After a complicated, but extremely smooth journey, from Bham to Gatwick, by coach overnight, dawn flight to Santiago de Compostela, then transfer by coach to Lugo, my sister, Penny and brother Matthew found time enough to explore Lugo, before setting off on our mini Camino to Santiago de Compostela, of about 115 KM.
We enjoyed a great night in the city, after exploring the historic centre and amazing Cathedral.
Saturday morning was misty , as we set off along the river, having crossed the Roman Bridge, en route.
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The sun soon burned off the mist and we walked through glorious Galician landscapes of valleys and forests; pausing at the gateway to this Finca, with its commemorative ,Camino decorations. The good looking one is Penny!
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After a couple of hours walking we were glad to find a place for coffee and a takeaway bocadillo for lunch, in a tiny hamlet.
Penny was intrigued by the Horreos, granaries, that were installed near farmhouses and soon built up quite a collection of pictures. They are used to store maize and because of their design, impervious to rodents. Albergue Ponte a Nave was our first night’s stop and we thought it was an excellent place , overjoyed on arrival, after 31 KM, and relieved that our rucksacks had arrived by the Mochilla transfer service,run by the Correos ( Spanish Post Office ). This amazingly cheap service was booked for our entire Camino, by telephone in Lugo. We imbibed a couple of local, Craft beers then partook of the communal dinner , which was very tasty, too.
The next morning was again misty, but after breakfast, we strode out , directly on to the Camino and for the rest of the day, we enjoyed brilliant sunshine and I absorbed a great deal of hitherto, unrealised knowledge of Galician birdlife, both Matt and Penny being keen on ornithology. Now ,I know what a Black Redstart looks like and that there are Honey Buzzards. Well, by now I was looking for lunch, which we ate in the courtyard of a little Parillada, stopping afterwards to refresh ourselves at a drink stop, provided for Pelegrinos, by the locals.
We arrived in Melide to find a wine festival taking place, with throngs of mainly young people in themed T-shirts , having a great time and drinking a mixture of local Red and CocaCola…..yes, exactly. Despite the numbers , the noise and the music, the most intoxicating thing was the fun filled atmosphere,with no signs of boorish behaviour . At this point, the Primitivo , in effect ends, as the Camino joins the Frances, the best known and most walked of all the Caminos. As this a first Camino for Penny and Matt, with time constraints of a week, I wanted them to experience a quiet Camino, as well as the “Frances”, where the numbers increased greatly. What was of interest, was the high number of female pelegrinos, both solo and accompanied.
From Melide , we were bound for Arzua, and both Penny and Matt continued to express their interest in the scenery, flora and fauna, along the Way.
Earlier in the walk we encountered a unique stop- off, on the Primitivo, where a lady offered handmade jewellery for sale and cold drinks for a donation. She also impressed us with her excellent English, as she explained the main use to which the ubiquitous Eucalyptus trees were put….not for menthol extract, but for pulping into toilet paper . She expressed her concern at the over planting that was taking place in parts of Galicia, as Eucalyptus are fast growing trees and exploited as a quick, cash crop. She said that they were also, a potential fire hazard, as they expelled gases at their height.
She has no problems with mice, however, as a number of kittens frolicked on the lane, alongside. Arzua to come, then, and meeting a character called Mac….no not that one, he is walking the last lap of The Via Francigena, to Rome, as I write.
“The traveler sees what he sees; the tourist sees what he has come to see”. – Gilbert K. Chesterton
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Buen Camino!