Monday 30th June 2014...Camino Day 27!!!

Another really good sleep on another really comfy bed and did not wake up till 7.30am and it was a nice feeling to know I did not have to load up the pack and start walking!!!!! Polama was making my breakfast but i knew she had to go to work so i said thanks but i would fix myself some eggs and then i washed their dishes from last night and she was thrilled that I had done that...Diego then brought the bike over for me to borrow and they were both out of the door off to work!!!! I two more cups of tea packed a lunch and was out of the door by 9.30am..... This is your lucky day it is a while since i have offered the totally free, yes you read it right, totally free famous Pearson escorted and narrated guide this time with a twist instead of walking we are going on the bike!!! So grab a drink sit down and enjoy the last day by the ocean as usual tips are welcome if you enjoy the trip if you don't they are welcome anyway!!!! It was about 12km ride but instead of taking the main highway I took the coastal paths and a few scenes along the way...don't you just love this baby's eyes!!! I enjoyed the bike a long time since I have ridden and guess who would have loved to be here with me on hers???? The sign which means Cathedral so sit back and enjoy!!! So now you have some work to do before I show you the next 2 photos...please go to you tube and select amazing grace by bagpipes and turn up the volume and listen.....some of you know this is one of my favorite hymns and it was my Grandma's best so listen to the tune and keep it in your head.... So I am walking on the beach seeing these amazing rock formations when i see this cave like formation and I hear music coming out of the cave I get closer and it is the sound of a bagpipe playing Amazing Grace it was surreal and a goose bump moment...I go further into the cave and see this one of those you just had to be there moments!! This was a very busy tourist stop hard to get a photo without another person in it!!! I really enjoyed the walk and the sights I then came up to the top and walked along the cliff face and found a perfect spot for lunch!!! Then it was the bike ride back and when i got into town stopped at the grocery store for some food for tonight and tomorrow and was home by 4pm. I pampered myself with a long hot bath whilst listening to music on my Nexus and drinking OJ!!!! After the bath it was time for some lovely rice pudding before i went to the bar around the corner again and watched the France V Nigeria game which ended in a win for France.....so now back home with tea and a salad and really enjoyed this special day!!! This was my last beach day as now I turn south and a bit west and head down towards Santiago and back on with the shoes tomorrow morning. I briefly saw Polama and Diego this evening they are leaving for a holiday to Amsterdam tomorrow I thanked them for all their kindness to me and I shall not forget my stay with them. Things I learned today.... I really care for the ocean. I missed walking. I miss seeing Eliza and our talks....see what you missed by going the other way!!!. I have special friends. The sunshine brightens my soul!!! Yashi Kochi!!!

Sunday 29th June 2014...Camino Day 26!!

Probably had the best sleep last night till 8am the sheets and pillows were so inviting...I could not wait to dash down and see what the breakfast was like... I was so shocked the array of food was incredible and I looked it over and was starting with cereal when the young owner produced this for me to eat!!!! As usual a little found it's way into my lunch bag!! This was taken last night we Pilgrims have to have the luxuries when we can!!! What a magnificent stop over this was for me I arrived yesterday looing like a drowned rat and left this morning as a perky Pilgrim. A walk of 29 km today with not too much to see

and I arrived in Ribadeo around 4pm and had arranged to meet my host Diego at 5pm at the tourist office..so I walked around town and took a couple of shots

and went and met Diego..a nice young man he and Paloma live one minute from the tourist office in a lovely two bed roomed flat... I have my own bedroom and bathroom and use of the house and kitchen..

....Diego and I talked for a few minutes and then he had to leave...amazing a stranger walks into your home and the owner leaves you there a second later!!!!! I got clened up made some tea and then went around the corner to a bar to watch the big game Netherlands V Mexico...it was a great game and the below taken from the Internet!!! Netherlands produced an astonishing late comeback to rescue their World Cup dream and deny Mexico a first quarter-final in 28 years. Substitute Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot in injury time after Arjen Robben was fouled by Mexico captain Rafael Marquez. They had equalised in the 88th minute through Wesley Sneijder's thumping strike from the edge of the penalty area and with extra time beckoning, Robben won Louis van Gaal's side the spot-kick that took them into the quarter-finals. It was a heartbreaking moment for the Mexicans, who had gone ahead just after half-time through Giovani Dos Santos, the former Tottenham and Barcelona player, who scored from 25 yards with a memorable strike. At the final whistle at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza, Mexico's players fell to the ground, unable to grasp how the game had slipped away. Match analysis "You have to say you feel sorry for the Mexicans they were brilliant for the first half and maybe 10 minutes of the second. "You really believed that their goalkeeper looked unbeatable. But, however you have to do it, whether it is long ball or technical stuff, you find a way to do it and that is what the Netherlands did. "Robben became unplayable at the end of the game. Running with the ball at pace, he was simply astonishing." For long periods they had out-thought and out-fought their more celebrated opponents as the Netherlands appeared to wilt in the stifling heat. Yet, when the final whistle blew, this would be marked down as the sixth successive time that Mexico have lost in the second round of the World Cup, dating back to 1994. The Dutch will now play Costa Rica or Greece in Salvador in the last eight. The heat was a significant factor throughout. The spiralling temperatures, which reached 38.8C, meant that Fifa allowed two cooling breaks to take place. In parts of the stadium, fans struggled to take their seats because they were in direct sunlight, preferring to stand at the back and watch from an area of shade. On the field there was no hiding place for either side. Mexico played with courage and cohesion, tempo and tenacity. They had the better of the first half, with Hector Herrera and the excellent Miguel Layun a constant thorn in the Netherlands' side. Carlos Salcido tested goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen from distance, while Dos Santos forced another good save from a narrow angle. The Netherlands were struggling in the conditions. Mexico looked more ambitious, more attack-minded. Van Gaal's side sat deep, defended in numbers, sometimes with a back seven, and looked happy to rely on the attacking brilliance of Robin van Persie and Robben. It was a plan that ultimately paid off, but not until very late on. It was not until the second half that Netherlands found their rhythm but by then they were behind. As in the first, Mexico began the second half with a bang - Dos Santos gathered the ball 30 yards out, held off Daley Blind and thumped a wonderful left-foot shot into the bottom corner on the turn. The celebrations rumbled around Estadio Castelao. Mexico might have had another soon after as Marquez headed over from a corner. Could the Dutch respond? Van Gaal moved away from a back five and pushed substitute Memphis Depay into a more attacking midfield role. It almost paid off for Netherlands but the brilliance of Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa kept them at bay. Robben's corner was flicked on by Stefan de Vrij but the Mexico goalkeeper reacted instinctively to push the ball against the post and to safety. Huntelaar had seven touches against Mexico after coming on as substitute on 76 minutes, including a goal and an assist. Netherlands have now turned their last four World Cup games in which they fell behind in regular time into a victory. Mexico have failed to win any of their last seven knockout matches at the World Cup Sneijder has scored five goals in his last five World Cup knockout matches for Netherlands The Dutch were coming forward in wave after wave of attacks now. Robben felt he had won a penalty when he went to ground under a challenge by Layun but the referee waved play on. Ron Vlaar headed a Robben corner over the bar as time ticked on. Just as the Dutch looked out on their feet, Sneijder rescued them, pouncing on a loose ball that had run back from a corner and firing an unerring shot low beyond Ochoa to change the game. With 30 minutes of extra time looking likely, Robben raced into the right-hand edge of the penalty area. Marquez stuck out a boot and the Bayern Munich player went to ground for a penalty. Hunterlaar kept his cool to put Netherlands through. So it was heartbreaking to watch and I feel sorry for the players and the fans....now i can cheer for the USA!!! Came home and met Paloma she is lovely and teaches Italian to adults, she welcomed me and said her house was my house.......so the Camino provides again!!! Tomorrow a day off and Diego is going to lend me his bike to go to some beaches about 5 miles away which are supposed to be stunning!!!! Well I surpassed the 600km mark today and have about 220 km left...hard to believe and even harder to believe that I feel so refreshed and healthy.....again thank you so much for the support you have been a big part of this for me...... Yashi Kochi!!

Saturday 28th June 2014..Camino Day 25!!!

I was tired last night and asleep by 11pm and slept through till 7am did my usual morning chores and then went downstairs to breakfast which was a huge dis appointment because there was no breakfast...no point getting angry at the young lady working and the language barrier was an issue so i just politely said thanks and left...i had grapes, apple and banana and granola bars so i ate and walked. The weather looked ominus and I knew the days of not using my raincoat were coming quickly to an end. Did you know that Little Bluey who I do miss also has another second cousin here in Spain...guess what her name is???? The Camino showed me again how it provides and the yellow arrows also showed me a lesson early this morning. I had walked maybe 30 minutes and a long 30 minutes because the way out of town was uphill you saw from the photos yesterday they build these towns on the steep banks of the hill side and the town centres are in the valley well you always have to climb up to get out but a good start to the morning to break a sweat. Shortly after I was on a country road with a few farm houses here and there and I must have been deep in thought because as I passed this farm house the lady came running out with a big stick shouting at me.......I thought this is it headlines in the SMA newspaper Pilgrim Pearson attacked by raging woman on Camino!!!! As I could gather from the words I understood I was on the wrong road and needed to go back 100 yards and turn left.......I was almost certain that I was not because I had been following the arrows but she was very persuasive so I turned around walked back down the road and where she had told me to turn sure enough there was a yellow arrow a little bit hidden on a tree....so i turned and looked back and the woman was on the balcony waving to me and I am sure she was smiling because I know I was..the way provides. Then it started to come the RAIN and again the Camino provided..it suddenly opened up as I was passing a farmhouse that looked desserted but had this like canopy tent set up in the front yard.. perfect for a pilgrim to unload his pack get his pack covered and his raincoat on without getting wet......these incidents are so uplifting. So the next three hours were a combination of road walking, trails through the woods and one point trying to cross a stream all in the rain but just not any rain really heavy nasty rain. I tried to take some photos and I fear I may have got some water in my camera!!! What I forgot to mention was last night when I was planning my route I decided the time was close for a day off and I checked the route and found that a town called Ribadeo is 2 days walk away, looks like a nice town and it is the last i shall see of the coast because from there I turn inland. So I went to the airbnb site and found a B & B right in town for two nights for 35 dollars a night so I have booked Sunday and Monday nights and look forward to that. On further checking I decided that today would only be a medium walk so I found a town called Navia that looked nice and went on to the Booking.com site and found a great 12 room hotel with ratings of over 9.....the rooms look real fancy and the reviews were awesome as was the breakfast which was included so I decided to splurge and book it for tonight..it was 35 Euros not even 50 dollars.....so I knew as I was walking in the down pour that I was only a couple of hours away from a great afternoon treat.....and really the walk of 24 km went by fast and the rain was not cold but so glad the hotel was right on the trail and the young lady owner wonderful..I sure hope my photos come out because this room has first class written all over it from electric kettle, tea bags, water, slippers,velvet sheets, tub, pilgrim foot bath. desk ....just so lovely like an old Victorian type home.....the lady could see that I was like a drowned cat and she asked me if i wanted coffee or anything so I just asked if I could have some milk and perhaps a crossaint as I was hungry and she said she would bring it to my room.....she came a few minutes later with a full cup of milk and on a tray a crossaint, a pasty and some apple cake!!!!!! I was straight into the Epsom salt bath with tea and cake on the side like a royal pilgrim!!!!!! It was wonderful...then it was laundry and trying to dry my shoes and back pack..funnily enough the rain has stopped and the sun is out and it looks like a nice little town I shall go for a stroll soon......nice TV in the room to watch the soccer games tonight and life is good...now if only I can dry my camera out I did use the hair dryer on a low cycle but I fear I may have damaged it. Well now 9pm and obviously thank goodness my camera is OK.....I did walk into town it is quite nice an old sea port and found some fixings for a light supper and came home and my shoes and back pack I think will be dry by tomorrow and I enjoyed my supper watching Brazil sneak a win into the next round on penalty shootouts.......I have had I think 4 cups of tea they provide an electric kettle many tea bags and a really nice mug this is for sure a 5 star place with 2 star prices looking forward to breakfast already. So today was different and I think I have been lucky having such great weather so no complaints here...... Things I learned today. People are kind. Pay attentionto the arrows not only on the way but in life. Tea, cake in a bath tub could be a habit that grows on me. I like my friends. My body is so good to me!!! Yashi Kochi!!!

Friday 27th June 2014...Camino Day 24!!!

Another good sleep but even though i had my own room I could hear the other pilgrims getting up at 6am and I still have not figured out yet why they do that oh well....I rolled over and went back to sleep. Breakfast was a bit sad this morning coffee or OJ which I had and a packaged cake which I did not have I still had fruit left from yesterday and was on the road by 7.45am and it looked like rain. Quite a lot of the walk was on and then into the woods again and not even barriers can stop this pilgrim!!! Well it had to happen RAIN!!!! but just enough for me get my back pack cover on did not bother with the raincoat as i was drenched from sweat anyway but it only lasted a few minutes. Talking of back packs..mine, Wolf, is such a blessing she holds everything i need the zippers work great and very padded and comfortable to say I have carried around 14 pounds of weight around for three weeks I have not felt any discomfort with my back or shoulders in fact I just put her on my back and go...a great buy for 99 dollars!!! Some shots from today.... The real deal from SMA!!!! I do not know if what Carol told me to do last week take a magnesium tablet every morning, put natural sea salts in my drink container and soak in the tub with Epsom salts is working or if it is just in my mind but I do feel strong...i seem to have cured the shin splint and the ankle swelling has gone but I still do take really good care of my legs and feet and toes at least a total of one hour every day and i still wear the tension bandages..but i feel strong all around. A bit longer walk today of 33 km but i needed to get to this town of Luarca a small port town and I arrived at 2.00pm. Found a nice small hotel almost right away for 30 Euros which includes breakfast got the milk and the ice and by now you know what the rest of the story is!!! What is a Pilgrim to do when there is no soccer game to watch...first time in two weeks no games in Brazil but tomorrow the real competition starts the knock out rounds.... So I went for a walk around town it is not really the prettiest town but still neat.. The church was full for Mass!! I found the grocery store and bought fixings for a nice sandwich with tea for tonight.......hard to believe it is almost 9pm already.... So i will post this then work on tomorrows plan and read and bed. Glad a lot of you are happy with the tattoo choice and placement although I still have some e mails telling me to re think!! Things I learned today.... If I take care of my feet and body they will take care of me. The ocean is a stimulus for me. I miss SMA I love my great friends. I love to sing when i am on my own but i am tone deaf. Blessings to everyone and have a great weekend .....les Yashi Kochi!!!