July 17, 2008

Leaving the Camino....

I slept soundly for my last night on the Camino, then L&D joined me for a last breakfast. It was strange to say goodbye to two people I had shared so much with, knowing we were going back to live in very separate parts of the world.
I enjoyed the day long train journey. It did not follow the exact route of the Camino, but we travelled back through similar landscapes. First there was the beautiful forested areas of Galicia. After Ourense we passed by a large river gorge, which had not been part of the walk. At 1.30pm we reached Ponferrada. I was pleased to find that it had taken at least a few hours to cover what had taken us days to walk... It later took 30 minutes to travel from Astorga back to Leon, a distance that had taken two days to walk.....
As we travelled back over the Meseta I could see how much the seasons had advanced. Much harvesting of crops had occurred, and there was the brown look of a barren summer left behind. I saw horses eating from the piles of hay we had earlier seen piled up. So hay here is not just a winter food.... it is needed in the summertime.

As we came closer to Irun the terrain became more mountainous, only this time we missed a lot of the views as we tunnelled through rather than climbing over!
At 8.45pm, nearly 12 hours after I had left Santiago, we crossed the border into France. I had a while to wait for the night train to Paris, but I was on my way home.....

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your camino. I walked from SJPP to Santiago this year and hope to walk from Le Puy to SJPP next Spring. You have inspired me. I also walk at my own pace!!!

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  2. Thank you for sharing your camino. I walked from SJPP to Santiago this summer and hope to walk from Le Puy to SJPP next spring. I also walk at my own pace. You have inspired me.

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  3. Hi Lynda,
    Enjoy a spring Chemin! I am hoping to walk again in either 2012 or 2013...time will tell!
    Margaret

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  4. I am hoping to walk the Chemin in June-July 2013 from Le Puy to SJPP ... it would be so wonderful to meet you as your blog is very inspiring! Thank you for doing this and let me know if you will be on the trail!

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    1. Hi Sarah, I've only recently got home from seven weeks walking this year on some parts of the Camino- so I think I will be staying home next year! All the best for your own Chemin next year. It will come around quickly!

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