gunnar's camino

Week 10 and 11 Returning to Denmark and school visits

I am very much aware that this blog will be my last chapter in what has been a great adventure for me. Since Richard introduced me to the blog as a way of writing a diary and enabling me to share it with family and friends. I have really enjoyed this almost daily ritual of sitting in front of a computer and reflecting on the day's happenings. I have been in countless internet cafes and used I don't know how many Euros in order to keep the connection open. I know I will miss this opportunity to sit quietly and reflect on the 'big picture' of the day.

We had a pleasant flight back to Denmark - and this time would be the first time that neither my mum or dad were there to greet us on arrival. Laine and I didn't speak much about it, but I was very much aware that it was a time with many memories surfacing to a new reality. The last time we had been in Denmark together was in 2002, when mum celebrated her 90th birthday, and for that special occasion, we had brought Steen, Karina and Mikaila with us.

On arrival, Josep and Laraine took a taxi while Birgith and I waited for Lisa, who very kindly had offered to meet us in the airport. It didn't take long before we all were gathered in Valby, surrounded by the great hospitality and love Birgith and Josep always provide. We had a lovely cup of coffee and a slices of six/kernel bread with wonderful Danish cheese - a moment Laine had been thinking about ever since we started to plan this trip. I must admit it is delicious! However we spent the day relaxing and getting ourselves into the 'Danish drive' and poor Joseph had to go to work at Hotel Opera at 11pm until the next morning at 7.00 am. I think we all felt sorry for him. He arrived home the next morning and yes - the night had been hard and long and he had found the going really tough. So he went straight upstairs and into bed, whilst the rest of all quietly meandered down to the kitchen to the smell of coffee, fresh bread, marmalade, cheese, and various cold meats such as ham and salami. That's just the daily breakfast, so if you ever wonder why we put on weight whilst in Denmark, wonder no more.

One of the first things we both wanted to do was to go to the cemetery and visit the grave of mum and dad. (Dad's urn had been moved to the Nielsen Family Grave (mum's family) since our last visit and before mum's passing). Even though it has been many years since last visiting this grave, I was pretty sure I could find it, and off we went. We bought some lovely flowers and walked down a small lane to the grave and just stood there, allowing the loss, the pain and the memories to just be and maybe realising for the first time for me what the loss of one's parents really means. We walked slowly away and found a bench near a small lake near the grave and just sat there collecting our thoughts and I suppose ourselves. It is not very often I feel or even think about that I live 20,000 kilometers from my family in Denmark - but I must admit when family members or friends die, I can feel very isolated and a million miles from home, not really able to become part of the process of dying or the grief associated with the loss. Hence this visit was very important for both Laraine and me and as always she is my support and my rock.

Wednesday, we were of to visit our very good friends and one of my old colleagues from my teaching days in Denmark, Verner and and his wife, Zanne. Laine and Zanne have a very good relationship and even though they only see each other every few years, thier friendship is very strong. They were actually in Australia a couple of years ago and love to visit Oz. Visiting them is always high on the agenda whenever we are in Denmark and something we both real look forward to. They live north from Copenhagen, close to a wonderful forest and lake with a garden to die for. Verner's love is his hot-house, where he grows his tomatoes, grapes and many cuttings for the garden, while Zanne's domain is the veggie patch, which is surrounded with wonderful flowering herbs, creating interest as well as beauty. Even though the day was a bit cool and cloudy and the rain never far away, they took us along Strandvejen which isthe coast road leading from Copenhagen to Helsingor (Kronborg and Hamlet) along the houses of the rich and famous,with a wonderful view across the Oresound to Sweden. We were treated to a lunch at a restaurant called Hammermill - which used to be a factory making the gunbarrels, used in many previous wars. It was quaint little place hidden in the woods with the old and now dis-used waterwheels which use to drive the bellows for the smith's fire. Enough of that bit of history - the important part was that Verner got us some draft beer which we enjoyed with a few pieces of rye bread with delicious pickeled herrings - more Danish you will never find. As we left, I all of a sudden saw this black snake and wondered why someone would have left a plastic snake there. However the little bugger all of a sudden began to move and Laraine nearly had a fit. There are only two kinds of snakes in Denmark and this likely was the non-poisonous one - clearly recognizable by two bright yellow marks on its neck. However it was quite a moment for both of us. There are very few Danes who will ever experience this - weren't we lucky? On the way home we went to Fredensborg Castle and saw Prince Frederik and Princess Mary's residence, which is not in the castle proper, but a building adjacent to it. Even though the building was guarded by the Royal Guards,we knew the couple were not in residence as the Danish flag (Dannebrog) wasn't flying. (I believe Mary in fact was in Tasmania, follwing her visit to the Olympic Games in China). When I told people in Denmark that the tabloids in Australia often gave Mary a hard time, no one could understand why as everyone here seems to both like and respect her. We returned home and Zanne then cooked us a lovely evening meal - marinated salmon with red peppers followed by a delicious calf casserole with fresh vegetables. A really love meal which was enjoyed by all.

The folowing evening Birgith and Joseph had bought tickets for everyone to see the musical 'Chicago' - an evening we all really enjoyed. At home it is one of the cds we often play - especially when Karina is visiting and we all perform various parts (my part is always Mr. Cellophane - maybe because there are not too many high notes and dance steps). However knowing the words to the songs definitely helped Laraine to follow the Danish lyrics and we were most impressed by the Danish lead singers and dancers. At the interval I did the right thing and went to the bar and ordered a couple beers for Joseph and I and a couple of glasses of champagne for the girls. I was informed that they didn't sell champagne in glasses but I could buy a half bottle, to which I said yes. When the bill came, I almost had a fit (of course the man of the world I am, didn't show it) as the champagne was 350 kroner (almost 90 Aus dollars). I had forgotten that champagne in Europe is French champagne and not the Seaview kind - such is life in the fast lane. Because it was the interval break, Laine didn't have time to finish hers and left at least half a glass on the bar. However, we all had a great evening and thoroughly enjoyed the show.

As you can gather while in Denmark we never stop to catch our breath and the next day was Lisa's turn (my eldest niece), who recently had moved into a new, beautiful apartment. Lisa knowing my handyman skills (don't laugh Bruno) presented me with a huge hammer drill and asked me if I could hang a few pictures around the place. Believe it or not I managed to use this huge drill and only make some small holes and everyone was happy - especially me, as my reputation as a handyman had remained intact - at least in Denmark. I won't tell you what we had for dinner, as Laraine just informed me, that writing that is sooooooo Danish. So you just have to guess! (Atlantic Salmon - don't tell anybody). After dinner, we watched Denmarks version of Dancing with the Stars and one of the contestants was the Prime Minister's wife, Anna-Metta Rasmussen).

Saturday I really had looked forward to as I was going to be together with all my old classmates as we celebrated our 45th anniversary since leaving school in 1963. My classmates have met every single year since then (and even met when I have been in Denmark) and it is quite a special group of friends. We all met at my old school for coffee and breakfast, followed by a walk in the old neighbourhood, which looked so small compared to our childhood memory - the street where I grew up, the park we all played in, the local pubs where some of the boys sometimes had to fetch their dads when they forgot the time of the day (or night) - and it seems that pubs survive as they all are still there. We then did something very Danish - (I know everyone in Australia will find this absurb) we visited the local cemetery and took a tour finding all the old famous graves - H.C.Andersen, Soren Kirkegaard, Niels Bohr and many more. Because we grew up in Norrebro - one of the poorest parts of Copenhagen, all living in small flats with no hot water, no bathrooms and only a small concrete backyard - open spaces became very important for all of us and yes - the cemetery became an escape for all of us - hence the visit. I don't want you to think that I am a poor morbid soul, but Denmark is probably the country in the world where cemetries are parks with wonderful lakes, flora and lawns and very different to other countries where they can be places which are not well looked after and closed in. We then went back to the school for more coffee and then it was playtime (can you believe you are reading this?) - we all ventured to the school year and played all our old childhood games (it reminded me of a museum which had become alive). Imagine twenty 62 year old women and men playing hopscotch and attempting the good old hula-hula ring - not a pretty sight but lots of fun. We ended the evening in a Chinese restaurant and everyone was looking forward to meeting number 46 on the last Saturday in January 2009.

The eating feast continued on the Sunday, as we were going to visit two of my cousins, Bent (the oldest in the family now) and his wife Annelise and Lya and her husband Jorn. When only catching up with family and friends every so often, these visits become very important and the sharing of family stories like - do you remember... - a great feature of these occasions. I found that I hear new stories and anecdotes at every such visit. Lya has made some important inroads into our family history and it was really interesting to speak about her findings, which go back to 1705. Annelise and Bent put on 'det store kolde bord' which definitely is a Danish invention, consisting of marinated herrings with an ice cold akvavit or snaps, followed by a number of small warm tidbits, such as pork medalions, roasted loin of pork or Danish meatballs (Frikadeller), followed again by cold cuts of meats, cheese and fruit. Not bad and definitely always an occasion to be remembered.

Week two all of a sudden appeared and may I say, far too quickly for my likeing. However I had made arragements with the catholic schools I was going to visit during my time in Denmark and the first was on this Monday afternnoon. and the other on Wednesday. Rygaards Skole has both a Danish as well as an International department and is one of the oldest Catholic as well as largest school in Denmark, whith an overall school population of almost 800 pupils. The other Catholic school I had arranged to visit was Sankt Knud Lavard school - a small Catholic school near Lyngby, with a school, population of just 140 pupils. I have decided to write about these visits in a separate chapter of this blog, as I intend to submit my findings and reflections as part of a report to the Catholic Education Office in Melbourne. However, I can say that despite beeing 20,000 kilometers apart, it is quite interesting that most of the issues we face, whether the schools are in Denmark or in Australia, are quite similar, even though I feel Australian schools generally have come much further in regard to the paedagogy we use in our classrooms. I was welcomed warmly by the two Principals, Charles Dalton and Christi Bonde, who both spent many hours with me, showing me around the schools and discussing a great variety of issues associated with education and readily sharing and listening to each other. It was a great priviledge to vist the schools and be part of their day for just a little while.

Wednesday night was a wonderful time spent with my cousin John and his wife, Judith. They had just returned from a trip through France and Spain on their BMW "supa dupa" motor bike. We were so glad to be able to catch up with them and Laine cooked a wonderful Lasagna and once again, Josep provided us with some wonderful wine. Every time you have a meal with family or friends in Denmark, it is a wonderful occasion and Birgith once again presented a beautifully prepared table which set the scene for fine wining and dining. We talked, looked at photos and just enjoyed each other's company. Hopefully, Judy and John will visit us when they can and see the wonders of Australia.

The end of our vist came around far too soon and Thursday evening the immediate family came around for dinner to enjoy each others company and say our goodbyes - never an easy thing to do, but one we have all learned to cope with over the years. The pain of saying goodbye is far outweighed by the wonderful joy of seeing each other and sharing so many wonderful moments in each others company. We are truly blessed and I know Laraine looks upon her Danish family as her own, with all the love and affection any person can have. Birgith, Josep, Lisa, Angelina, Kenneth, Emilie and Helene we love you all - thank you.

We finished off on the Friday with yet another great lunch with a few 'snaps' and were then ready for the long flight home to Australia. Ready is maybe not the right word, for my visit to Denmark and my family has this time been very short and emotionally I could have used more time. However, with my wonderful time in Spain (three months away from home) I am really looking forward to seeing my kids back home - Steen, Lauren, Ally and Dana, Karina and Mikaila and even little Pusscat. We said our goodbyes at the airport which we find is best if we are just dropped off and the family go back home and we go through the international flight doors. Staying too long is not the best way to do it. We are so lucky to be a blessed family who are aware that part of us is in Denmark and part of us is in Melbourne - that is just the way it is.

The flight went fairly well, unfortunately, the flight was delayed in Copenhagen and so the first leg to Zurich - meant running to catch the next flight to Hong Kong leaving just 25 minutes after arrival - There was a small hiccup when Laine hurried on ahead of me and jumped aboard the underground train which takes you from one part of the airport to the other and the doors closed before I could get on or she could get off. However, I caught the next train and Laine was waiting for me and so we made it in time. And guess who were sitting on the plane - Anne and Grant, who were on the way home from Rome after their great holiday. Getting this 12 hour leg under our belt before leaving Hong Kong bound for Melbourne, arriving 6.15 am in the morning, tired but feeling OK after the long 26 hours which we had been under way. We were greeted in the airport by Karina, Mikaila and Dana and how lovely it was to see them again and give them a great big hug. The girls had prepared a wonderful breakfast for us and even made a sign on the balcony saying "Welcome Home Nanna and Grandpa". A phonecall to Steen later in the day finished off a great welcome and I am looking forward seeing him, Lauren and Ally later in the week. So, ended the most incredible three months of my life. It was a wonderful experience, but home is good.

Week 8 and 9 - Our trip through Spain

Hi to everyone who has followed Gunnar on his wonderful Camino. He has asked me to help with sharing the next part of his journey. Even through he has taken us through so many fantastic experiences, sharing with us all of the "Camino moments"; the scenery; the people that he will remember for the rest of his life; the trouble he had with his knees, encompassing pain that is so very personal and cannot be described in full and, of course, having to be faced so many times with the ugly octopus as the only thing on the menu. I believe that none of us can really fully understand just what such a spiritual, physical and psychological journey he has travelled and what it means to those very brave and special people who complete the Way of St James. The nearest I was privileged to experience was the day after I arrived in Santiago de Compestella and Gunnar took me to the cathedral where all pilgrams( sorry, I mean peregrinos) finish their journey. Those of us who live in Australia and who have not yet travelled to Europe, know very little that dates back over 250 years, however, this town of Santiago is dated back to 800 AD and is full of squares with the most wonderful character and filled with people from all over the world who are all in awe of the splendour of the simple tiny streets and the cafes and the memories of what we have been taught in our history classes - it really is like what we learned about the middle ages - nothing has changed.

We arrived at the Cathedral at about 11.30 am and it was the most magnificent building. But the building is really a dead thing compared to what I saw as peregrinos came through the little street that led them to the end of their incredible journey. As I sat on a step, holding Gunnar's hand and listening to a three piece ensemble (excellent musicians - a flute, a guitar and would you believe - a mandolin?) playing Ave Maria and other emotive songs, I was totally over-awed as I watched couples, men, women, groups - all embracing each other as if to say "Praise God, we made it". Even though I did not go on the Camino, I had no doubt in recognising what this special and unique group of people had and in doing so had experienced something that cannot be described in any form of spoken or written word. I could not hold back my tears as I was aware that Gunnar had not only completed his dream of the Camino, but had done so under such difficult conditions where he had to 'crawl' from one place to another because of the intense pain his knees were causing. I don't think he will mind me sharing with you that if he had lived in Europe, he would probably have given up and gone home and tried again in six months time, but living in Australia, it was just not possible to do that. After sitting for an hour or so watching people arrive, we then went into the Cathedral for the Mass. This was someting quite special and the photo will tell you something about how beautiful it is. For those who are near and dear to me let me confide in you that I watched a priest in an open confessional give absolution to about 100 individual people - all totally on show and I commented to Gunnar that I thought this was a farce. However, having taken communion, I decided I wanted some absolution as well and went to to the confessional. Fortunately, the priest did not understand English and so I rattled off 35 years of sins. I was very surprised when he handed me a choice of cards in all languages and he decided that the one that said 3 Hail Mary's was the one for me. If I had been on the othe side of the confessional, it would have been at least 4, but the most important thing for me was that I had received the Sacrament in the mode that it was intended and I am very glad that I chose to do so. It meant a lot to me. As Gunnar has already told you, the Cathedral was packed to the limit and this happens every day. I didn't know much about the Apostle, St James, but he has certainly added to the lives of many people from all over the world.

Now, I will tell you a little of our journey through Spain. I had no idea of the size of this wonderful country. Our friend and travel agent, Ines had booked a very comfortable hotel for the first two nights. It was so good to greet each other at the airport and a hug can say a million words. Fortunately, I had not heard about the airline crash which took 150 lives just 12 hours before I arrived in Madrid. I wondered why the Spannair aircraft I was travelling on was only half full, and was blissfully unaware that I was travelling on the same airline. There he was, wearing his T Shirt saying "I completed the Camino" , as brown as a berry and so glad to see me. We spent two nights in Santiago de Compestalla where we tasted some great, but fattening tapas, some good beer for Gunnar and wine for me. We walked around the old city, up and down ancient streets and looked at the shops and cafes filled with tourists from all over the world. I even ventured out on my own one afternoon to do some window shopping and really enjoyed this opportunity to move around the city by myself. I picked out an Italian reasturant for the evening - but of course couldn't find it again in the evening. We had almost given up and there it was - right in front of my eyes. We ordered some nice mixed salad and a couple of varieties of Italian pasta and enjoyed both the meal and each others company - all while the waiter kept an eye on the Olympic Basketball Semi-final, in which Spain played. Next to us sat another couple, who we started to 'talk to' - pretty difficult as they were from Seville in the southern part of Spain and spoke and understood very little english. However we all did our best and this process was helped a little by trying a couple of special spanish liquers. Laraine conveyed that she would love to see some flamingo dancing but was told that we were in the wrong end of Spain to see this, as it was a southern Spanish tradition. However, she told us (I am not sure how) that she knew how to dance flamingo. I begged her to try and up she went and showed us four traditional dances right there on the spot. What a wonderful moment, not a Camino moment, however, but we really enjoyed it. The remainder of this blog is written by "us".

On the Saturday morning it was time to leave Santiago and Gunnar left to pick to car up from the Europe Car Rental office, next to the station. I think he was a little apprehensive, as he hadn't driven in the right side of the road for almost 35 years. I stood watching for him on the balcony and there he was, coming around the roundabout, without colliding with any of the other cars. We rented a Peugeut 380 - a brand new model just released in Europe and began our long drive east across Spain. We travelled about 600 km on this first day, through Lugo, which I navigated through the very city center (not a smart move) but we found our way out without too much fustration. We continued out journey north and reached the Bay of Biscay at Tapia de Casariego, a wonderful little coastal town, with the ocean gleaming brightly in the sun behind it. We made a short stop in this tourist haven and enjoyed the Saturday market with the many colorful and very different stores along the small steets. We continued along the coast and after studying the map we made a decision to make our first stop at a small coastal town called San Vicente de la Barguera, shortly before Santander. San Vicente was a wonderful picturisque town, connected to the main highway by an old Roman bridge taking cars and people across the water inlet, where the daily tide moved the ocean waters in and out to the tune of 5-6 meters a day - something (something we have never expereinced before). It was a real tourist haven and the main street was filled with a number of great reasturants, with delicious seafood on the menu. Our evening finished off with a wonderful firework display, no doubt culminating a fiesta of some kind.

The next day we continued our journey along the Biscay Bay towards Santander, Bilbao and San Sebastian. Although both of these cities have great sights to visit, we decided not to get involved driving in a city we didn't know and left the cost for Pamplona - the city Gunnar had started his journey almost 8 weeks prior. Along the road Gunnar pointed out many camino signs. We even saw a few walkers along the road, and marlvelled at the distance these pilgrims still have to cover, before they would reach Santiago. As Pamplona came in to view, Gunnar pointed out the Alto del Perdon, the hilltop, he climed on the very first day. It was strage and exciting to be at the place where he had begun his journey. From Pamplona my navigating skills told me to follow the E240, which would take us further westward along the base of the Pyrenees towards the

Meditteranian. Gunnar had told me that it would be good to travel as far as possible, as he predicted a slow trip trough the mountains and the many winding roads. I really didn't believe that it would too bad, but as we travelled through the Pirynees, we only travelled at about 30kms per hour and often would find a lorry or a caravan before us. It is so steep and just so breathtaking. You can have a laugh at the always placid Gunnar who had me not only navigating through these bloody Alps, but taking photographs out of the window as well. I was so scared that I didn't take one photo. The next I took 80. We have got photos of mountains and mountains, lakes, goats, medieval villages, Spanish cafes, trees, lakes, rivers, you name it - I took it. I even took a photo of Gunnar's ears. If I missed a thing, I was in real trouble - only joking! I wanted to take all of these photos (other than the ears) because it was just incredible. We finally decided to make a stop and found a hotel in Baltana, a small village in the middle of the mountains. Whilst Gunnar rested I went for a walk and stumbled across a mountain stream with a swimming hole, with the clearest water, sparkeling turquoise in the sunshine, I think I have even seen. I hurried back to fetch Gunnar to show him, but we arrived back just as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, so the beautiful color had was missed. What a pity! But the water was still clear and beautiful, and we kust sat there on a rock with our feet in the water for an hour or so, enjoying this little gem of a place. After eating something akin to 'open sandwishes', which were delicious, we had an early night in preparation for another days difficult driving. However would you believe - 15 minutes after midnight, we both sat up in bed awoken by a tremendous bang. The fireworks from San Viente de la Barguera had followed us and new commenced to launch a barrage of rockets and glowing and spluttering suns into the sky, making even more noise in the middle of the mountains. We couldn't believe that it was really happening - but as usual in this part of the world, the streets were full of children, even at the late hour.

We started again the next morning after a bite of breakfast and the winding road continued, even worse than the day before. We drove through gullies, so narrow, that it seemd impossible for two cars to pass each other - and with no lines on the road to guide the drivers. I felt decidedly uncomfortable and I know Gunnar was struggling judging the width of the car - not only because it was an unknown car, but also because he had to judge the angles from the left hand side of the vichicle. Being tired, we decided to take the road through France to Perpignan, as this looked less mountainous than other roads. It was incredibly slow and we were exhausted. Eventually, we reach the outskirts of the city, found the motorway and headed toward the Spanish border, just 23 kilometers away. A further 23 kilometers on the Spanish side, we found the turn off to Roses and finally reach our destination of Empuriobravo.

If any of you have the time, please Google Earth this incredible place in Spain. It is between Figueres and Roses on the North East Coast of Spain. It is actually a marine city where all houses/villas are built on canals with their own moorings. Most of them are owned by rich Spaniards and Germans. Even though we had travelled 1,200 kms without too much trouble, do you think we could find the house where the family were awaiting us. We had at least six mobile phone calls, I don't know how many hissies I threw. As most of you will know, Gunnar doesn't actually throw hissies, but he yells a lot and yes, he yelled a lot, which made me throw even more hissies and I actually "just put my head up in the air and walk away". That always does it, and so he decided to calm down and listen to some common sense like "ring the number of the real estate agent who is Josep's friend. Anyway, enough of that, I went to a taxi driver and asked the address and we eventually found our home for the next week and what a home it was. How wonderful to be with Gunnar's sister, Birgith; her husband, Josep,(who is Spanish) and his niece Lisa and and her younger sister Angelina and her fiance Kenneth and their two beautiful daughters, Emelie (12 1/2 and Helene 9). There is nothing so special as a family and my Danish family are as special to me as my Australian family.

We shared the most fantastic 6 days together in a wonderful waterfront villa. We talked and talked, we laughed and we shared. We went shopping and a very special night indeed was the night we went for a wonderful meal to celebrate Josep's 70th birthday. Josep treated us to very good Spanish food (no octopus) and of course, good wine. We had a great night. Most of the family walked home along the Mediteranian coast, whilst Birgith, Helena and I went home by taxi. The "kids" went home on Saturday and Birgith, Josep, Gunnar and I stayed for another five days.

I had often told Josep during previous vists, that one day we would come to Spain, and he would then show us his country. And this second week with them gave him plenty of opportunity just to do that. He took us on a drive to a medieval village called Besalu, with the ruins from a famous early Jewish settlement, now long gone, after an apparent terrible and vicious persecution.(I was never aware that Jewish persecusion had taken place right back to year 1000) We then continued to a wonderful lake called Banyoles, where the olympic rowing had taken place in 1992. It was a very large vulcanic lake and the story goes (as it often does) that no one know sjust how deep it was

We also visited Roses where Josep was born - then a small fishing village - now a thriving tourist heaven. From here we caught a boat which took us further north along the coast to Cadacez, the most easterly village in Spain and the place where Salvadore Dali had had his summer residence. It was a wonderful village, with very steep laneways, of course all leading up to the church. The old fishing dwellings had all been transformed into tourist accomodation, but had still kept their original style and looks.

Speaking about Salvadore Dali, he came from Figueres, a country town just 15 kilometers inland, where Josep grew up with his family and where the major Dali exhibition is found. We spent almost three hours in this 'museum' and witnessed the work of a most wonderful artist - no doubt a genious but no doubt also a man with some kind of mental disorder. His work spanned from paintings, sculptures, wall hangings, jewelry, three dimentional collage and much more. I guess some of his most famous pieces are the crucified Christ viewed from above - his melting watches and the paintings with two different images hidden in the same canvas.

We also caught up with some of Birgith and Josep's friends who treated us to a delicious elfresco meal and we then went to a wonderful cabaret of Flamenco dancers and singers and this was really great. I have never seen any troupe try as hard to dance their hearts out as this group did. It was something I have dreamed of for a long time and was carried away by the spirit and the liveliness of these dancers. I will carry the flame of Spain with me forever.

We finally had to say goodbye to Empuriabravo and drove to Figueres and from there caught the train to Barcelona to spend our final two days in Spain in this wonderful city, which today (I guess one of the impacts of the Olympic Games in 1992) is one of the places to visit in Europe. And may I say than neither of us were dissapointed. We have never seen so many people and tourists before in our life - hundreds of thousands it seemed. Walking down the famous Rambla, showcasing a unique and colorful universe of boutique markets, featuring flowers, birds, leather stalls, a wonderfil fruit and fish market along side the Opera House. We stopped for a drink and just sat there watching a river of people, from all over the world pass by. It was so facsinating! And street artist - the ones standing still - came in all colors, disguises and sizes and was an never ending topic of amusement and discussion. At the end of the Rambla we found the harbour with a huge statue of Christopher Columbus, pointing towards America - a most beautiful monument, built as part of a world trade exhibition, held in Barcelona in 1886.

From the bus we saw the Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Village, built along the waterfront - a decision which helped change the old tradition, that the further away from the ocean one lived, the higher up in the social order one was -hence today modern and very expensive houses and apartments have been built along the waterfront and the old picture is changing. However driving through the old part of the city, built on the slopes of Collserola massif, one could enjoy and appreciate the many wonderful old homes, all with a magnificent view of Barcelona.

We decided to do what all tourists do with limited time on their hands - we took a tourist bus around town. In Barcelona there are three different routes, which cross over at certain points, enabling one to change from one route to another. We decided to get off the bus at the famous Temple de la Sagrada Familia - the unfinished church - to admire the unique work and architecture of Antoni Gaudi. The project was commenced in 1882 and Gaudi was the chief architect and project leader to his death in 1926. One had to admit the church is unique and quite different from any other church building in the world, displaying complex geometrical shapes and the use of various forms of quartz to achieve these unique shapes and forms. Eight of the twelve bell towers have been completed, each with a height of more than 100 meters. The two main facades of the church carry the theme of the Passion and of the Nativity and both are very rich and complex in both form and style - the Nativity being very traditional in its sculpures while the Passion of Christ is ultra modern and full of symbolism. The overarching theme of Gaudi is to symbolise the church as a shelter - hence the columns symbolising trees and branches and leaves - and the top of the towers, the symbols of the earth and the stars meet. This symbol, said Gaudi, was the first thing sailors would see of Barcelona when arriving.

Late Saturday evening we went to see a wonderful light and water display, where a number of beautiful fountains performed a 'water ballet ' to accompanying music. This picture tells a little of the story.We really enjoyed the display which was a great way to farewell this wonderful city and our all too brief stay.

The next morning a taxi awaited us at 8am to take us to Barcelona Airport and we arrived safely in Copenhagen 'Kastrup' Airport at 2pm, ready to take on the next part of our journey in Denmark and meet family and friends, some of whom we hadn't seen for almost 10 years.

Week 7 - Santiago - reaching the destination

Sunday morning, everyone, all 800 pilgrims filling this final albergue, were quiet and reflective, as everyone knew that in just an hour, we would be reaching the end point of our journey - whether it has taken 6 weeks or maybe only 1 week.

We decided ( my friends and I) to walk this last part of the Camino together as a group and started this final part of our journey at 8am, so we would have a few hours in Santiago, before the 12 o´clock pilgrims Mass.

We walked slowly, savouring each step and each in our own thoughts. As the cathedral came into view and we entered through the final Portico de Gloria, we finally arrived in front of the west entrance to the cathedral and the Plaza do Obradoiro, and quietly stood on the zero marker for the pilgrimage, each quietly contemplating our own unique and individual journey to this spot.
Here are Raymond and Angela from Scotland as well as Barbara from Bologna.

In this pucture we are just to enter the West Plaza of the cathedral, where one finds the ZERO marker for the Camino. No-one really wanted to go through the gate first, as we didn´t want it to come to an end.

We entered the cathedral during the normal Sunday Mass and took the opportunity to walk behind the High Alter, ascend the stairs and put our hands on the shoulders of the Apostle James and say a quiet prayer, after which you descend into a crypt to kneel before a casket containing the relics of the great saint and once again pray quietly. It is a very special and reflective moment and one that is very hard to put into words. So much has gone into getting to this moment . So much hardship and physical endeavour - so many special moments - so many lessons learned - all trying some how to be encapsulated in such a moment.

We then went to the Pilgrims Office Oficina del Piligrino in Casa do Dean, to obtain our Compostella - a special certificate, acknowledging that you have completed the Pilgrimage. We had to wait approx. 45 minutes before it became our turn, but as we left, the waiting period would have been hours and I was grateful that we had arrived fairly early, to avoid the huge masses of pilgrims arriving every day.

It was then time to find a bed for the night, and as I am going to stay in Santiago for a few nights, I decided to find a hotel room, where I can get settled and be comfortable. I just had time to book in and then hurried back to the cathedral in time for the 12 o´clock pilgrims mass. It was quite an overwhelming experience. Just imagine a church with almost 2000 pilgrims, from all over the world, arriving on the particular day and time, sitting or standing in every corner of the church. Talking about an excitement one almost can touch. The Bishop of Santiago, following at least a dozen priests, addressed the congregation in no less than 6 languages and the daily list of pilgrims - where they commenced their journey and from where in the world they came, was read out as part of the Mass. I was the only Australian/Danish pilgrim in the Church at this particular Mass, which made me feel pretty special.

Just to give you an idea of the amount of pilgrims arriving in Santiago each day - as we left the Mass there would have been at least 500 pilgrims standing outside the Church, waiting to enter. It is quite amazing numbers and they arrive each day throughout the year (even though the summer months obviously are the most travelled)

Last evening we all went out and had a meal and a few drinks and also quite a few goodbyes as everyone now commenced their journey back from where they came - a very peculiar feeling and sensation - for many of these people have shared a unique experience for a time in their lives - and now somehow have to return - however always remembered by what they contributed on the journey in sharing their stories, supporting you when it became tough and hence became part of your story and experience.
Here Barbara gives Angela a big hug - just wanted to clarify for Bruno that the gray hair doesn´t belong to me!

I spent the next couple of days in Santiago, enjoying just walking around quietly and to somehow get in touch with all the many impressions this final destination had offered. I enjoyed the comfort of a small hotel room and the knowledge that I didn't need to find a bed for the night (a little comfort goes a long way - especially after almost 6 weeks on the road). I also took this time to find out the details of Laraines arrival - how to get to the airport by the airport bus and yet again find out the bus schedule. I also walked to the hotel, Hespirio Perigrino (organised from Australia) situated about 30 minutes away from where I was staying, orgainising to leave my backpack there on the Thursday morning, before going to the airport to pick up Laraine. I also went to Europe Car Rental to make sure they had a car ready for us for Saturday morning. It was lucky, that I decided to do this, as they informed me that my booking, which I had made from Australia, was completely unknown to them, and as such, would have meant, that no car would have been available for us.

Despite thinking that I had run of pilgrim friends, I kept running into people I knew - pilgrims who might have been in Finisterra for a few days before returning to Santiago for a last look. I found my Belgian principal friend sitting quietly outside the cathedral on the Tuesday and we decided to go to the Pilgrims Mass together, to complete our journey together - a very special time and celebration. At this Mass they swung the huge incense burner, which was suspended from the ceiling high above the altar from side to side, almost touching the cathedral roof maybe 80 meters above the congregation - quite a spectacular sight and controlled by no less that 6 priests, all hanging on to ropes - pulling and letting go in unison - quite a spectacle.

Wednesday was a glorious day with bright sunshine (the first such day since arriving in Galicia almost 2 weeks ago) and I decided to take to bus to Finisterra to experience this final destination for many pilgrims. The bus ride almost took 3 hours and followed the Atlantic coast for most of the way - past fishing villages, that for centuries had developed the specialised skills needed to havest not only the fish and octopus, but the vast array of shellfish living in these waters and tidal pools. The tide along this coast is quit spectacular with a movement between high and low tide somewhere between 6-8 meters. At low tide the boats are all morooned on the sand like beached whales - but that is not an excuse to rest. Hundreds of woman can be seen on the sand banks, digging for all sorts of shell fish, which no doubt will be on the dinner tables around Spain and Europe that very evening. A German man sitting behind me on the bus, now living in Madrid, was my tour guide on the trip and kept me informed of all sort of interesting facts and figures. Hence Spain like so many other parts of the world is suffering from lack of rain and especially Barcelona is in trouble. He also told me that this wonderful coastline just a few years back ahd been awash with oil, coming from a stricken tanker split in half off the cost and had made everyone unemployed for more than 12 months along the coast, while cleaning the mess up.

Finisterra - the end of the earth - was the most westerly point in the known world until Columbus managed to find America - was quite spectacular. To reach the lighthouse one has to endure a 5 kilometer up-hill walk, but I was quite prepared for this last sacrifice, as part of my Camino. I hitched up with an American physicist doing research at Yale University, and as such she became my last perigrino companion on my journey.


The landscape of this cape or outcrop was spectacular (even for me, used to seeing quite spectacular coastlines along the Australian south and east coast) and I found it a very special place to be - providing a wonderful place just to sit and reflect and come to terms with the finality of this day and this journey.
I am sitting at the ZERO marker for the Camino and enjoying the wonderful view and achievement.

Watching a little television in the evening after my dinner (Spanish time between 8-10pm) and thinking about meeting Laraine at Santiago Airport the next day, the news flash about the terrible crash in Madrid Airport late in the afternnon, where more than 150 people had died, filled the screen. Terrible news at any time, but especially just hours before your wife is going to arrive in that very airport. I really hoped that she would have no knowledge of this disaster, as it no doubt would unsettle her. I arrived in Madrid Airport on time to pick her up and wasn't suprised to find that her flight had been delayed. At midday everyone observed a minutes silence and it was eerie to stand in an airport, normally filled with the noise of excited travellers, go silent for what seemed a long time. Laraine's flight landed approx. 15 minutes later and it wasn't long before I spotted her coming out from the arrivals lounge - what a special moment after being on the road for almost 7 weeks and only really been in touch via SMN's messages during this time.

I had already decided that the best way of giving Laraine some kind of insight into the Camino, was to take her to the cathedral and just watch the pilgrims, as they arrived at this end point of their journey - watch their faces - their tears - their smiles - the pain as some walked these last few steps. I know these faces touch Laraine very deeply and she somehow touched, at least part of this unique journey and expereince. We went to the Pilgrims Mass together and once again I am sure this expereince and opportunity to celebrate and give thanks, helped her to put not only my Camino, but also in many ways her's, into some larger perspective.

As I am trying to reflect on my Camino, I am not sure how to put it into words. One thing I am sure of is, that it has been a unique experience, that will stay with me for the rest of my life and somehow help shape how I look upon life and the way I live it.

I am very grateful to the people in the Catholic Education Office, Melbourne, who believed that this project was a genuine proposal for Enrichment Leave - and I hope no-one will ever doubt the huge effect this journey will have on any individual principal, contemplating this journey . It goes to the very core of who you are as a person - your spiritual life as well as your physical life - and will effect your capacity to perform in your job as principal in a significant way.

Also thanks to my wife, Laraine, who always has trusted and supported me on this journey - encouraging and believing in me and giving me the opportunity to grow and discover more deeply who I am as a person. Thanks to Steen and Karina and also to Simone - you were all such an important part of this journey and I spent many hours with you individually, as I travelled through the wonderful and ever changing landscape of the Camino. And to my wonderful grand children, Mikaila, Dana and Ally of whom I often spoke and shared their part in my life.

And finally thanks for all the messages from family and friends, from the kids and teachers from St. Charles - you were all very much part of this journey and because so many pilgrims at this time of the year were in the teaching profession, you were often a source of conversation.

Where to from here? The Camino has been completed (I am after all in Santiago, completing this blog) but I am sure my Camino has only just started in a number of ways, as I in the coming days, months, years, reflect and work through the many, many special memories , which became part of me on this Camino - The Way of St. James.

Week 6 - Walking from Sarria to Santiago de Compostella

I woke up very excited this morning as I had decided to give the walking another go. My goal for the day was approx. 14 km to a small village called Ferrerios - which means blacksmiths - maybe the name has a story to tell.

It was a wonderful cool morning with plenty of morning mist around - a trait of Galicia - as so much moist air comes directly in from the Atlantic Ocean, and settles in the mountains and hills around the Camino walking track. The mist made the country side wonderfully fresh, with mellow and soft colours all around. The country side here in Galicia is very wooded and the walkers are well protected from the sun as the Camino goes trough woodlands, mainly consisting of oak and chestnut trees, both providing ample shade for the walkers. It didn´t take me long to get into a rhythm and I was very careful to slow down my pace to about 4 km an hour and also be careful how my feet contacted the ground - softly, softly was the aim of the day. Not only did the physical walking get into a rhythm fairly quickly, but so did my internal feeling and thinking processes as well. It is amazing how the physical and the internal spheres seem to follow a common rhythm, which provided a wonderful space for thinking and feeling. As I walked along I all of a sudden smelt this wonderful scent and realised it came from a gumtree - a single gumtree amongst the oak trees and it gave out the strongest scent which was unmistaken, not only to me, but for the other walkers as well. Gumtrees are getting more common as we walk along towards the coast - but so far it is the first and the only one I have seen so far.

A long time ago when I was in Najara, I spoke about a young actor couple from France / Germany who I spent some wonderful hours with on Plaza Españia, when I couldn´t walk. As I walked yesterday I saw a young woman just standing still and taking in the wonderful nature surrounding her, when I realised it was her. Here we go again! How does it happen you meet up with someone after almost three weeks - I just don´t know. We waked together for about an hour or so and spoke about the Camino and our experiences so far. Her boyfriend had had to return to Berlin a couple of weeks back and although they had had a wonderful Camino together, walking it alone was so very special, she told me. As custom has it, after an hour or so, she farewelled me and walked off a little faster than I, into the distance. However it left me with this feeling of wonderment and joy as to what suprises the Camino might provide me with next.

However I felt absolutely great as I arrived at Ferrerios and got a bed for the evening - and with no bad effect from the walk. What great news - I might still be able to walk to Santiago after all!

As I arrived three wounded soldiers were waiting for a bed as well - amongst them Bent - a Dane - 75 years old, who had a heart operation not that long ago and Josep, a Spaniard, who had that many blisters on his feet, that I lost count. They had both just started the Camino a couple of days ago, so the damage seems to happen within the first few days, as the body gets used to the hard work - day in and out.

At this small village, I encountered the largest number of flies I ever have seen or experienced. I can assure you that the Australian Salute came in handy. These villages which we travel through - and there are many - are tiny communities consisting of more cows than humans. Hence, one experiences a wonderful country smell when passing though these small communities - cow dung, wet hay, chickens etc - of course all paradise if you are a fly - which accounts for the multitude of these annoying creatures.

I also caught up with my two German friends who came out of nowhere, calling out - Grandpa - Grandpa. Good to see them again. They told me that they are making a German Travel Show about the Camino and that the TV crew catch up with at certain intervals to film and interview them. They asked me if I wanted to walk with them for part of tomorrow, which was very nice of them, as I can´t walk very fast.

We started the day at around 8 and walked 10 kilometers to Portomarin, which is surrounded by a big dam. The story goes, that underneath the water one can find the ruins from a battle between two holy orders, who used to occupy each side of the riverbank - however all that is in the past so who cares? Todays journey was again very pleasant, with the oaks providing wonderful shade against the warm morning sun. As we reached Portomarin, I farewelled my German friends, who decided to walk on for another 10 kilometers or so.

As I am sitting writing this blog I just saw Australia loose their soccer match to Argentina at a televison in the internet cafe and now it has been occupied by a Spanish family party, so the noise is quite deafening. However one has to realise that life doesn´t stop because a perigrino wishes to write a blog!

Portomarin was a great city for a stop over and the main street was full of bars and places to relax. There were many, many peregrinos here and I caught up with a fairly large group of friends, who I have seen on and off for the last 10 days. It was great to catch up and this farewell must surely be the last as we all are getting very close to Santiago. They have all been very good and supportive friends to me and all encouraged me to continue my Camino on the bus. The fit pilgrims will be in Santiago in three days if everything goes well and everyone is very focussed ton reaching this goal, which for some, is the end of a road which has lasted for more than a month.

I also caught up with my Belgium principal friend and he decided that we should try a special Spanish drink, made by fermented white wine - something like a Spanish version of grappa. Quite nice but I am sure, also very alcoholic. As we sat there we said hello to a couple of Irish teachers, who were just about to start their Camino. They had a few questions to ask of us and of course we gave all our valuable advice for the payment of a cold beer. We shared a perigino meal together - I had a mixed salad and pork chops and ice cream - what an adventurous Galician meal - shame on me!

The town square was set up with a stage, so after the meal we walked back to see what was happening. It was a folk dancing exhibition and judging from the crowd, everyone in the city must have turned up and everyone enjoyed the performances. There was even a Polish dancing troup, which would have made Jadwiga proud.

The next mroning I joined the human train, which the Camino now has become - a never ending row of pilgrims, all heading for Santiago. At one stage I counted at least 20 pilgrims in front of me and about the same number behind me. However most seem to walk at the same speed, so people still keep a certain distance between each other. However you want to avoid the groups of young kids, as they never stop taking and playing their music - I am not sure what the purpose of their pilgrimage is - but of course that´s not up to me to dicide.

I had inteded to stay in a small village called Hospital,(not that I am in need of one) but obviously the village was that small, that I completely missed it and was well on my way on to the next village, when I discoved my mistake. So I continued on and covered as such almost 17 kilometers, which was not bad, for an old chap.

The albergue was just a small one with only 18 beds - and I was completely surrounded by spanish and french pilgrims, with no english what-so-ever. However as I sat with two spanish guys, we did share where we came from, what we were doing for work, from where we started the Camino and other such pilgrim talk - so despite language difficulties, we killed a very pleasant hour. As it was a rather cold and wet afternoon, I turned in pretty early, as my sleeping bag was the only place, where I felt snug and warm, so I ended up having a long and good sleep before today´s etape.

I started out at 7.30 this morning - the weather was still cold and the rain had just stopped. I decided not to cover my backpack with the rain cover even though I kept it and my rain poncho handy. I was rather chilly in my t-shirt got warm quicky as I started to walk. I was given a very special gift this morning, as I somehow missed the ´human train´and didn´t see a soul for the next two hours - not a walker - not a bike rider. It was absolutely beautiful to just be alone and not for one moment was I worried about, whether or not I was on the right track. There was rain all around me and black clouds moved quickly accross the sky - but somehow missed me (that´s faith). The sensation of the diffrent smells on this early morning walk was quite unique - almost like nature's own spice rack. I came upon the first gum-tree plantation - what a sensational view for an aussie - and the scent in the early wet morning was not bad either.

As I walked along I was all of a sudden startled by this loud noise. My first thought was that it might be a jet fighter on an early morning training exercise - however a couple of minutes later I found out that is was cars driving on the wet freeway leading from Leon to Santiago. That shows how one gets use to the absolute silence one is able to experience on this Camino, making any sort of noise seem very loud and definitely harsh on the ear.

I arrived at today´s destination Palas De Rei at 9.30, decided to write this blog and continue for another couple of hours to the next albergue at Mato Casanova and hope I can get a bed there. I should be arriving there at 12 noon.

Before going on , may I take this opportunity to thanks everyone for their comments. They are great to read and I really enjoy being in touch with everyone. Thanks again.

I did arrive at Casanova at 11.55 , what estimation talent - only five minutes out. After settling in, a spanish guy asked me if I would like to be picked up by a car from a nearby albergue to get some luch. I of course said yes, as I hadn´t really had anything since lunch the day before. We were driven approx. 2 kilometers, to an albergue, situated a little of the official Camino track. We shared a lovely lunch - I chose an exotic sounding dish for an entre - it proved to be scambled eggs with champions - what a choice - followed by a wonderful home-cooked beef stew with carrots and onions and large chunks of beef - a great meal. I finished the meal off with the 'oldie but goodie' Tiamasu, made with a Spanish recipe - I think! I met a Danish girl at the albergue after lunch and we took this opportunity to speak a little Danish and discuss our experiences on the Camino.

This morning I started out at seven - the key for seven is missing on this keyboard - and only had planned to cover approx. 1o kilometers. I did so in about 2 hours, through wonderful country meadows full of old oak trees and open fields. Not so lucky this morning in regard to the 'train of people' - I hopped on in the middle of a large carriage, full of what sounded like excited holiday makers and not pilgrims. However I was told today by a Spanish young girl from south of Barcelona, that this week and the next is the official spanish holiday season - that's why I am surrounded by, what seems to be, millions of Spaniards.

Today the Camino left the Region of Lugo and entered the Region of A Coruña - the last region of the Camino in which Santiago is situated. I read on a stone just before arriving today - 51.5 kilometers to go! However the Camino for me is like reading a good book - you just don't want it to end - so like a book, I'm really treasuring these last few days of this wonderful experience.

Melide i s a city of eight thousand people - this keyboard again - and like most of the cities I have travelled through, it also has a medieval part with winding, narrow streets, with plenty of shops, bars and reastaurants serving the speciality of this region - Octopus Pulpo - I think I will leave it at that!

I discovered that I had forgotten something of a treasure at Ferrerios this morning - my shaving Mach 3 from Gilette. I had planned to contact Gillette on my return to Australia and tell them that I only had used one -1 - blade during the entire Camino of 6 weeks - and I was going to suggest that in the future they could call this extraordinary good blade -The Camino - however it wasn't to be and after finishing this blog, I am going down and find a supermarket to buy another Mach 3 - cause I look a little like the 'Neanderthal Man' at the moment.

Tomorrow I will be going to Arzua - close to 16 + 2 kilometers - again the keyboard - and hope that will be OK for my knees. The next day I won't have a choice as I will have to cover aprox. the same distance, as there are no albergues on the way. However with this speed, I should be in Santiago on Sunday in time for the famous 12 o'clock Pilgrims Mass - which no doubt will be a CAMINO MOMENT. However I will leave you for now and go out and enjoy Melide - get some food and buy that razor, so I can look a little more civilized, if that's possible on a Camino.

After a quiet afternoon looking around the old part of Melide, I decided to have something to eat and sat in front of the albergue and made myself a bread roll with normal ham off the bone - most ham here in Spain is cured ham - and enjoyed a drink of Mezena - apple-to help it go down. I said hello to two girls sitting next to me writing their diaries and we fell into conversation-as one does. They were both from Rome and last year students in medicine and law and had decided to travel the camino together, before their final exams. As they left, they invited me to join them later at a very famous restaurat Exequiel, specialising in pulperias - octopus. I thought about it and finally decided to join them - I mean I didn´t have to eat at the restaurent, just have a drink. I found them an half of an hour later in the restaurent, with 8 other Italians, who had met up during the Camino. Some were from Firenze, others from Milan and the two girls from Rome. They were all well educated and their English not bad - at least they all had a go. They ordered of course a couple of serves of the dreaded - just look at the photo - some garlic prawns (should be called shrimps) a couple of T-bone steaks and wine which was drunk from a special kind of cup. We had a great evening together -the best for a couple of evenings, as my socializing had gone a bit quiet - I even tried the octopus and must admit it was very tender. We finished up as late as was possible - around 10.30 - and had this last picture taken before saying good night.

I woke early this morning as I knew that I had a pretty long walk ahead of me. I was on the road and walking at 6.30am, still very dark around me. When walking at that hour one has to be very careful where one put ones feet and keep a close look-out for stones and uneven parts of the track. However I survived. As as the dawn broke it was just so special and absolutely quiet. There is something very special about this time of the day - I guess the promise of something brand new and fresh and untouched by human kind. One realises that it has all the potential within it for man to do good or bad, to heal or to hurt - quite simple, when put like that. As one walks at this time, one definitely realises the gift being unwrapped around oneself. Very special and very beautiful.

Imagine the bliss when all of a sudden from behind, a group of young kids, make this special moment, into some kind of a Luna Park or Bakken in Denmark - screaming and yelling and making Koo Koo sounds, (they must surely have been from Germany, with that kind of Koo Koo sounds). I stopped to let them pass me, but I guess the spell of that special moment was gone - how fragile is real beauty!

The occurence of eucalyptus is becoming more frequent as Imove through Galicia - I even saw a stringy bark this morning - so I have stopped taking photos of them and call out in excitement - however they are still beautiful trees and I really enjoy seeing them. I even show other pilgrims how to crunch the leaves in their hands to get the full eucalyptus expereince. However today I had a real good walking day without much discomfort and made the 17 kilometers in just 3 hours - so I arrived faily early and found a bed for the night. Great feeling!

Arzua is the last city I will be passing through before I reach Santiago. I have organised two hikes tomorrow Friday and Saturday, each of 15 kilometers, leaving only a short 5 kilometer walk into Santiago on Sunday. I will be relaxing the rest of the day and take the sighs of this city in as I wonder around. I will have to be on the road very early tomorrow as I have to reach the my next destination of Arca do Pino as early as possible, as there only is one albergue with room for 120, which will leave many pilgrims without a bed or forced to go to a private hostel.

I had a quiet evening and went to the local bar and watched a little from the Olympic Games . a basketball game between Germany and Spain. (one of the few things I have been able to watch) Went to bed at 9.30pm and went to sleep straight away as I didn´t hear the person sleeping in the top bunk go to bed.

I woke up at 2 am and was feeling rested and ready for a new day - hence I decided to pack my gear (very quietly) and I was on the road at 2.20 am. It was a wonderful clear night - unfortunately with no stars as the full moon was shining brightly - so I had to put up with the moon and its only companion Venus.

Although it was with some reservations that I ventured out in the middle of the night, I was quietly confident that I was going to be OK and find my way all right. However it wasn´t easy as the waymarkers are very difficult to spot in the dark woods - especially when the moon disappears behind the trees. At one point I came to an intersection in the forrest and for the life of me couldn´t find a way marker to direct me to the right or the left, no matter how hard I tried. I chose to go left and after a while I finally saw a way marker - what a relief! I think my pulse rate fell immediately to something near normal. My torch didn´t work that well either and became useless very quickly - no a very good to happen in the middle of nowhere.

However I obviously got through the night as I am sitting here writing by blog. I did get lost a couple of times and simply followed the highway to Santiago - at least I knew I was moving in the right direction, even thought it was pretty hard under foot and one needed to keep a close eye on the traffic.

Around 5.30 I watched the moon go down - quite a wonderful sight. I just stopped to watch and enjoyed the sight and the stillness around me. As soon the moon had disappeared the stars came out in full glory and the milkyway shone above the horizon with the mighty Canis Major to the North and Orion to the West taking the honours. Even though I am used to the the magnificant night sky in Australia, the northern sky is quite beatiful and the milkyway or Compostella lived up to its name - Santiago - just follow the milkyway and you will get there.

Today´s distance was rather long for me being almost 20 kilometers (and I guess the walking on the main highway didn´t help much) and towards the end I wondered when I would be there. However because I didn´t follow the Camino path as such and walked on the highway instead I missed completely a small village, which I had on my map called Santa Irene and was therfore pretty confused when I entered a settlement, no-one seemed t know the name of. However I finally spoke to a couple of Spanish girls with a little English, who told me it in fact was Arca da Pino (also known as Pedrouzo) and to go back and I would find the main street and the albergue. I was elated than I finally had reached my destination for the day. I went straight for an alburgue - it was still open or rather it hadn´t closed yet, as last night´s costomers, hadn´t all left yet. So in I went in and tried to explain to the lady, that I already - despite the time - had walked for 6 hours and just wanted a bed for tonight. However although she agreed to take my backpack, I am stranded in a small cafe until 12 noon, when the alburgue will open its doors - so at least I can get a warm cup of coffee and something to eat and most importantly keep warm - my t-shirt is not the recommended way of dress on this cool, misty morning - in fact it feels like a bit of a winter Melbourne morning and is cold-cold-cold!

As I have still got 22 minutes left on this internet - account, I will tell you a little about the number of pilgrims carrying pretty bad injuries at this stage of the Camnio. They are all peregrino, who have commenced their Camino during the last week or so and due to their limited holiday, walk themselved to the bone every day - leaving them with foot - ankle and knee injuries, similar to the one I suffered. However because we are so close to Santiago, no-one even considers to stop and take a rest, but rather crawl to the ´finishing line`, which can be a pretty sad sight as they shuffle along the path. (maybe they should take a detour to Lourdes)

Tomorrow´s walk will take me to a high spot overlooking Sandiago called Monte Gozo - just 5 kilometers from the cathedral. If it is a clear day, it will my first opportunity to sight the cathedral. In days gone by, the first pilgrim in a party who spotted the cathedral, had the honour to lead the party into the city and to the cathedral - however these days I belive Monte Gozo can be a bit of a circus - with an albergue housing more than 800 pilgrims - the first spot where everyone is housed together - ready for the shot walk the next day. There will be buses and tour cars arriving, providing the opportunity for the ´pilgrims´to finish their journey on foot - take a bow, will you? Oh! I am still judging other people´s Camino - something I should have learned by now not to do. But it proves that the Camino hasn´t converted me into a saint or similar - so Australia - you will get me back almost as I left you.

As I said yesterday, the Camino is almost like a really good book, which you don´t want to end - and I am afraid that tomorrow is the last full page of the book - only followed by a partly full page - but hopefully with the climax.

Writing this I had a SMS message from Laraine this morning, that reminded me, that life doesn´t stop because I am doing this Camino. Our very good friend through my 35 years in Australia, Effie, had died during her sleep during the night. Although it wasn´t unexpected, it brings one back to the reality of ´real life´ - with its joys as well as its sorrows.

I have to adimid that I on reaching Arca and beeing so close of reaching Santiago, I was feeling just a little sad and dissapointed, that I would be reaching this milestone alone, without friends to share this special moment with. However what the Camino has taught me once again - worrying is not something one ought to do. As I arrived I met a wonderful family from Iceland - yes I said Iceland - surely the only icelandic family on the Camino. They travelled - mum and dad and two sons - and had been on the road for 6 weeks - not a bad effort. Mum orgnaised a lovely luch before long and invited me to join them. We had a terrific time together and I had a discussion with dad, who had a senior position in the education system in Iceland. We discovered faily quicky, that the similarities in our two education systems, fare outweighted the differences, only emphazising that policitians are the same world wide in regard to what thay belive and from where they get their ideas.

Let me take this opprtunity to tell you a little about Iceland (the blog ought to be a little educational as well). There are only 300.000 people living in Iceland and it is the only country where the whole population has a documented family tree going all the way back the the time (year 900) where Eric the Red and his son Leif, inhabited Iceland, as part of the Vikings expansion policy. They still ahve a very old naming system in Iceland to this very day, where the sons and daughters get their father´s first name as their surname. Hence in my case - Steen would be called Steen Gunnarson and Farina Karina Gunnarsdottir and so on - no doubt where names such as Rasmus(son) and Jack(son) derives from.

Later in the afternoon I got another suprise as two scottich friends all of a sudden turned up again. (by this time I was sure that everone I had meet during the past couple of weeks, all had left me for dead- so to speak). It was great to see them again and Angela cooked a wonderful spanish omelette, with capsicum, tomatoes and onions and the bottle of red didn´t go astray either. We all decided to travel the same distance the next day, reaching Santiago on the Sunday morning.

The next morning brought a new aspect to my Camino travel, as the rain came tumbling down and I knew I had to get out and do the days walk in that weather. I put my rain cover on my backpack and my rain pontio over my head and out I went. As the path quicky went through a dark wooded area, I decided to follow close behind a group of iatlian pilgrims, who at least had a workable torch. For the first little while, I was careful where I put my feet to avoid the worst of the puddles - however it didn´t tale long before the rain intentified and a small river came flowing down the path, covering our legs well up to the angles. By that stage who cared and we all continued on, laughing and making light the wet conditions.

On this last leg the Camino passed the airport and the runway in very close proximity and I couldn´t help thinking that Laraine would be arriving there in just a few days. I am so looking forward to seeing her again after these six weeks. I took the opportunity for a cofee break in a small cafe near by - a welcome rest as well as an opportunity for a nice hot cup of coffee. As I resumed my jouney, I came upon an italian group, sitting in the rain, reading the Gospel and singing hymns - not a rare sight on this part of the camino, as especially many church groups from Italy, seem to have joined the Camino.

As I arrived at Monte Gozo, I had another huge supprise waiting for me. The woman I wrote about meeting in Astorga, (the Italian architect, now working in Barcelona) appeared and once again the Camino gave me a wonderful supprise. After all I was not going to Santiago without friends, whom I could share this special moment with. How lucky am I.