Merry Christmas!

To wish you all a Very Merry Christmas! Thanks for your support during my pilgrimage! Yours Davy

Just in case you are interested here are scans of my Compostela and Credencial, well the bit that fitted into an A4 scanner.

Santiago Plus

Just to really annoy me the weather improved and stayed dry once the pilgrimage was finished! Above the clouds, where I am now on my way to London-Upon-Thames, the sun is shining! Some concluding details: Once the weary pilgrim gets into Santiago they go to the pilgrim office where they present their credencials, complete with stamps, to prove their journey. They are questioned about whether they really walked all the way. However, if you turn up stinking, covered in mud and look as though you have spent 5 weeks outside, the questioning is not too rigourous! It would be possible to cheat but only yourself. All being well you are then presented with your Compostela with your name written in Latin. You are asked for your country of origin and from where you started. This information is used during the Pilgrim Mass, held every day at 1200, and your details are read to the congregation. There is also an incredible incense swinger. The usual incense containers are about the size of a coffee pot but the one in the cathedral in Santiago is about the size of a British pillar box for street collections of mail. It is suspended on thick ropes, controlled by several men, which also swing it violently through the air. It almost hits the very high ceiling before swinging earthwards again, bellowing a thick cloud of incense smoke as it goes. It is said that it is so large and moved so thoroughly above the crowd because of the combined stink of many pilgrims! It just happened to be a major religious festival on the day of my mass and so the details were read by the archbishop and the Virgin Mary was much in evidence. The prayers were also very female centred. Spain is ashamed to be the European country with the worst record of domestic violence against women. One woman is beaten to death every 48 hours. This year the governent, itself over 50% female, is running lots of campaigns against what they are calling Gender Violence. So it was good to see the church, once/arguably still, a major offender in the supression of women, at least mentioning the issue. I will try and scan both the credencial and compostela and attach them to the blog. Biggles is just aiming for a hole in the gloom where hopefully London is waiting so I have to stop. The clarity is not great but here are some shots of London as we landed. It is a bit unpredictable how photos are ordered but I think they will be a. My Ex-Boss's House, Buckingham Palace. b. St Paul's Cathedral. c The London Eye. d. Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

SANTIAGO

If I ever think it is worth it I will mention how very very grim the weather was yesterday. It was the lead story on all the Spanish news channels. However, at 1345 local time today, after a journey of 5 weeks, approximately 2.5 million steps and 1000+ kilometres I arrived in Santiago de Compostela and was awarded my Compostela Certificate. I would just like to say thanks to all the people who sent messages of support. I will write more but this is enough for now. The motto of the RAF REGIMENT is Latin "Per Ardua" or "Through Adversity" it is used to sign off. So, Per Ardua, Davy

VERY VERY FECKIN WET

Being Irish you might think I would be used to rain, maybe even like it a little? Well you'd be wrong! I live in Southern Spain because I hate rain. I've been hot (+54C Saudi) and I've been cold (-17C Canada) and I prefer hot anytime! Cold and wet, however, is the ultimate low. It has rained all day today. To give you some idea of how much; Imagine the power of rain that can wash the colour out of cheap chocolate in the pocket of a supposedly waterproof garment! That's what we are talking about. Water running in and out of your clothes like a river. Everything saturated and 40km to walk. Well I did it and was very pleased to get to the hostal and a hot shower. The hostal is leaking too but        not in the sleeping areas, yet! The nearby river is chocolate brown and has swamped the village laundry. I hope it does not join us in the night! The rain is continuing to beat down, if anything even harder. Global warming can't come soon enough! I have noticed that I can no longer lift my feet. If I had stayed in the country I may not have noticed but coming through the town of Lalin I realised that I couldn't walk off the pavement without turning sideways and stepping down. I had done so a few times before I realised. I imagine it is just general fatigue. There was also a moment of severe temptation today when I stopped for a coffee. The lady seeing my miserable state put a bottle of cognac beside my cup and told me to put a shot in the coffee. I told her that I was not drinking alcohol during the pilgrimage and she said that she understood. Then she took the top off the bottle, told me to put a shot in the coffee and went into another room so that she didn't risk seeing it happen! What would you have done?

Sent from my iPod, only 2 steps ahead of the cops!

MATANZA

The Spanish have a different attitude to killing pigs. We don't show a pig the knife before we kill it because we don't want to stress it out. This is not some humanitarian thing it is just that the adrenaline toughens the meat. I will always remember the SAS lad who showed us how to kill animals stroking the sheep to calm it before cutting it's throat from ear to ear. As it's last breaths rattled out of the hole he said wistfully "You know sentries make exactly the same noise as that" nobody thought he was joking. The Spanish system is to burn the adrenaline out of the animal by dragging it about with a hook until exhausted. Then it is stuck and the first dish of Fried Blood will be being eaten before the carcass is still. The 2 pigs in the photos have been dead for a while. The white one has been fully bled, singed, shaved and scraped with a piece of granite. The other is being singed with a blowtorch to help remove the hair. These pigs will be used for a whole year starting with Christmas. Some bits will be air dried, some smoked and I imagine nowadays frozen as well. The whole family is involved in the task and it has quite a festive atmosphere. Just like most Spanish families they have relatives learning English or working in Ireland and were happy to talk while they worked and have their pictures taken.


Sent from my iPod, only 2 steps ahead of the cops!

OURENSE

What a very beautiful city! Definitely one to come back to! The alberge had heating! The first in days so humours were high. Sadly Ourense is built on several hills so this morning meant climbing out of the valley. My chest, I mean the structure (not the lungs which are fine) failed me on the ascent. I suppose 900km with 16kg pulling you into a bad shape for at least 8 hours a day takes it's toll and I had to stop. It wasn't far off a 1:2 ascent but I was shocked that I couldn't trot up it as I normally would. Brian and Sandra of Pueblo Ingles both rang me and gave mean excuse/time to get my ribcage back into squareThanks guys! I think I have aggravated an old collar bone break. I remember that the bone was completely snapped, still rode the big Harley home, and it healed badly with one piece on top of the other so there is a large bump. I also remember having to pass a shooting test, or lose a great job, very soon afterwards and the thumping the rifle gave it probably didn't help either. I was just grateful it was 5.56mm ammo and not 7.62mm which would have rebroken it! Anyway, it is only days to do now, even though 2 of them are pretty big days. Mañana is 40km and so will be an early start and a late finish with a poor weather forecast. The forecast for the next day is not much better, nor is it much shorter but if all runs to time then the last day will be short ish at about 20km and who cares on the last day!

Sent from my iPod, only 2 steps ahead of the cops!

LAST 100KM

What with all the weather excitement I forgot that I have only got 100km left to do. This morning inwill leave Ourense and, hopefully in 4 ish days I should be in Santiago de Compostela.