90 km today – that makes 2305 km in total and a daily average of 100 km
In the morning it was cool again, though Airexe is on 620 m height. The Italian team had breakfast as I left. A next valley was filled with fog. The Camino went partly through and there was a big difference in temperature to the higher area. After 5 km’s the cyclists had to use the route national again. The first village Palas de Rei has a nicer name then deserved. I tried to find a religious building for the stamp in my credential, but I had no success, so I cycled further on the high traffic route that was the nearest to the pedestrians Camino. Why didn’t I ride on that Camino? Two reasons: The path is sometimes small and I did not want to slalom between th pedestrians and a the second: Sometimes the path has a bad surface when it ascends and I feared to get trapped in am impassable part. In the following bigger village I tried to get a stamp again. The church was open, but no stamp. I asked in the council office and they sent me to the next pub, so I have a red pub stamp in the credential. Now I wad free to choose some alternative tracks that didn’t use the route national. It might be one or two kilometers longer, but cycling without trucks and high traffic make more fun. In Arzúa the alternative route ended. From a distance I already observed, tht there were a lot of tractors on the route national. It was. A protest against the EU politics for farmers. My luck was, that the tractors blocked the traffic to the east, so they did not hinder the cyclist pilgrims. I followed a further alternative cycle route later. After it returned to the route national I gathered the second stamp ay an auberge municipal. I ws ready to enter Santiago now. Near the airport the route national became a motorway and cyclists were directed to the pedestrians Camino. From now on I followed the pedestrians track and paused a a monument fom Pope John Paul II and got the first stamp in a religious building today.. Now I entered the town and after the obligatory picture at the city entrance I continued to the Cathedral. At that time the Italian team also arrived and together we searched to the Cathedral. There was a staircase to bridge but not to bad because it was downhill. At the front of the cathedral we made pictures and then searched the way to the pilgrims office to receive the confirmation. There was a long queue of pedestrian and cyclists pilgrims and some people I had seen on earlier days.
With the confirmation in my hands and saying goodbye to the Italian team, I started the last kilometers to the camping and after pitching my tent, I went to an enormous Carrefour, just near the camping to buy fruit, salad, wine and beer.
Paul
In the morning it was cool again, though Airexe is on 620 m height. The Italian team had breakfast as I left. A next valley was filled with fog. The Camino went partly through and there was a big difference in temperature to the higher area. After 5 km’s the cyclists had to use the route national again. The first village Palas de Rei has a nicer name then deserved. I tried to find a religious building for the stamp in my credential, but I had no success, so I cycled further on the high traffic route that was the nearest to the pedestrians Camino. Why didn’t I ride on that Camino? Two reasons: The path is sometimes small and I did not want to slalom between th pedestrians and a the second: Sometimes the path has a bad surface when it ascends and I feared to get trapped in am impassable part. In the following bigger village I tried to get a stamp again. The church was open, but no stamp. I asked in the council office and they sent me to the next pub, so I have a red pub stamp in the credential. Now I wad free to choose some alternative tracks that didn’t use the route national. It might be one or two kilometers longer, but cycling without trucks and high traffic make more fun. In Arzúa the alternative route ended. From a distance I already observed, tht there were a lot of tractors on the route national. It was. A protest against the EU politics for farmers. My luck was, that the tractors blocked the traffic to the east, so they did not hinder the cyclist pilgrims. I followed a further alternative cycle route later. After it returned to the route national I gathered the second stamp ay an auberge municipal. I ws ready to enter Santiago now. Near the airport the route national became a motorway and cyclists were directed to the pedestrians Camino. From now on I followed the pedestrians track and paused a a monument fom Pope John Paul II and got the first stamp in a religious building today.. Now I entered the town and after the obligatory picture at the city entrance I continued to the Cathedral. At that time the Italian team also arrived and together we searched to the Cathedral. There was a staircase to bridge but not to bad because it was downhill. At the front of the cathedral we made pictures and then searched the way to the pilgrims office to receive the confirmation. There was a long queue of pedestrian and cyclists pilgrims and some people I had seen on earlier days.
With the confirmation in my hands and saying goodbye to the Italian team, I started the last kilometers to the camping and after pitching my tent, I went to an enormous Carrefour, just near the camping to buy fruit, salad, wine and beer.
Paul
