20. Day 16 - Samos to Portomarin

Well after our big day yesterday we were looking forward to a relatively easy 35k ride and that was how it started as we covered the first 12k in just under an hour and enjoyed a coffee at a nice spot in Sarria. Then after a few more k's calamity struck when Rhon's bike gave up the ghost on a long climb. To be precise the rear derailleur, which had been giving problems for a while just stopped working. This really is the final straw in an ongoing saga with these bikes and the rental company is going to get some really nice flak from me when we get back. They have plenty already but nothing compared to what they are going to get. Anyway we were lucky enough to flag down taxi and a really nice driver took his passenger to her destination close by then came back and took Rhonda and her bike plus our bags 24k onto the hotel where we are staying. Pat, Jenny and I completed the next 24k which wasn't as easy as expected but overall we covered 36k in just under 3 hours so that wasn't too bad. So tomorrow Rhon and I will take a taxi back to Sarria (24k), get the bike fixed then take another taxi onto Sambreixo where we are staying for the night. Pat and Jenny will continue on the bikes for tomorrow's 30k leg. As of tonight we have broken the 100k hurdle and now have only 94k to go.
Well, as Barry has already said, a disappointing day for me and my bike today! The saving grace was arriving at Portamarin early enough to have a relax and then explore the town. Sarria, where we passed through earlier is the start of the Pilgrimage for many people as it the minimum (that you have to walk to get your Compestella) - So, lots of fresh faced walkers and quite crowded in Portamarin as this is the first stage for these new Pilgrims joining the Camino. We were lucky to be here in autumn as it is the only time that the reservoir is low enough to see the ruins of the old Roman village and the old Roman bridge over the river Mino with some of the remaining arches still visable. Portamarin also has a Romanesque fortress-church dating back to the 13th century. I managed to amuse myself and to even order lunch in Spanish until Barry' Jenny and Pat arrived about 4pm. Jenny has just been invaluable with her fluent Spanish and gotten us out of many a tricky situation.

19. Day 15 - Trabadelo to Samos.

So for those who have been following our travels you will know this a big day for us. It started wonderfully as our fantastic host Ellie provided us with a great bacon and egg breakfast - I fear Rhon will insist on these every morning when we get home. We were apprehensive about the weather and it was raining steadily when we ate, but lifted to an overcast but dry day as we got on the road. Today was always going to be all road - to ride the trail you would need a very good mountain bike and very very strong legs. So off we went and after half an hour had done 7k quite easily. An hour later we had managed another 7, and after another hour only 5 more. This put us at 1200mtrs having climbed almost continually from the start. Fortunately the weather was not too bad although it was drizzling hard most of the time. Then the last leg of this long climb was the final 3k to the top of O Cebreiro which took us half an hour of very slow slogging. But we got there and everyone was ecstatic. Then we had a break visiting a 9th century church which Rhon will tell you about. Back on the road again we had to get to another two peaks including Alto do Poio at 1337m which is higher than O Cebreiro. We weren't quite prepared for this but managed to pedal the whole way. I hope the photos do justice to the amazing scenery. The weather had remained kind and we were very lucky to have it in our side for a while, because then we started the descent and the rain arked up as well. However after what we had been through two days earlier, this driving rain seemed like a light shower. So after our long uphill haul we enjoyed 15k's coasting downhill to our destination in Samos. On the go 8 hours, 60k travelled - tonight we are all tired but know the worst is behind us and we have achieved an amazing result today.
Yes, we did it and we are all pretty proud of ourselves. I am afraid that I am in danger of becoming an adrenalin junkie! It was a tough but truly exciting day, despite the weather, despite the 5 long steep peaks that had to be conquered and despite my bike problems (still can't get 1:1 - which is bikespeak for the lowest gear which is needed for these tough ascents)' it was one of the memorable days we have had. An unexpected highlight was the church that Barry mentioned earlier at O Cebreiro. this is the oldest pilgrim church on the Camino. It has a Baptisimal fount which dates to the times when baptisms were done by immersion. It was surrounded by a number of other buildings including some Pallozas, traditional Galician houses which are round with thick stone walls and curving thatched roofs. Originally the people and animals all lived under the same roof. At one of the peaks today we stopped to take some photos and I left my water bottle (not a good idea on a ride like this where the only water available for long stretches is the driving rain). Anyway we were sitting in a cafe about an hour later when 2 young Spanish men rode up with my water bottle. Much fuss was made of this by everyone and the water bottle was exchanged for a kiss on each check and several photos - this is typical of the kindness shown by complete strangers on the Camino.
Quote for the day "Accept responsibility for your own life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no-one else."

PS Thank you to all of our friends and family who have emailed us comments. It brings much joy to us to have your support and encouragement. Sorry that the comment section on the blog is still not working.

18. Day 14 - Molinaseca to Trabadelo

Today got off to a great start - not. Our alarm wasn't set properly so we slept in - should have been ready at 8, woke at 8.15. Then I realised that I had lost two of our three credit/banking cards. Panic then 'oh well'. So Pat and Jenny waited patiently while we got our act together then we went for breakfast and finally got moving at 10.20. Should have been a fairly easy ride - 'pretty flat' we said. But we should have learned that The Camino is never pretty flat. However we had a pretty good first 15k then the rain started, we were on a muddy track and we had to walk a while.  But we made Cacabelos for a quick morning tea/lunch stop after a couple of hours. From then on it was a mixture of beautiful small villages, rolling hills and a couple of nasty long climbs along the way with the rain coming and going. So we covered another 41k in just over 3 hours on the bike, Had a five hour day, arriving here at Trabedelo at 3.30. There is only one other person staying at this small but amazing and memorable pension/b&b.
Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY. We have to take on O Cebriero and the weather doesn't look good. Rhon is having bike problems which we think we have fixed. But we are all determined to get over this biggest hurdle and longest day on our journey.
Barry forgot to mention that we were sitting having coffee this morning and who should come past? Yes, "the barrowman". Barry said to him as he passed on by without stopping "Ah, we beat you here" to which he replied "yes, but we haven't had the last word yet"!  I am thinking of starting an App for Lost & Found on the Camino. We have now left a trail of lost items in our wake! Some of it has lightened our load so has not been too devastating but when Barry lost his extra pair of bike shorts, I did insist on finding a bike shop and replacing them after he took me to dinner in his bathers! We did not have time to stop and explore any historical sites today but we did pass a very impressive and well preserved mediaeval Templar castle built during the Crusades. the countryside is very pretty again with many vineyards heavy with fruit waiting to be harvested. We had another fabulous Pilgrim meal tonight - homemade cauliflower soup, vegetarian lasagne and fresh fruit & yoghurt. With all the Pilgrim meals, bocadillos,  empanados, panne au chocolates, potatoes bravados, I will be the only Pilgrim to ride 800 kms and actually put on weight! Well it's lights out for me as I prepare for the biggest and most challenging day on the Camino tomorrow.

17. Day 13 - Astorga to Molinaseca

Did I say we were looking forward to conquering Cruz de Ferro? Well the short story is YES we did it. The long story is...............
After our luxurious stay at the spa hotel in Astorga we were very relaxed the next morning and although being almost ready to roll at 8am we decided we did need a solid breakfast so managed to actually get on the bikes at 10. Our first objective was 22k to Rabanal del Camino which climbs all the way up 300 mtrs. We were very pleased to do this quite easily in 2 1/2 hrs with a coffee stop along the way. We rode a lot of this on track, chatting quite happily to walkers as we passed by.
By this time the weather had started to deteriorate and the wet weather gear went on ready for the big climb. So for the next hour we climbed and climbed up another 300mtrs but this time in only 6k. The higher we went the worse the weather got. Heavy mist turned to drizzle turned to light rain turned to heavy rain with a biting wind and maybe a touch of hail. But we made it to Foncebadon ready for the last 2k push. Fortunately we managed to grab another coffee and dry out a bit in front of a hot pot-belly stove. Inevitably we had to get back on the bike and climb the last 2k to the Cruz. And we did - every metre on the bike. When we reached the top we were soaking wet and frozen - the temp was 9.4C. But we took photos of course and congratulated ourselves on the effort. All those weeks of training had paid off. We had temporarily forgotten there was another 3k climb and then a descent which we had been told was very dangerous. Which it was and so we had to hop off the bikes and walk them down 6k which took over an hour in pouring rain with the wind still howling. At Acebo we found a little shop and a beautiful couple who made us hot coffee and heated up some food. Thankfully the rain stopped, the sun sort of came out and we freewheeled the last 10k to our hotel where arrived cold, wet but satisfied. We had ridden and pushed the bikes for 47k in about 5hrs and had a 7hr day overall.
The weather looks very dicey for the next two days. Tomorrow we have 40k of fairly level riding before the hardest day of all after that tackling O Cebreiro at 1330metres. But as of now we have  208k to go.
Today was certainly a day of extremes, in both the weather and terrain and tested our endurance to the limit. However, it was also one of the most exhilarating. The climb, as Barry said was not as gruelling as we had anticipated, but then again our definition of gruelling is now quite different to 2 weeks ago. At the peak (which is the highest point on the Camino), we placed the stones that we carried with us on this huge pile of previously left stones under a huge cross.  The signifance is that you are meant to carry a stone from the beginning of your journey here and ask for safe travel for the rest of the journey to Santiago. Ironically, as we started our descent and had been going for about 2 kms I had a fall and was trapped underneath the bike and couldn't get up. The others were behind me taking photos and couldn't hear me calling for help. A passing motorist stopped and helped me up before anyone realised what had happened. I am now sitting here liberally applying Voltarin cream on my knees to reduce the swelling so that hopefully I can get back on the bike in the morning. The rest of the descent was  in the most stunning landscape I have ever ridden in. The visability had cleared and as we were so high up that the mountain range, as far as the eye could see, was below us (a bit like being in a plane). I felt extremely sorry for the walkers who looked like hunchbacks in their wet weather gear covering their backpacks. The pain was now been almost obliterated by the long, hot shower and half an hour on the bed. Then we went into the village for dinner and guess who we bumped into? Yes our good companion Vim, the Barrowman. He was genuinely pleased to see us and just to make sure you know we are not making up the story here he is with youknowwho. So he has walked the 500+k's from Roncesvalles in the same number of days that we have biked it. Astonishing. We are all hoping that we see him in Santiago at the end of this journey.

16. Day 12 - Leon to Astorga

Another tough day for the walkers - I really do feel for those guys. Their day started with a 10k walk through the industrial outskirts of Leon then another 10 or so of very boring countryside. Apparently the last 50k stretch can really sap the commitment of many walkers. It was noticeable that there weren't anywhere near the volume of walkers on this stretch and we suspect that many might have caught the bus to where we are to cut out the 50k from Leon. For us though we were able to cut through the bad bits fairly quickly, spend about half of the journey on The Camino and cover 50k
in 4 1/2 hrs on the bike, and 5 1/2 hrs overall. So we are down to 250k to go with tomorrow one of our toughest stages. We start with a fairly steep 20k climb to Rabal del Camino at 1150mtrs then an even steeper 7k to Cruz de Ferro. We will probably walk some of this but Cruz de Ferro is an iconic peak of The Camino so we are looking forward to conquering this peak. Then we have a VERY steep descent and will certainly need to walk some of this as apparently it can be very dangerous. Perhaps the luxurious spa hotel we are now staying at will help us get ready.
The luxurious hotel is called Hotel Spa Ciudad de Astorga and what a hotel it is. We arrived at about 3.30pm and put our bags in our room and then immediately headed down to the courtyard for a glass of Sangria and some tapas (garlic prawns - or to Aussies, more like shrimps,  but very tasty. We then booked the private spa complex for 12 euros pp. This complex included a swimming pool, chromotherapy (yes - you may well ask what this is?)',  an air massage board, Aquatic cannon,  cervical cascade, massage sitting in the water, massage by air, bubbling jacuzzi, Finnish sauna, Turkish bath, and sequential bi-thermal and Zenith shower!  There is just no end to the suffering of us Pilgrims! We then headed off to see yet again another cathedral (yes, I am in love with these edifices)' but alas this one was closed. I am feeling a little nervous about our big climb tomorrow but hopefully we are prepared and we are all feeling much fitter and stronger than when we started. We are all so far, injury free and the Aussie Butt Cream is doing a fine job!

15. Day 11 - Rest day in Leon

After a lazy start, we took our bikes down to the bike-shop to be serviced and then returned to the Monastery for a free tour of the complex. Our Spanish guide was very informative and we enjoyed seeing behind the scenes, including the monks' living quarters and the magnificent chapel. Much of the antique furniture has been donated.  We then headed down to the Cathedral but alas, it was closed until 4pm - so we will have to return then. Still can't get used to Spanish time with the siesta, then everything opening again until late in the evening. The Gothic Cathedral de Santa Maria de Leon is 13th century and was built on top of the original Romanesque Cathedral which was built on top of a palace ruin and erected by King Ordono 11 which was built on top of public baths from the Roman era. Leon dates from the 1st century when the Roman legion, Legio X Gemina established a military base here. Tonight we are booked into the Monastery for a banquet of typical Leon dishes - I'm feeling hungry just thinking about it!  Barry tried to book us in for 7 o'clock but they don't start serving until )