Tuesday 19 june - Arzua to Arca

Woke at 530. Got ready quietly and slipped out. Walked along the street and found a cafe that was open and had internet. went in ordered a tea and after an explanation on how to use the computer with the pay method booked a room in Santiago do Compestella at a seminary. Hope they take girls. I had to do this as it seems I only booked one night in SdC and we were staying two. Anyway, with that accomplished I headed out.

Finding the trail was actually very easy. Just follow all the other  pilgrims and at a little after 7 a.m. I was on the Camino, the pilgrimage, the Way.  The weather was cloudy but not cool. On my own I kept a good pace and enjoyed the scenery of the country side. Unlike the north coast route that we had been walking on, there were a lot of other pilgrims on this route, of all ages and fitness levels.

 Even a family with the father pushing a big wheeled stroller with two small children in it. he was spanish and she was from northern Europe and traveling for 2 weeks the camino for his holidays. When we got to some of the bigger hills I slowed down and only stopped once or twice.

Sometimes pilgrims would pass me with a buen Camino and sometimes I would pass them with a 'buen Camino'. I  chatted occasionally with some of the pilgrims. one gentleman was from Newfoundland and was doing the camino for the second time with his french friend.
This section of the camino has well maintained gravel paths, with  the occasional streams that ran alongside.
When the path wound to the other side of the streams, little bridges of  wood or wide slab stepping stones were there to cross over.
Every two or three km there were markers on the side of the path annotated with the distance to Santiago de Compestella. I guess that they start a count down from about 150 km away so the pilgrims know how much farther they have to go. Lots of  flowers and butterflies, birds and forests farmers fields. Really beautiful. Took way too may photos today so will have to start going through them and deleting the bad ones. I love digital.

I walked for about 8 kms and stopped at a little cafe where there were lots of other pilgrims too. An agua, a restroom stop and then some of my omelet from last night with tomatoes for breakfast. It was about 830 so I was making good time without killing myself. the countryside was full of those little country roads and sometimes our path would take us there.

 Sometimes we had to walk along the highway but the paths were much better than the times we had walked along the hi-ways up north, wider paths and some were even paved. occasionally the camino would go through an underpass so we did not have to cross the hi-way.

There were fountains and shrines for the pilgrims to stop and admire. there were chickens along ghte road probably not for the pilgrims but that reminded me of the stories that I had read about the camino prior to starting the trip.
 I walked for about  8 kms more and stopped at another little cafe right on the hi-way. An iced tea and washroom break (nice washroom) and I was rejuvenated.  The sun had been making attempts at peeking out every now and then and I sat outside at the little tables watching other pilgrims and the occasional car and truck go by. I left my book 'Wicked' at the cafe for some other pilgrim to pick up or the owners if they read english. Good book.
I went about another 5 kms and stopped for a lunch of fruit at a well by the hi-way. Lots of pilgrims with some stopping to fill their canteens and water bottles at the well which was more of a water spigot really. the well was probably underneath.
I continued on and came to Santa Irene which is not a town but a refugio, alone, by the hi-way. A very nice refugio with crisp clean sheets and a nice back yard with tables and chairs and a clothes line. I figured that it was too early, only just noon, to stay in a place where I could not go exploring so I made a reservation for Maureen with the young lady who did not speak very much english and continued on to the town of Arca, that someone who was passing by said, was only about 2 or 3 km away.

A talking sign confirmed the existence of Arca and gave a few of us a good laugh too. It was in fact only 2 km to Arca and upon entering the town I booked a room in the first place I came too.  50 Euros for a brand new with an almost no character room with two double beds, but clean and with tickets for breakfast at the cafe next door.  after I dropped my pack in our room I headed out to explore the town.

I figured that Maureen would be at least 3 hours behind me and so I could explore the town and then head back along the trail and meet her before she got into town. I knew that she probably did not get out of Arzua until around 930 or 10 so it would take her awhile before she would be even close to town.

The church was down the road and then off to the left at the end of a long curving road. It was locked so I took a few photos around the outside and then saw a young girl in an upstairs window in the building next door. I asked her if she knew where I might get a key and she said for me to wait there. She came down and opened the church for me.
Very nice. small church but with a most unusual wall behind the altar. a huge golden scallop shell had been crafted as the backdrop to the altar. It was very pretty. the church was bright and cheerful.  I spent about 30 minutes there said a few more hail Marys for Bill and lit some electric candles.

Headed back into town passing three older folks weeding thier garden at one point I considered offering to help them weed but then how does one extricate oneself from assiting before the job is done? so I didn't offer any assistance and just kept walking to the one  main street which is the hi-way that runs right through town. As I was walking back who should I see but Maureen.

Needless to say, I was very surprised. It was 1:30....What was she doing here already? Turns out she took a cab to a coffee shop somewhere on the hi-way and walked from there. I think that it must have been the one where I left my wicked book. the timing would be about right. So we went to the hotel that I had booked and she filled me on her day. Woke up , church at 830, post office at 930  cab to coffee shop and then walked . Realized when she got to Santa Irene that I would have kept going. tried to ask the young girl if I had been there but could not get through so continued on to Arca and found me. just like that.

She wanted to see the church so she went there and I looked for the bus stop and a restaurant for dinner. I found the bus stop which consisted of a portion of the sidewalk with the words bus stop painted on it about three blocks from the hotel right across the street from the police station (which was not lokking like a police station at all). I went back to the road that led to the church and wrote in my journal on a stone step and took a nice photo of a lizard that was sunning itself on a rock.

I met an english gentleman pilgrim, Allan, who told me about his pilgrimage. He had gone all the way from St jean Pied la Port in France. We walked down to the church together and he told me that 5 pilgrims had died since he started walking. it was not something that they advertised but I guess every year there were pilgrims who died on the Camino. We met maureen at the church which was good as there was a stamp for pilgrims to stamp their credentials which I had not seen before so I stamped mine.

After taking another look around we came back around 5 and found a restaurant for dinner lazangas, veggie for me carne for Maureen. There was a Bazar gift shop across the street from the hotel and we popped in and picked up a few things. 8 braceletsand a pair of silver shell earrings (4.68 Euros) They had a pilgrim outfit and would take your photo for 1 euro so I did. goofy really.
We went back to the hotel where I had a shower and then deleted bad photos till my batteries died. plugged in my charger and went to bed around 8. slept well till around 2:30

Monday18 jun - Ribadeo to Arzua

Woke up at 4 am to Maureen snoring, so went  and read in the hotel hallway. There was a tolerably comfortable chair with a table and a good reading light. The only problem was that the light was motion activated so I had to keep moving my hand waving while I was reading. Reading while waving your arms around is much more difficult than one imagines, and more tiring too. I went back into the room around 530 and slept until 8 am.

 I had a refreshing shower and then Maureen and I went to ALSA, the spanish bus line, to catch the bus to Foz (Pronounced Fauth). There was no bus to Foz. So we walked to the train station about a mile away. There was no train to Foz. We had to get to Foz so that we could catch the bus at 1230 to Lugo where we would then catch a bus onto Arzua (pronounced arthua) and so continue on our camino way.

We walked back and had a quick breakfast of spanish omelet in the square in the center of town.  Then we walked back to the hotel. On the way I took that great tall elevator down to the marina boulevard while Maureen decided to walk down and we both went back to the hotel, finished packing, paid for the room and called a cab who showed up promptly at 1130.  It  was off  to the bus station in Foz, 27 euros,  where we met with another pilgrim going to Lugo. She had hurt her leg or foot or something and so was taking a day off of walking also.

The 2 hour bus ride made us glad that we decided to take the bus as it was mostly uphill. Really large hills.  Very pretty country... but very hilly. Lugo is quite a large city and we had some time to fill with exploring before our bus to Arzua departed.  There is this great walled city within a block or two of the bus station so we had to go there.
On the way we went through this lovely park full of statues and fountains, a stone frog fountain was very interesting. i had never seen anything quite like it. Just past the park was the walled city. The walls are about 10 feet thick with great gates and ramps and stairs that you can go up to walk on the top of the walls. Very medieval. Inside the walls is a city with shops and streets and the very large cathedral 'Santa Iglesia de Lugo'. Most exciting, this walled city within a city.
The cathedral was very impressive. Well the whole place was impressive.

Wikipedia says Saint Mary's Cathedral or Lugo Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and basilica built starting from the early 12th century and has romanesque, gothic, baroque and neoclassical features. A first church existed in the site from 755, but in the early 12th century its conditions were such that  in 1129,Bishop Peter 3 commissioned the local master Raimundo to design a new edifice in the current architectonical style. This Romanesque structure was completed in 1273. Later renovations and restorations added elements in other styles, such as the Renaissance retablo at the high altar, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755 and of which today fragments are housed in the church.

The cathedral is on the Latin cross plan, with a length of 85 m. It has a nave, covered by a barrel vault, and two aisles, with an ambulatory and five apse chapels where I lit candles and said Hail Mary's. There are triple ogival mullioned windows. The apse houses a calvary sculpture from an unknown date.

The façade is a Renaissance design by julian Sanchez Bort, inspired by the Cathedral in Pamploma. Its construction was finished in the late 19th century, with the completion of the two side towers.

The northern entrance's narthex is in Gothic style, dating to 1510-1530. Internally showing a starred vault, it is formed by three archivolts with a lintel showing christ Pantocrator and with a pinjante (glove-shaped decorative pendant), the latter featuring a depiction of the last supper of Christ.

Right of the entrance is the Gothic Torre Vella (bell tower), surmounted by a Renaissance top floor finished by Gaspar de Arce in 1580. The sacristy (1678) and the cloister (1714) are in Baroque style, as well as the central chapel of the triforium (1726). The chapel of St. Froilán is in Renaissance style, dating to the 17th century. Notable is the choir (early 17th century). I love wikipedia. you will have to look up all those little things that you don't get as to explain all of them here would take up a lot of blog space.

the fact that it took hundreds of years for the cathedral to be finished to where it is now is a marvellous testament to the human need to improve, change, and update the things around him, don't you think?  I said lots of Hail Mary's for Bill and lit lots of candles, electric candles but candles none the less.  There was a priest who was walking along one of the rows who spotted us and asked us if we were pilgrims. We said that we were and he stamped our credentials. Yea! another stamp! Lots of stone and painted ceilings to marvel at. marvelous Carvings in both wood and stone all through the cathedral. The wonderful little Santa Maria in her cape which I have found in most of the churches I visit. maybe they thought she would get cold? But lovely anyway.

We made our way back to the bus station. On the way I looked for a post office to get some more stamps for my postcards and discovered the very small door along the side of a building across from the children's play area with the sign that they were closed until 3. I waited until 325 but they did not come back so went back to the bus station and at 3:45 we were on our way to Arzua. We got in around 5 ...not a long bus ride.

We found a pension( a type of hostel that is cheaper than a hotel) after a bit of a walk and discovered in our room the smallest bathtub I have ever seen. the place did advertise that the rooms came with a bath and they were not lying. I saw the bathroom first and knowing how much Maureen enjoys a good bath could not resist  telling her that she would 'love' this tub. We both had a good laugh over it.
Maureen decided to lay down for a bit and I went exploring the town. A small town but with lots to see. A really pretty if a little stark, church at the end of our street and further down I found some stamps at a grocery store.  I  also found a post office that was closed. they closed at 4. interesting the schedules of amenities in different countries.

I found a saddle makers shop where I went in and although I did not speak spanish well enough and he did not speak/understand that much english I think he understood my  sign language trying to explain that I have a granddaughter who rides so he gave me a key ring for her. either that or he thought I was crazy and just wanted to get me out of there.

I found two parks, one for adults and one for the kids with thier parents. This latter park also had the exercise equipment along one side for the parents to use while thier kids were playing. What a great idea.
I found a vegetarian restaurant? right next door to our pension. I was a little skeptical.  Further down the street my first camino gift shop. I bought a necklace, handmade ceramic with a yellow arrow on a white background like our little arrows that we follow.  I thought it quite appropriate. And of course some postcards.
Went back to our room and Maureen and I went for supper at the vegetarian? restaurant around 730. They had one thing besides salad that was vegetarian, yes, it was huevos espanol (spanish omelet). It is a good thing that I am starting to really like it. So I had that and Maureen had chicken. The food was good and so was the wine, a local wine I think. There was a big soccer game on that night and the two ladies who were taking care of us although very nice and very attentive, I think were more interested in the game.

Maureen and I made plans for the next day. I was going to get up early and walk on my own and Maureen was going to church and to the post office to mail some things off to 'lighten the load'. I wonder how many pilgrims send things to lightened the load?  I would meet Maureen at the biggest church in Santa Irene at around 5. Plans made, We finished up dinner,  packing some of the spanish omelet up for the next day and went back to our room early. I was fast asleep by 9 I think and slept very well.

Sunday the 17 Jun - Tapia to Ribadeo

Woke up at 2:30 to use the washroom and didn't get back to sleep until 4:30. There were  couple of big snorers in the refugio. Oh well. Woke up at 7:30 and Surprize.... Maureen was already up, along with almost everyone else in the place, and almost ready to go. I was up and ready to go by 8. It worked out well.

Nice morning. Sunny. We followed the road 2 kilometers out of town to the highway and then looked closer at the guidebook and realized that the road out of town would take us inland to the old original camino. Maureen wanted to follow the coast trail so we walked 2 kilometers back into town which didn't bother me as it was a beautiful morning and we passed a few things that most tourists might not see, like the cemetery.

Maureen was upset but she got over it soon enough. There were not alot of shells or arrows in town but we did find our way to the trail.
A nice walk up to and along the sea walk, past the very impressive beach, down the road across the river?, it was the smallest river I have ever seen, small creeklet  (is that word?)  a wet ditch maybe.  I don't want to insult anyone who might be proud of their river, but.... really? We followed the route E9 which according to the guide book was the leisure road, the pretty road, the quiet road. And so it was.
The trail was lovely, almost all on quiet back roads, through hamlets and farms and clearly marked with yellow arrows if there were no shells.

The road was alternately flat with fields on either side and no trees or gently curving roads winding through little hills with lots of trees and bush.

We saw herds of dairy cows quietly chewing their cud. One cow came running across the field and followed us for the length of the field. A very curious cow. The whole area seemed to be a dairy sort of place. Lots of small farms with milking barns and all of the accompanying aromas involved with that industry. They do have great cheese in the area.

Actually, everywhere I have been Spain has great cheese. Happy curious cows make great cheese.
 Some bikers passed us and disappeared very quickly. There are lots of ways to travel the Camino. Bike, horse and walking.  So far we had seen bikers and walkers but we never saw any horses that were part of the camino. The countryside of the north coast is very pretty.

 Lots of narrow roads with forks in them to make us wonder which way to go but our friendly arrows and shells kept us on course.
There was an old monastery but i don't know if it was still active as a monastery as it was all locked up.

 We passed some german pilgrims who had left the refugio a little earlier than we did. They had stopped to take a break  at a little collection of houses/farms. I could not see a refugio or cafe but there was a bench.
 We only saw one or two pilgrims on the first two days of our walk and today we were seeing lots. We made plans to meet at a restaurant on a beach and I walked ahead.  I did not get very far ahead though as I kept stopping to take photos.

I went over the rise of a hill and there was this huge bay. The road went down to an estuary, marshy sort of area with a boardwalk.  I took the board walk as it looked like it was going where I wanted to go. The boardwalk came to, crossed over and followed for a short distance a stream with frogs. Hundreds of frogs.

 Very fun. Maureen caught up with me on the boardwalk at the frogs. We followed the boardwalk to a little cafe/store at a campground/ RV park where we had a  bit of a break. The young man was very friendly and happy to serve us . We were his only customers at that time. A bite  of toast and some tea at the cafe and plans to meet at the refugio in ribadeo as I was going to walk ahead at my own pace.

The walk continued through the country side. Small hamlets without any signs to say what they were called.   Narrow lane-ways with high walls on either side that opened up at the gates into farm yards with cows and dogs and cats and old trucks. There were also some pretty nice houses with new shiny cars and beautiful gardens. One had a bird of paradise plant that was huge. There must have been twenty flowers in bloom.
There was one town with a memorial sign /crest of the city? but no shells or arrows. The crest says something like "The past heros of the trade unions gave us our independence in 1776". I could be wrong and probably am so if you can come up with a better translation let me know. I got a little concerned about m direction so asked an old man on a bench "Perdon Senor... Camino? and I pointed the  way I thought it would be.

The old man on the bench nodded so I  said "Gracias" and continued and hoped that he wasn't misdirecting me. He was not.  It is all a matter of trust. The Spanish people seem to delight in assisting pilgrims. Quite extrodinary really when one considers how many pilgrims pass through their towns.
There was more country and there were more cows and then goats.  really pretty goats with nice colours. The country side was lovely and quiet.

Then came the highway. The "Autovia" and the bridge. There is a bridge to Ribadeo across the "Ria" (river) Eo from the Asturias and into Galicia. This bridge is high. This bridge is a Mile long. This bridge is really a test for anyone who is afraid of heights. It is not that I am afraid of heights, I am afraid of falling off and getting killed. Heights are fine with a handrail.

This bridge had a great handrail and a wonderful divider between me and the traffic on the Autovia. It even had a yellow arrow on it, the handrail that is. Yes you have to cross the bridge. It was very windy and long, did I mention that it was long? Did I mention that the traffic on the Autovia is about two feet away from you on the inside, and that even though there was a dividing fence of sorts between you and the traffic, there was still the air pushing you as the larger vehicles went by and there were lots of them. Kind of an odd feeling of the wind pushing you one way and the passing vehicles pushing you another way. I thought of my 4 year old grand-daughter Mary who told me once on the high level bridge that if we fall we will break our bones.

Probably halfway across the bridge I was in the Province of Lugo in the state of Galacia.
I got to the other side with out being blown off, or losing my hat and found my way to the refugio just on the other side of the bridge.
 It was very, how shall I put it, unclean.  Maybe no one had cleaned it yet from the night before but I would not stay there even if it was only 10 Euros.  In case Maureen was game to stay,  I left my knapsack and hat/poncho on two lower bunks and went outside to wait for her. there were maps to another hostel in town with directions so I took one and made plans to check it out.

I had a bit of lunch that I had picked up in Tapia the day before, quinao salad, while I waited and got a nice  picture of her crossing the bridge. When she got there we decided that we would in fact not stay there and that we would go elsewhere in town, but not right away. I went for a wander while she rested after her walk.
The refugio is right on the bay right next to or maybe part of a large park. There was this great observation dock extending well out away from the shore which I went out on. Great views of the bay and the shore.

I followed the path along the shoreline to a fort .  Fort San Damian is a small Forte  with 12 canons built  around 1624 to protect the town from seaward invasion. It obviously worked as Ribadeo is still there.  Ribadeo faces Castropol (in the Asturias where we just came from), across the inlet of the river Eo.  I don't think that the fort would have protected Castropol but maybe it did.

 It was locked so could not get inside to see but it looked very cool from the outside. the path turned into a small road and I followed it for awhile but it did not seem to reach anywhere. I found a map that showed me this little road followed the coast for miles.  I stopped and turned back. Beautiful tall eucalyptus trees with lots of birds that I have never heard before. I could not see them only hear them.

Wandered back to Maureen seeing a giant sun dial on the way. The town itself is built on a steep hill with the old town more or less at the top of the hill and lovely promenade and marina down by/ in  the water.we headed into town to find the hostal. when we were almost to the hostal, Maureen said she wanted to go to information to find out if there were other places to stay. So off we went.  

We reached the Plaza de Espania which  is surrounded by some wonderful old turn of the century buildings. the square had a park with trees and benches and a fountain. There were coffee shops and gifty kinds of shops all around the square but it was not very busy. We found the Information building on the far side of where we had come into the square.

The Information girl was very helpful. Maureen had her call several hotels to see if there were rooms with a view of the water available and then give us directions to the one down by the water that we thought might be the best one. They had a model boat in the foyer that was to scale and very large. If we were so inclined I think we could have rented bicycles there too.

We wound our way back down to the water front through some wonderfully narrow streets and lane-ways. I found my favorite door in Spain so far, just a delightful marvel of architectural splendor.  a few more streets/ back lanes/sidewalks and stairs gong down  and we  found our hotel, Fogar de Marinero, which was pretty nice for only 60 Euros. We settled in pretty quick and went out to get some lunch.

The weather had been getting cloudier all day and as we were going for lunch it started to rain.  Luckily the restaurant, Restaurante Bar Marinero, was right next door so we did not have to go far. Our timing was perfect too. We ordered right before a very large, noisy party arrived and placed their orders. Our conversation slowed considerably as we could not hear each other until thier food arrived and got down to eating.

After lunch Maureen decided to have a siesta and I donned my rain poncho and went for a walk. My mission was to find stamps, a post office or mail box, the bus station and to just look around . There was this very large building on the waterfront which did not look like it belonged there, so of course I went to look at it. Turned out it was an elevator to take one up to a street that was almost level with the square, almost. I wandered back up to the square  past a lovely little old fountain in its own little square. made my way up to the park and found a kiosk who opened just me to buy some postcards but no stamps.  The Post office was closed till monday.

It was raining quite hard so I ducked into a coffee shop and had a cup of tea and wrote postcards and did some journalling.
got directions to the bus station and found it after a bit of confusion. could not make heads nor tails of the schedule as it seemed that the bus from Ribadeo only went back toward Oviedo. Odd. Figured that we could figure it out tomorrow. headed back down to the hotel. It was pouring rain by this time and I was pretty much drowned up to my knees.

Maureen was up and going through her things to try and lighten the load. her backpack was way too heavy she said. We had a good laugh over that and disposing of extra weight. Went for a quiet supper. Maureen managed to get on line and talk to her daughter Teresa. I read and then went to bed early. Nice and warm and dry.