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PORTOMARIN to SANTIAGO <MAP> |
| The road out of Portomarin is uphill. Nothing major, though. Just not my favorite way to start the day. The ride is quite straightforward until you come to the intersection of the C535 and the N540. Straight on is what I thought to be the walkers' path. A bicycle sign pointed to the right, which I followed onto the N540. I went about 1/4 to 1/2 mile downhill, and kept seeing signs for Lugo. I could have continued, and taken the N547, but it would have added 6 miles to my journey. So I turned around and rode back uphill. It turns out the "road" I was looking for was actually a paved portion of the walkers' path. It's a nice part of the trip, as you wind your way through tiny villages. There are cows in the road, and I passed a family of pilgrims on foot whose luggage was being carried by a donkey.
At Taberna Ma Luz in Ligonde, I stopped to get a Sello. I then joined the N547 and headed to Melide. I had a hard time finding the Refugio for my Sello. Even the usual yellow arrows were hard to spot. Ultimately, I did track it down, but it was closed. On I went to Boente, where I got a Sello in a pretty little church. For only the second time on my trip, I was asked where I had started from, and my country of origin. It's pretty much gently up and down through Arzua and Cerceda. At Cerceda I ran into three riders from San Sebastian I had met at the summit of El Poyo. They offered me lunch, but I wasn't hungry. To this point, I had forced myself to eat because I knew how many calories I'd be burning, but now I only had about 20-30 km left to go, so I felt I could skip a meal if I wanted to. It was hilarious listening to them try and say my name, Arthur. They agreed the only way to do it would be to get drunk enough to slur your words. There are a couple of climbs outside of Santiago de Compostela - nothing tough, but I'd been riding for 5 hours and I was getting burned on my left side again. (That darned going west all day thing.) Near the airport, you come to the final hill, the Monte de Gozo - or Mount of Joy. It's called the Mount of Joy because in the old days, from its summit, you got your first views of the spires of the Santiago Cathedral. Then I was there. The destination. I quickly checked into my hotel (the very cool AC Palacio del Carmen), showered, changed, and walked into town. As the Cathedral was open, I did the traditional rites: Touched the Tree of Jesse. Tapped my head on the bust of Maestro Mateo (the Cathedral's architect). Hugged the statue of Santiago. Then I went outside to a building adjacent to the Cathedral, got the final Sello in my Credencial, and received my Compostela. The giver-of-Compostelas will ask you a couple of questions. There's one form of the certificate if you're doing the pilgrimage for Religious or Spiritual reasons, and another if your impetus is Cultural. He or she will also check to make sure you've actually done the pilgrimage completely on foot, on bicycle, or on horseback. The giver-of-Compostelas asked me if I had done it with "bike alone? Or bike with car?" Evidently people try to cheat to get their Compostelas. They drive up to a town, walk in, get a Sello, walk out of town, are picked up, and continue on to the next town. I don't get it. Unless you've actually done the pilgrimage, the Compostela is just a piece of paper. The Compostela is in Latin, and to keep it all in Latin, they look up your first name in an enormous book to find its Latin equivalent. I'm Arturum. Compostela in hand, I immediately purchased a cardboard mailing tube to protect it at a souvenir shop across the street. I had an excellent racion of pulpo a la feria (octopus with olive oil and paprika), wandered back to the hotel, and collapsed into bed. 8:57 total time. 6:25 on bike. 101.3 km Total mileage for trip: 853km. |
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