We did it !!!

[capun]

We completed the Sarria to Santiago section last Sunday !!
Due to a bad knee (my wife's) and people's feedback, we split the Palas de Reis to Arzua into a 2-day section.
No matter how much and how long we trained, doing it was challenging. I don't know if it was caused by the roads being in bad shape due to the extreme rain season they had this year or just not trained with the proper terrain conditions.

 

[wayfarer]

Congratulations and well done. That is a tough section. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[tyrrek]

Well done! Did you get any support from other pilgrims? Were people understanding if there were comms problems in bars and cafes etc? Tell us! Tell us about the trip on a scale of: scary=1, Wonderful=10.

Buen Camino!

 

[capun]

When we were walking through the rough sections it was not fun, but then you realize that it is a pilgrimage and not a fun trip. As we sit in a cozy home and the pain and ailments fade away, we think that overall it was a good trip and we accomplished what we wanted.

As for pilgrims, you find just about every kind. From friendly people to people who won't even acknowledge your "Hola" greeting, some start not very friendly but as you see them over the days they become friendlier. Overall I think most people are friendly, We don't have enough words of gratitude of the local people, they are extremely friendly and they will try to help you in any way they can. We had a Pension manager drive us around looking for a Medical post and Pharmacies on a Saturday afternoon.

If you had to put a number on the overall pilgrimage, I would give it an 8. Mostly because of the rough roads causing the pains and ailments with my wife. I made it ok, no blisters but my right ankle (known bad one) did suffer with the roads. Nothing to be scary about, saw single women and men, small mixed groups, etc. In most cases it was not crowded except when we arrived at Santiago and were overtaken by a group of over 70 teenagers.

 

[colinPeter]

Congratulations on overcoming the difficulties you faced on the way to reaching your goal.

We don't have enough words of gratitude of the local people...

Yes, one of the great highlites of the Camino.
Buen Camino
Colin

 

[David]

Peregrinos! Well done - soooo your packing list - anything in there you never used? How would you alter your list were you to Camino again, or to give advice to others? :wink:

 

[capun]

Peregrinos! Well done - soooo your packing list - anything in there you never used? How would you alter your list were you to Camino again, or to give advice to others? :wink:

Well, after looking at the Albergues and the comments about the not so quiet "quiet time", we decided to stay in Pensions instead. My wife is a light sleeper and I wanted a rested and not so grumpy trek mate

So what we did not needed, remember that is based on our own experience and weather condition.
- Sleeping Bag. The Pensions we stayed had an Albergue section and we saw plenty of blankets.
- Pack Towel. I did not check the Albergue side but the Pensions had them
- Headlamp. The rooms had a light switch and we did not had to bother others
- BedBug Sheet. The rooms are kept really clean, I walked through a couple of dorms and saw them very clean
- Trash Bag. We ended up using the plastic bag when we shopped for snacks
- Mug and Spork. We ate at the restaurant and was not needed.

What I would have changed:
- Due to the road condition and our creaky legs, ankles and knees, I could have used Trekking poles instead of the single pilgrim stick (but not so cool looking )
- Load up more water in my water bladder. The system is better than water bottles but a pain to fill up. We loaded them with 1/2 Liter of water, My wife had no problems but in a couple of sections I ran out. For me I think I should have taken 1 Liter, specially during those 3 warm days.
- I would have taken the Gregory Z-40 Pack instead of the UltraLite Jam 50. The frame of the Z-40 would have been better for the road conditions.

Overall I think we did no go overboard with the equipment, We saw people with large packs that are not really needed.

Even if we did some training, I think we were not ready for the road conditions due to the extreme rain they had this year.

I'll add more if I find something else that I forgot to write down