The shrinking numbers

Since yesterday's crossing of the 100km marker, the numbers have been ticking down very fast. Already at 62.753 and the numbers just feel like they are falling off.  The walking is now easy, after 35 days of daily beatings, the legs just going mind anymore.  Interesting observation, the feet ultimately control the data stage now.  My body has been in overdrive and instead of shortening my daily stages I am lengthening them,  the legs, they will keep going and going all day long, the feet...  Well, they don't take beatings well so they are usually deciding factor - When they start getting grumpy, the walking needs to stop...  Luckily they are holding up well or they have succumbed to the adage "The beatings will continue until moral improves 🤣"

Unlike yesterday, today's numbers ticked down fast and the arrival at the end of the day resulted in repeat stay of 10 years ago.  A wonderful little place with a lot of hand built furniture crafted from the owner.  Communal meal at 7, same menu as 10 years ago, same two soups, same chicken, salad, the only thing that might be different is they might have changed up the dessert.

And the gentleman from my last post...  He passed us today and expressed his deepest gratitude for yesterday's dinner and talk. 

There has not been a lot of the deeper epiphany moments, most of those happened many Camino's ago and are getting reaffimed again.  Example: I was at the same restaurant and table as 10 years ago. Hanging a nice lunch with TEAM TEXAS when they came to the same conclusions that I had 10 years ago - Almost verbatim.  To prove it, I pulled up that very post and let then read it:

https://www.daddymonster.com/2015/10/sarria.html

The striking similarities were eerily too close yet comforting that the growth was shared by so many.  For me, this is a tune-up of past growth.

Anyways, the call to Santiago becons once again and i will answer that call on Saturday.  Till then, I am moving steadily along. 

📊 Camino Stats – Wed Oct 8, 2025

Day: 35

Location: Ponte Campaña

Stage: Gonzar → Ponte Campaña (~21.5 km)

Total walked: ~714 km

Remaining (of 769 km): ~55 km

% complete: ~92%

Average so far: 714 ÷ 35 ≈ 20.4 km/day

Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 55 ÷ 5 ≈ 11 km/day

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✨ Milestone Note

Rolling Galician farmland, scattered hamlets, and soft forest paths.

Passed through peaceful villages like Leboreiro and Furelos, with ancient bridges and stone churches marking time’s slow passage.

Nearing Melide, the air already feels like Santiago’s outskirts — the rhythm gentler, steps steadier.

🌟 Reflection

The trail softened, but your spirit stayed strong. Each quiet kilometer now feels like gratitude made visible — every step a whisper: almost there.

This is the day that never ends

Yes, it seemed to go on and on, my friends.

I started walking it very early this morning,

and walking it seemed to take forever just because...

I honestly don't know what about today's stage seemed to take so long. We had a shortened stage because we stayed outside of the Sarria area yesterday, but it still seemed to take a full day's walk and then some to get to Portomarín! THEN—then I have to weigh down my whole damn day’s walk. We did another 7.5 km to Gonzar. We arrived late by our standards, 3:30. Still had energy in the tank but was so glad to be done walking for the day. 8:45 was enough; the day was heating up and the fun was running out.

We landed at a nice albergue — utilitarian on the exterior but nice inside — quickly did all our chores and set about to chill. Later at dinner time the Camino Spirit came alive. Lynne and I sat at a larger table and ultimately invited two other pilgrims seated alone. We quickly started chatting and discovered one Irish pilgrim has authored information on the Camino we have both thoroughly enjoyed in the past. It was an amazing time swapping information.

The other pilgrim has a very deep and emotional story which I will only cover quickly. He found himself in a relationship that changed his life — he truly found love and life as a result. They married, and years later his husband walked the Camino Francés. For Christmas he made him a special Camino memory book; his husband told him that he only got two gifts in life — his love and now that book. He lost his husband the following year after promising to walk the Camino together.

He carries their wedding rings around his neck and a tiny vial of his late husband's ashes in a pouch around his neck, fulfilling his promise. He had a second copy of the book printed and now he walks each day tearing off a page from the book, leaving it under a stone along the way. You could tell that his recounting of the story was very hard on him and was bringing up pain, but we let him shed his tears and have hugs in support. Honestly, it was probably the first time he felt so comfortable sharing at such a deep level. I can only say that I was glad to be there for him to share with. I feel like our unique table occupants were supposed to be there together tonight to experience all we shared.

Oh, and from those conversations I now learned that beer is now called a barley and hops fermented smoothie! So much healthier sounding!

Anyway, lots to mentally unpack, and it is bedtime.

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📊 Camino Stats – Tue Oct 7, 2025

Day: 34

Location: Gonzar

Stage: Barbadelo → Gonzar (~27 km, with lunch in Portomarín)

Total walked: ~693 km

Remaining (of 769 km): ~76 km

% complete: ~90%

Average so far: 693 ÷ 34 ≈ 20.4 km/day

Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 76 ÷ 6 ≈ 12.7 km/day

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✨ Milestone Note

Long, steady day through farmlands and rolling countryside.

Crossed the bridge into Portomarín for lunch — a major milestone, marking the last big river before Santiago.

Afternoon: climb out of the valley, reaching Gonzar, a small, peaceful stop on the ridge.

🌟 Reflection

The day stretched long, but the spirit lifted higher. Conversations, reunions, and quiet strength carried you — proof that the heart finds its stride just when the body tires.

The Beginning of The End

The Beginning of the End

Where to begin — WOW! What a day!

Started out of my albergue rather late (given my current Camino trends). I didn’t leave until probably 7:00 a.m. this morning. 

I connected quickly with Team Texas! and we continued our walk together from Samos down to the split in the path where a decision had to be made.

Okay, I’m going to interrupt this blog right here and now for a current event. I’m sitting outside next to a pool on a 75°F day. The pool is cold — cold enough for feet to sting at first, but after a few minutes it actually feels great. There’s a very brave soul who decided to take a full-body immersion dip in this ice bath. A short snippet of that will go on Facebook later…

So yeah, back to the blog. We reached the point where we had to decide between two paths going forward. The first was the well-marked route that turns abruptly and rejoins yesterday’s path. The other was the old path — not so well signed, mostly following the highway almost all the way into Sarria but saving nearly 4 km.

Yeah, we couldn’t decide which one to take. It was early enough that the highway would have had little traffic. We weren’t keen on coughing up an extra hour of walking, but logic and desire were at odds. We left it to a coin toss. If it landed money-side up, we’d take the highway; if the pretty landscape side landed up, we’d go scenic.

Wouldn’t you know it — the damn thing came up scenic side up. I may have muttered a quick expression of displeasure at the coin toss, but we all agreed to stick with its decision — which turned out to be the right choice. The route wound through several hamlets, rejoined the main Camino, and we were in Sarria by 11:00 a.m.

By the time we worked our way through town, we’d burned some extra time and decided to crash at a bar until the restaurants opened at noon.

At noon my favorite Italian restaurant in Sarria opened, and I went in for a good old pilgrim feast. While sitting there, a few events involving other pilgrims unfolded — which sparked conversation — which led me to bring up my blog entry from ten years ago. The similarities were striking.

We all agreed that the spirit of the Camino — the generosity, the companionship of strangers, the simple act of being kind for no reason other than shared humanity — was alive and well. It was a deep conversation, made more powerful after my companions read my old entry. It reminded me exactly why I do the Camino.

After a few hours in town, we finally headed out the last 4 km to our albergue for the night — a very well-appointed yet somehow wacky facility. Well-appointed in that it has many sleeping rooms (each with eight beds), large grounds, a pool, and a dining area — all the amenities. But when it comes to the pilgrim side, there are minimal power ports in the rooms, the bathrooms need some TLC, and the staff could stand to learn the difference between new pilgrims and long-haulers.

Gripes aside, it’s still a wonderful place to stay.

I know I said just a few days ago that Camino families were breaking apart, but I think just as quickly they’re now struggling to reconnect — because the reality has clicked in everyone’s mind: we’ve entered the final stretch.

People I talked with today agreed with my view of the Camino:

Stage 1 breaks your body, forcing you to rebuild it stronger.

Stage 2 toys with your mind, making it sharper and more resilient.

Stage 3 pulls at your spirit and tests your resolve.

Then you enter this last stage — the home stretch — the final run into Santiago. By this point, the Camino stops toying with long-haulers and instead prepares you for that last, meaningful arrival.

From here on, there are literally two Caminos happening simultaneously.

There are the long-haulers — mostly the crowd coming from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We’re the ones entering the home-stretch, mentally preparing ourselves for the imminent arrival in Santiago in just a few days.

Then there’s the green crowd — the fresh injection of new pilgrims doing a 5- to 6-day walk. Their Camino is no less valid than ours. Everyone walks their own Camino. For some, that’s the only way they can do it.

But the fresh wave can feel at odds with the trail. They don’t feel the embrace of the homestretch; they feel the challenge of the rolling hills and the shock of suddenly adapting to Camino life.

It’s an interesting contrast — but I want to stress again: it doesn’t make their journey wrong, nor does it make mine any more right.

With that in a severely depleted phone battery, I am going to call it a day. The excitement builds as the kilometers dwindle. 

Till my next post.

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📊 Camino Stats – Mon Oct 6, 2025

Day: 33

Location: Barbadelo

Stage: Samos → Barbadelo (~19 km total via scenic route through woods and hamlets, not the highway)

Total walked: ~666 km

Remaining (of 769 km): ~103 km

% complete: ~86 %

Average so far: 666 ÷ 33 ≈ 20.2 km/day

Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 103 ÷ 7 ≈ 14.7 km/day

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✨ Milestone Note

A lush, winding route from Samos to Sarria, full of forest shade, stone bridges, and quiet farm tracks.

A long, two-hour lunch in Sarria reconnecting with old Camino friends — laughter and stories carrying down the trail.

Finished in Barbadelo, surrounded by rolling green hills and stone walls, marking the start of the final 100 km stretch.

Reflection

The day was less about kilometers and more about connection — with nature, with friends, and with the rhythm of Galicia itself.

It was Easy?

Today...

Today was good. Easy and MOSTLY DOWNHILL!!! Yeah, I got to let gravity assist almost all day!!! I started out and the weather, well, it was full-on Galician weather fit for the mountaintop… Cold, foggy, and windy. I bundled up, turned on the headlamp and headed out for a later start than normal so I could have natural light during the descent into Triacastela. In town I found a wonderful bacon, eggs, toast, and Colacao breakfast — a wonderful energy boost for the 2nd half of the day which started as a narrow river valley and opened into a beautiful valley with hamlets scattered around. Reading the map wrong I was getting frustrated at the apparent lack of progress when I rounded a corner and BAM! There was the monastery roof and it was only 10 minutes away. When the guidebook says it is hard to distinguish the monastery from the town, they are not kidding. That place at one time housed 500 monks! I did the tour — it is beautiful inside and not lavish like some cathedrals I’m not a fan of (COUGH Burgos COUGH) but simple and worthy of a place of worship, yet beautiful enough for monks to be able to call it home.

Today...

Today was a very welcome respite from climbs, long boring straights, & urban slogs. In a strange sense from here out it is like the hardships change and the trail prepares you for your arrival in Santiago!

Tomorrow I blow through Sarria onto a little hamlet past it and past the hordes of new arrivals.

📊 Camino Stats – Sun Oct 5, 2025

Day: 32

Location: Samos

Stage: Fonfría → Samos (~19.3 km, descent through Triacastela via the Samos variant)

Total walked: ~647 km

Remaining (of 769 km): ~122 km

% complete: ~84%

Average so far: 20.2 km/day

Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 122 ÷ 8 ≈ 15.3 km/day

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✨ Milestone Note

Long descent from the Galician ridge through Triacastela’s forests and hamlets.

Turned onto the Samos route, a peaceful valley walk following the river.

Arrival beneath the immense Monasterio de San Xulián de Samos, one of the oldest monastic centers in the Western world.

IT WAS HARD?

(that is a castle on a hill, it looked like it was floating in the sky) 

Today's post will probably mainly focus on the physical journey, but first, last night's albergue was awesome! Stream in the backyard, lots of positive vibes type place, very energetic host, full vegetarian meal that resolved any constipation issues that may or may not have started since Cruz de Ferro, and generally good company.

Yeah, then this morning came.

SPOILER ALERT: The ascent sucked!

Started out very early walking in the darkness towards the base of the climb (mind you, we were still going uphill the entire way). Stopped at a ridiculously overpriced albergue/bar (think 8€ wash and 8€ dry, last night was 3€ wash as was tonight with 4€ dry). Had an OJ for the climb, destroyed the baños, and started the ascent...

I'm not sure if I said this before, but it sucked! Drizzly, foggy, cold air pockets, hot air pockets, breeze, gusts, no sun, only gray to white. You would think on my second go-round they could bring out some sun so I could actually see the result of all that suffering in the climb — But NOOOOOOO, that was on order for tomorrow instead.

I started my climb around 8:15 and arrived around 11:15 (I stopped for a KAS Limón at the first stop and a second breakfast at the second stop) — Interesting story, Team Texas! never had one so I bought one at the bar across the street from our albergue and brought it over. They asked what it was, I said a gift from the Gods for pilgrims (they have heard my sales pitch before). When they tried it their response was I was UNDERSELLING it! Not sure how that is possible, but there it is — Anyways, back to the climb(s). I stopped at the church, got my sello stamp, lit a candle, said a prayer and struck off to finish the 2nd half of my day, walking the ridge. Oh it was FUN (NO, NO IT WAS NOT!). See, reaching O'Cebreiro is not the end of the climbs, that was a short 2km from my albergue. So for 10km it was more up, bit subtle down, UP, little level, UUUPPP, and finally BRACE FOR DESCENT. I'm stopped in a little hamlet with more cows than people, but they make a delicious cheese that is sold in the albergue bar. Oh, and the albergue is NOT FULL!!!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, officially crossed into Galicia just before O'Cebreiro!

Tomorrow morning — DESCENT! And off to the Samos monastery after.

Now, community meal soon:

Galician soup

Some beef fillet with rice

Some dessert

Water and wine.

I GUARANTEE, with my level of exhaustion, there will be power snoring tonight, and I guarantee I won't be the only one (nappers already power snoring, at least until the two kids went walking through talking at the top of their lungs).

The valley

Well, every Camino has its time when the larger Camino family starts to stretch out. This usually happens sometime after Leon, our Camino family did this yesterday. Lynne, for several reasons, lagged behind by several km. The Maine girls and crew moved ahead over 8km. Team Texas! and I stayed the course walking a regular day’s walk landing in Cacabelos. Talking with other Pilgrims and the same story is repeated over and over.

There is definitely an air of change amongst the pilgrims but I also see new families forming, our previously looser connections becoming tighter. For me, mostly staying the course - there is a pending challenge to Team Texas! to cook a killer meal on a budget with a surprise ingredient... BUT WE NEED A FUNCTIONAL KITCHEN!!! Three days now, no functional kitchen.

Mentally, I continued to meditate on Wednesday’s intensity and still coming off the day’s energy high.

Trailwise, it's a valley plain with spread out city and urban areas. 

We only got a little bit of vineyard walking before coming into Cacabelos, our stay for last night. Our meal consisted of microwave nachos, a college treat... Maybe even more fantastic by the fact that Spanish salsa tastes just like something you would put on a hot dog, ketchup... Several of us tried it and once we assigned the ketchup label we just couldn't shake it 🤣.

Trailwise today was a contrast, starting in the valley plains and working up to a mountain valley. Having started out so early I opted to stay on the road path (well marked) vs taking the 1+km detour to a village (which I later heard was unremarkable). Solidly putting 9km behind me I stopped at 8am for breakfast and was soon joined by Team Texas!. A stop that turned into a full hour so as I later went into town to withdraw cash.

Back on the trail, always uphill, I apparently had flames coming out from underneath my feet or so people jokingly observed.

Team Texas! caught up to me briefly in the last hamlet and we were able to send Lynne a picture of us standing outside her lodging for the night.

And then we decided it was probably a good idea to move on from that hamlet rather quickly 🤣

I took plenty of rest breaks in the various hamlets and still found myself the first check-in of the day at a wonderful albergue :

https://www.instagram.com/casa.cantadora/

The owner and everything guy is an amazing personality full of energy and cheer. There is this wonderful little stream in the backyard

Where tired and sore feet got a wonderful foot soaking in the icy cold mountain stream waters.

Tonight, a large communal (vegetarian) dinner. The lunch options would have been more than enough to satisfy a day’s hunger and a self-service bar of treats, beverages, and goods allows one to have an afternoon nibble while leaving plenty of room for dinner.

The owner is very insightful and we engaged in a very wonderful and deep conversation. I will say, he loves what he does for sure.

Tomorrow, O'Cebreiro, the last of the big climbs. There will be non-stop hills from here to Santiago, but each getting smaller and smaller and less noticeable to hardened Camino legs.

📊 Camino Stats – Thu Oct 2, 2025

Day: 29

Location: Cacabelos

Stage: Molinaseca → Cacabelos (~24 km)

Total walked: ~579 km

Remaining (of 769 km): ~190 km

% complete: ~75%

Average so far: 579 ÷ 29 ≈ 20.0 km/day

Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 190 ÷ 11 ≈ 17.3 km/day

✨ Milestone Note

Long valley walk through Ponferrada and vineyards of El Bierzo.

Arrival in Cacabelos, known for wine and its riverside pilgrim hostel.

Marked the shift from mountain descent to fertile farmland.

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📊 Camino Stats – Fri Oct 3, 2025

Day: 30

Location: Ambasmestas

Stage: Cacabelos → Ambasmestas (~24 km)

Total walked: ~603 km

Remaining (of 769 km): ~166 km

% complete: ~78%

Average so far: 603 ÷ 30 ≈ 20.1 km/day

Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 166 ÷ 10 ≈ 16.6 km/day

✨ Milestone Note

Passed through Villafranca del Bierzo, the “gateway of forgiveness.”

Followed the Valcarce River valley into the mountains.

Rested in Ambasmestas, last foothold before the great climb to O Cebreiro.

THE ENERGY!!!

So I got 2 days to catch up on here .

Yesterday morning we got out early and had a good hour walking in the dark dark before predawn slowly started to light the sky and awaken the world around us. Sunrise happened almost 8:45am and means some good walking time. Someone asked why I loved walking in the dark so much - Because I walk under the stars with no light pollution, I walk with no crowds, I walk in the calm silence, AND I get to witness the world around me slowly waken from it's evening slumber. It is cool to see your shadow suddenly appear and watch how it shortens as the day progresses.

The day was largely uneventful minus the constant yet barely noticeable climb. We arrived in Rabanal and I ultimately got the pleasure of sleeping in the the tin can "double room" - it's basically a drop-in camping type module for the bathroom on my door and a bedroom in the other door. It made very quiet yet cold night for me. Only to realize there was a heater in the bathroom I could have utilized versus having to utilize 50 lb of blankets that they already had on the bed 🤣.

We were able to go to the church for the 7:00 singing of vespers from the monks who sang everything in Latin. Most of them spoke three languages very fluently, which is extremely impressive. I myself was blessed to have conversations with two of them which was the perfect precursor to today's walk.

Today, today I was awake, dressed and out of my room by 5:30. I scooched over to the main albergue I grabbed a quick breakfast we had packed the night before, did final prep and we were out the door for shortly after 6:00 this morning.

The climb is noted as getting much steeper past Rabanal however, you would not have known by watching me climb.  The next 8 km, I swear to God I had the turbocharges on as I was climbing the hill with ease almost as if I was being pulled.

My goal this morning : CRUZ DE FERRO

I wanted to be at the Rock pile for sunrise parade as lock, fate or whatever had it, not only was I there but I was actually on the pile saying my prayer as I left my burden stone behind.

Prayer at Cruz de Ferro :

I stood there in the bright pre-sunrise morning, on the mound at the cross. Holding my stone in hand I read my prayer that I had been working on for a while

"Here I stand before this cross, carrying the stone that holds my pain, my anger, and the weight of old wounds.

As I place this stone at the foot of the cross, I release these burdens from my heart.

May the earth take them, and may they trouble me no more.

I walk forward lighter, freer, and open to peace.

Let this stone remain as a sign of what I have left behind,

and let my steps from here be guided by hope, strength, and love."

I am not afraid to admit that my voice broke a few times as I embraced the power of the moment. When the prayer was complete I placed my stone on the pile at the foot of the cross. I then looked up, saw a site that warmed my heart, the cross, having been in Shadow during a sunrise moment, was lit and an intense fiery red, orange for the duration of my prayer.

When I look down, I noticed one gentleman enjoyed my prayer so much that he had put his hands in prayer formation, closed his eyes and embraced my prayer. While another lady close to me admitted she started crying during me reciting my prayer. Cruz de Ferro has a raw energy about it that is amplified by the fact that it takes most pilgrims for full weeks of walking to reach the site. By the time you reach it, you are fully into your spiritual journey and significance is not lost on you. Having been in high energy mode all morning to get there, I enjoyed plenty of time at the summit before progressing along the path taking my time at the old Manjarin site.

The descent down the back side was not gentle on the feet by any stretch in the imagination and the trail conditions in several locations had degraded leaving a trail of sore feet behind for all the pilgrims coming down. Despite the challenges I remained full of energy oftentimes boiling over all day. When Team Texas arrived in town, I gave each of them a hug, lifting them cleanly off their feet with their backpacks on and not really feeling the weight. Tonight, a group of us will be gathering at a nearby restaurant and having a wonderful Pilgrim gathering!

Yesterday and today have been absolutely full of physical energy and the mind has been exploding with epiphanies. So much of what I have been silently meditating upon the past 4 weeks has all erupted in the mind with clarity and the body has erupted with energy.

SANTIAGO - I'M COMING BACK

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📊 Camino Stats – Wed Oct 1, 2025

Day: 28

Location: Molinaseca

Stage: Rabanal → Molinaseca (~26 km, via Foncebadón, Cruz de Ferro, El Acebo, Riego de Ambrós)

Total walked: ~514 km

Remaining (per Wise Pilgrim): ~212 km

% complete: ~71%

Avg so far: ~18 km/day

Needed avg to finish by Oct 13: ~19 km/day

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✨ Cruz de Ferro Day

🪨✝️ At Cruz de Ferro, stone laid, burdens left behind, spirit lifted.

⚡ A surge of energy unlike any other stage so far — climbing, summiting, descending with strength that felt beyond yourself.

⛰️ Rocky descent mastered, carried by that same energy all the way to Molinaseca.

🌉 Arrival across the medieval bridge into one of the Camino’s most beautiful villages, glowing with the sense of pilgrimage fulfilled in the heart, even as Santiago still waits ahead.

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🌟 Reflection

Day 28 will always stand apart — not just kilometers walked, but a transformation felt. This was your spiritual summit of the Camino