Tale of the tape - take two

Yeah, after walking 500 miles drinking and eating all you want how has the body changed and do we care!

You can tell it's Edinburgh

Yes - the green meadows - the idle crane and the low cool sun! Right Harry we're off again next week

He's more famous than Santa

In these parts he is - that is our fella tiago, Jacques or James whichever you prefer!

Serendipity

Great pals

Shame we are taking photos of other people because we could be drinking more - but as Harry says we couldn't peeve as much - luckily I shrink in front of alcohol so am on water again today

Is John melon in santiago ?

Walid in Santiago - our tribute

So much gold - no wonder it's so poor here!

5 weeks to get here - turnaround 12 hours

It looks like we are being sent on a rapid turnaround out at 8 am to get to airport for flight to airport and them wrestle with the Friday night traffic!

Little boxes - ticky tacky

This better be worth it mumps Harry

Dancin Al is back in town

Not sure if I'm falling forward or back - that's the camino baby - rockin and rolling!

Dancin Al is back in town!

There's the crane the cathedral must be near

Church and crane are really close in these parts!

Jacques the one in the middle!

It was rough getting here but by 2pm we had found a home now all we need is an exit

Last time round it was ryanair to Liverpool and train ip this time round it's either stansted or train to Barcelona or Madrid and plane over

The attraction of barca is it's a 9pm flight so back Friday midnight - there'll be loads of taxis!! It also means a leisurely train across the countryside we have just walked

Piped in and fat Al is too tired to take film

So how did it go in 1966 - we ask grand pere Tomas

15k to go - it's like a camino reunion

Leonce's grand mere et grand pere eat arrivee!!

I won't sing little tractors....

Leaving melide the other day!

Aye - it was freezing and only your cash got us walking - thank you - we nearly went back to bed!

There's a train coming down the camino path

It's a famous cross and Walid would love it

It's an old one but Walid seems to have taken over air traffic control at Santiago just to give us a wee sign, a bit like the way he can jinx bill Meehan's putting!

The cakes are out on our penultimate night

Caitlin - don't worry - I remembered your birthday !

White wine - albarino -

Many don't expect me to veer off the tinto track but albarinho or albarino with a daft n is the way forward

It's a Galician speciality not well known but superb - yum yum

Harry loses it all at the cafe/bookies!

Harry stops noisily up les chevaliers

35 days dry and now with 38 to go

Yes it rains - a fine refreshing drizzle to be honest and nothing to put me off these tasty treats from the panaderia - oops I've sent the wrong picture and the cream cakes are long gone!!

These boots have done some walkin'

Bathroom sealant replaces compeed

It's a bit shoddy so I have done it outside - kids if you're watching you could get high on this stuff so be careful

Not another thing to trip over

When you get to town they usually guide you with flesha Amarillo but on Arzua the cheese capital is rich they have gold shells....

Fixin ra boots

Intuition the 6th sense

Boots with holes - interrupted!

Pilgrims walk and every now and again we spy a taxi!!!

Two women got out with their backpacks and the taxi driver carried them to the albergue! There they argued over the €7 price of a bed - I shouted hoi Mary doll if ye'd gist walked ye coulda had a single room for €23 and then pointed at Harry when she gave me the "mad eyes"!

thank you big Sean Connor

From Arzua the Cheese capital of Spain thank you big Sean Connor 

You and Michael Freddie C witnessed my best ever hole in one and now as we toil through Spain munching our way through the Arzua cheese mountain I can only thank you both and everyone else for such generosity. It means a lot to us

Or as it says on the other channel

Happy Harry says thanks for the donation to big shawnyboy!!

Fae one big Ginger to another - thank you!

Www.justgiving.com/fatal- bananas is our begging site if you want to see Harry smile again just donate!

Sent from my iPod

Cheese sandwich - Yum yum

Arzua cheese is outstanding - world famous - they even take it to Wales to roll down hills but it's best eaten between two halves of a loaf of bread

At €2 or £1.80 it's a bit pricey but there's no doubt it's worth it - good simple ingredients taste superb! I cut it in two and this was harry's piece, but alas the big fella was too slow, yum yum

Catching up on the camino

We last saw Jane and Dennis K1 Blanchard in Azofra. Jane had hurt her leg and they had to stay an extra couple of days at the albergue - they were room 1!!! First in the albergue at 11am each day! They had to leave for an hour sit in the garden until it was cleaned, re- stocked with bog roll and generally hosed down after another batch of smelly pilgrims left town

This morning as he cut his way through the forest Harry encountered the happy couple walking well and grateful for the spanish healthcare system, it would never take off back home in Florida they mused. Dennis walked the Appalachian trail - a bit tougher than the camino and a few more bears - but the same idea. Walk a bit, drink a bit, sleep a bit then eat a bit, as jack rabbit johannsen that famous 105 smoker and drinker famously said at the Ontario health week, everything in moderation - disciples melon and gerrard still follow Jack's advice today!

I thought it was Sunday they closed

There was a big party last night as everywhere was closed today well past midday. We seemed to walk forever on my gammy leg and swollen ankle- glad we're nearly there as it needs a lot of rest. I never had this trouble the last time but them I never tried those stupid foot massage machines either. Not sure what's up but when it hurts while you sleep you know it ain't good. Ice has been very successful so I'm away to freeze them

61km to go and it's a rock climb

Lovely shade for the afternoon so we bounced up this magma extrusion - big lumpy rocks to you and me. The rocks look like they get the odd flashflood so you have to put your feet carefully on them otherwise you get the hole in you boot stuck in a puddle of silt and you don't want that

Not long now Thursday is the new Monday

We don't tend to set targets as we just miss them, this morning we tried to get out at daybreak. At 8.40 it was still dark - it's almost an hour we've lost since we started out at St Jean pied de Porte - it was light at 7.50 and now its about 8.45 which is why we leave at 9.15! By the time you have your abs - scratch and generally faff around it's time to walk. Mind you it will be five weeks by the time we reach Santiago so the sun is forgiven for being slower out of bed, like us!

Pit stop Harry - it's abs time!

What'd'y'mean it's closed lunes

Today is Monday

How much further - it may be alfresco

Palas de Rei in sight - phew

Roncesvalles Thursday sept 14

Or as we say here - a long time ago!!

Freezing fog for a fifty metre climb out of portomarin

At 10am you'd be forgiven for expecting more sunshine but it was freezing - even the bridge looked cold - Jackie phoned as we climbed the hill higher - it was good as she could talk and I could wheeze and listen - a dutiful husband at last

My soup or harry's salad!

Andre sings some classic Doors

On the way from ventas to ligonde there's a two mile stretch where you walk the road and whine at the pine

A town called airexe

We had to stop - it's just a few km short of palas del rei so it looked an obvious contender for us to sneak up on yet another Spanish hopitalero and offer our cash to regenerate the local economy. What a bonus - we got our washing done as well and one room was 20 and the other 30€, the big fella is very happy, with a bed that is as long as him

One thing about albergues is the beds are more suited to your petit peregrinos and no the six foot Ginger celt whose feet get cold of am October morning.

Talking of the cold it was Baltic at 9 and too hot at 2pm - there's no pleasing us! We were practicing the golf today - not long now until we get to have a break every 150 yards although the temperature may take getting used to the lack of midgie bites will be a joy. Clearly I haven't drunk enough today. Yet. It's Sunday and it's 6.15pm and the siesta is over!

Another pilgrim trap

Looking for big Conor's drive at Blairgowrie

Father ted time

Sunset at portomarin

Bridges at portomarin

The old one is below - it's where the old town was - the new one is a belter. No chance it'll get washed away with the galician flash floods - we got a room on the 2nd floor no lift - oh no

What happens when you send a boy for a man's job

Cranes we love them

View from our pension where we both got rooms but had to share the shower

We didn't so much share the shower in a peregrinos kind of way - more took it in turns - in fact - I'll stop digging - 28 euro - clean - no bed bugs or mossie - and one euro a beer in the cafe!!

Stuart McIntosh get well soon - from Sarria!

Baby birds fly against background of sarria crane!

Alex and Gav - I got Harry into the blue room!

It's not easy in Spain but we've found the lastres Hibs supporters club and now the Sarria blue room, clearly home to the sons of William - but as it's galacia - it's empty !

Thank you Ian and Clive!

We are delighted to announce we are over £600 and 700km - with other pledges we are now over the £1000

Thank you loads!!

The walk from Samos to sarria

Woodland - brilliant - except you can't check footprints and Harry was at least ten minutes ahead of me! After an hour and quite a few d'y'rhink it's left or right you get paranoid - but we both kept taking the wrong or right path and it's a beezer of a route. It makes the beer taste so good when you've sung nonsense through the woods and no bear takes offence

Documentary about the camino

It's on next week in sarria - hmmm - Harry will we wait until next thursday

Late night shopping in Madrid - but I thought every night was late night shopping in Spain ?

When I get back I'll check their website but to be honest every camino is unique, like a round of golf, like children in a family, like hills and the rocks that make them, like fags when I rolled them and like steps that we make on the way to Santiago - oh and every glass of tinto!

3pm short of sarria

Harry finds a machine that sells powerade

And a toilet with no papier