergue Brasil. Boy, what a treat!

Out hostess, Christine, cooked us a fabulous Braizilian meal of salad, beans, rice and salsa vinegar over bread. Kate decided it´s time to relax in the hammock.....

Villafranca

These are photos of Villafranca as we were walking through the town. It´s a beautiful place in the valley with a river running through it. We are on our way to Vega de Valcarce to rest for the evening.

Wine and a stop in Trabadelo

We walked through many vineyards in the hills today. We stopped in a small village called Trabadelo to get some te con leche and a sweet cake. The owner was shaving off some meat for a pilgrim to make a sandwich to take along the way.

Cacabelos

As we were walking to the albergue last night in Cacabelos, Andrew said ¨There´s Mission Mill¨, so I had to take a picture. We stayed at an old stone church from the outside and in the inside it was design with 8 by 10, 2 bed room with a small night stand. I am standing there saying ¨welcome to my closet. It was a real cute place.

Castle of Ponferrada

We arrived in Ponferrada this afternoon and went to tour this castle. It is amazing with so many beautiful views of the city from every angle. In the 12 century, the castle was originally a small village with a wall made of mud and pebbles. It was reinforced by the templars with a wall of lime in the 13 century and was taken from the templars by the Moors in the 14 century. In the 15 century a duke turned it into a strong and luxurious castle. (Click image to enlarge)

Rocks and Cross

We left this morning to walk to Ponferrada. Along the way we stopped at Cruz de Ferro, a sacred cross where stones (from all over the world) are dropped as a symbol of the burdens and sins of the pilgrims. We all bought rocks to leave there. Also, this photo shows the rocky terrain we encountered on the mountain today. (Click image to enlarge)

Traveling the road

We have traveled uphill through rough terrain in the last couple of days. Lots of rock, dust and hot weather. Here passing by an old house from hundreds of years ago, but still intact with its' stone, mud, and wood. (Click image to enlarge)

Castle in Astorga

As we were leaving Astorga, I just had to get this photo of a castle at the center of town. We walked through the towns of Murias de Rechivaldo, Catalina de Somaza, El Ganso and decided to stay in Rabanal del Camino. It was just too hot to go any further today. We will rest tonight and leave early in the morning to continue our journey. Good night!