The Stomach Bug vs The Richardsons: Will They Make it?

Sarria to Santiago: 69 miles/112Kms, 5 Days

(Sarria, Portomarin, Palas de Rei, Melide, O Pedruzo, Santigo)

Santiago de Compostela

Of course we made it to Santiago!  But first, we all had to overcome a stomach bug, Parker had to continue battling his blisters, and Kaia's shoes were on their last thread. We even discussed pausing our walk for a bit, but we ultimately decided to take it one step at a time, one day at a time. We completed our pilgrimage in 40 days, 20 days quicker than Parker and I had planned!

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Located on the last 112kms from Santiago de Compostela is the town Sarria. Only ten percent of the pilgrims who walk the French Route begin where we did, in St. Jean Pied de Port (483 miles/778kms away). Ninety percent begin in Sarria. To get the Compostela Certificate, you only have to walk at least 100kms(62miles). That is why Sarria is so popular. Thousands of new pilgrims joined us out of Sarria.

However..... the night before Sarria, Cruz woke up in the middle of the night and threw up (off the top bunk of course). This part of Spain is famous for its pulpo (octopus). I love octopus and ordered it the night before (Cruz and Parker also tried it). But, it didn't look right, it reminded us of Parker's pig tail lunch. I'm sure it was prepared correctly, but I couldn't eat it. So maybe it was the pulpo? We knew of a few pilgrims who didn't feel well the previous days. So maybe something was going around. People were saying maybe it was contaminated water? Or could it have been the inconsistent standards of the cafes/restaurants along the Camino? It's hard to say.  Kaia and I caught the 48 hour stomach bug the following day in Portomarin, and Parker didn't feel so great either but didn't have the vomiting.

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In addition to the whole family fighting the stomach bug, Parker was still going through his blister saga. The kids decided we will do a side slideshow of the evolution of his blisters. It was epic: blisters inside blisters, and layers under layers of his baby pinky toes. Poor little piggys. He was managing them well but it still made us nervous. Many pilgrims had to end their walks early because of blisters. We had met someone who's blister got infected and he had to go to the hospital. Someone else got sick and also had to got to the hospital.  Both had to end their walks. You can only imagine the endless stories of blisters, black toe nails, lost toe nails, and all the ailments from head to toe. It was one of the ways we all bonded at the end of our days of walking.

Another situation we were dealing with was Kaia's trail shoes. The thread was still good but the uppers were falling apart. Getting new shoes this far into our walk was risky. New shoes with the mileage we were cranking out daily insured blisters. She's the only one who hasn't had a single blister or any foot issues. Getting blisters now could slow down or end our walk. She tried duck tape but that only lasted a day. We crossed our fingers that the shoes would make it all the way to the end.

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Out of Sarria, we were joined by thousands of people along the Camino.  It sometimes felt like we were in a 100km  line to Santiago. Before this, we might only see 20 or so pilgrims throughout the day, sometimes less. One day on the Meseta, we only saw two others. Now there were tons of groups: some were groups of 20 with a guide, there were large school groups, church groups, and big families walking together. There were long lines for cafes, shops, stamps along the side of the road. Some people talked loudly on their phones, on speaker! Why?! Some groups blared music from blue tooth speakers. The solitude was gone.

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In the rain, we walked out of Portomarin with upset stomachs and zero sleep, due to a fiesta that started at 11pm the previous night. It was a tough night for all of us but there was no way we were staying in that godforsaken town another minute. We all decided to walk and find somewhere else to rest for the day.

This was the first rain of our walk, our 36th day. We walked with hordes of people in ponchos of all colors. We were one of many pilgrim zombies, zombie-grinos, that what our kids called us all (zombies + peregrinos). It was a rough morning.  My legs felt H.E.A.V.Y. It took a lot of effort to just move them forward. But we all kept going. I guess one bad day out of 36 days isn't terrible. The Camino felt different with so many new people. There was less comradery because everyone had their own group. Less "Buen Caminos" and discussions with random pilgrims throughout the day. 

Once we reached Palas de Rei, Parker and I discussed pausing our walk. We told the kids that it's health first and reaching Santiago is secondary. We knew we would make it soon enough, we were so close.  Everyone needed rest and plenty of hydration. The next day, even though we were all feeling better, we walked a short half day to Melide. We found a hotel by 10:30am. Then we hydrated, ate, and relaxed.

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As Parker and I sat outside the cafe below our hotel, we could hear a group of loud pilgrims approaching. They were our friends. We were all so happy to see each other. Everyone was concerned about our kids and were happy to see they were better. It cheered us all up.

The following morning, we all felt great! We had thought we might have to finish a day later than originally planned but we decided to see how the day went. It was the most perfect day for walking. It was flat. easy, and beautiful. We decided to walk a long day 35kms to Pedruzo because we were all ready to finish the following day. 

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The big day finally arrived. We were all back to 100%, Parker's blisters were behaving, and Kaia's shoes were a mess but still intact. There was a lot of excitement in the air. So many of us (thousands) started in the dark in anticipation of reaching Santiago. It was hard to believe that we only had 11 miles left. Even though the crowd was an adjustment, it was great to see the excitement on everyone's face, no matter if they walked for five days and 100kms, or 30+ days and 700kms.

About 3miles/5kms out, we could see city of Santiago de Compostela and we caught a glimpse of the cathedral. It was surreal to be dodging traffic and finding our way through the busy city. As we approached the Cathedral, we walked through a tall walkway as a bagpiper welcomed pilgrims from around the world. When we approached the square it was hard to believe that we finally reached our destination. We celebrated with friends at the Cathedral Square. 

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The following day, we attended the pilgrim mass at the cathedral with Brother Lucas as one of the celebrants. A special pilgrim mass is held every day to welcome all the pilgrims and to honor them after their Camino. The priest reads the number of pilgrims received in the last 24 hours, where they came from, and where they began their pilgrimage.

We were lucky that day to witness the botafumeiro during mass. The famous botafumeiro is a giant censer. Once it is filled with incense and coal, it weighs well over 100 lbs. It takes eight people to operate. It is suspended 65 feet in the air and can reach a speed of 42 miles per hour. Originally, it was used to purify the air when the church was full of stinky pilgrims who had traveled from their homes.  Now it is more of a ritual that began in the 12th century. The mass was a meaningful way to end  our pilgrimage. 

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On our last week to Santiago, it was difficult to mentally end our walk. There was too much going on: the stomach bug, epic blisters, failing shoes, and the hordes of new people. Parker and I were also starting to plan our next stages of travel (Portugal, Egypt, Philippines). It was all too distracting and we were not living in the moment.

I was ambivalent once we arrived in Santiago. The end is always hard to process in the moment but Santiago did not feel like the end for me.  The pilgrimage officially ends in Santiago de Compostela, but long before Christianity, people would walk to the end of the world as they knew it, to the ocean. Parker and I had always dreamed of going all the way to the water.

Finestere was another 54 miles/90 kms away. The kids knew about it and had been saying they wanted to go to the Ocean. We let them make the final decision because walking the 483miles/778kms to Santiago was already a lot to ask of our kids.

But as we were planning our last two weeks, they both said they loved  the Camino and did not want it to end! Once in Santiago, we gave them the last say, especially with the challenging week we just conquered. Cruz said he wanted to keep walking.  Kaia said she wanted to walk all the way across Spain! They had just walked 483 miles/778 kms like rockstars and wanted to keep going. 

This was the best thing Parker and I could have heard as parents. Not just that they wanted to keep going but that they loved the camino las much as we hoped they would. 

Just another 54 miles/90 kms to go to the end of the world.