Bill Arney

A pleasant day out of Lugo. Chilly in the morning wind but easy walking. The hills of Galicia are low rolling and green. Maples and oaks are beyond buds which makes the forested hillsides patchworks of greens.

I walked much of the way with Sophie from Chinon, France. She has put together her Camino to Santiago a week at a time over the last eight years. She started at the door to her house in 2009 and will reach her ultimate destination in a few days. There were two Dutch fellows who did the same. When someone asked how long they had been walking,  one said,  “Right now, one week, but twenty years.” Twenty years of long distance walking together. Eleven years ago they decided to make the Camino, but the birth of a child disrupted that plan. Seven years ago, they began in the Netherlands and walked two weeks a year. Yesterday their families,  including the 11 year old, plan-disrupting son, joined them in Lugo for the final 100 km to Santiago. Many stories out here.

In Ponte Ferreira in a nice albergue on the patio in the still-high sun, which doesn’t set until 9:30 pm tonight, waiting for the 7:45 dinner bell. Will leave the Primitivo tomorrow afternoon to join the Frances for the last days into Santiago.

No post yesterday from O Cádavo. A long uphill near the end took us to a ridge that dumped us down into basically a ghost town with a relatively new municipal albergue. No internet, little food, and early to bed.

Today was a longish 30+km day to Lugo. Mostly flat on nicely graveled roads in nice sunny weather. I stopped once,  early in the morning,  and got to the very nice albergue just inside Lugo’s Roman wall around 3:30 PM. May stay a little longer in the morning to  see more of this bustling place. Just over 700 km behind me and just over 100 to go to Santiago.

Late start, relaxed walk. Frederikka was once again attracted by the views, our last of the mountains and hills of Asturias. She says she was not comparing these to earlier views; she was just adding them all together, expanding her collection. She fell well behind Ramón and me, and I was often way behind Ramón who said he was trying out his sore foot, which was apparently healed. I caught up with him in a bar, of course, and we called Frede and … together again. Cloudy,  cool, friendly, and we find ourselves in a wonderful albergue, the Cantabríco in A Fonsagrada, with an exceptional hospitalero. Ramón catches a bus to Lugo tomorrow to be able to complete the walk before returning to work. Our merry band will be different without him.  We did cross the border from Asturias to Galicia late this afternoon, just about the time my personal odometer was rolling over its 400th mile. Ultreya!

Learning a new way to walk thanks to my walking partners,  Frederikka and Ramón. They start late, especially when the day is only 20 km. And they take long breaks to eat and look and enjoy. Liza and I would have been in Grandas de Salime 3 hours earlier; it was just our style together. But we arrived in this small village late after a wonderful time of looking, gawking,  lots of oh wow’s, and time to sit and admire the dammed up lake below. At one point, after a long sit down on a rock, Frede said, “I just never know if I will ever get back here again” (she’s 21). She’s right. And the view was worth the savoring.  The day started,  again,  in heavy fog as we ascended … who knows where. The sun cut through the fog just as we were above the lake behind the dam. Way above the lake … we had an 800 m descent to do over the coming 8 km. A huge lunch, including BBQ ribs at the town just across the top of the dam,  and then 6 km up again to Grandas. We walked sometimes in a line, sometimes 2 together and 1 on his/her own, rarely three together. A fine day of beautiful views, still budding friendships, quiet when necessary,  and clean laundry at the end.

We (Frederikka, a Dane, and Ramon, Spanish architect living in London) started our climb into the mountains in just the weather guidebooks warn against, hill fog. But everyone assured us it would be fine.  And we were following the one agreed-upon stipulation: don’t go up there alone.  We walked up into the fog and then through it, and then we saw the sun through the fog, and soon the sun cut the fog and we were in a new world. All day up, across and down the Hospitales route, with the ruins of earlier pilgrim hospitals sprinkled over the top of the mountain.  The promised wild horses were there.  And it was wonderful.  Frederikka spilled most of her water early in the trek, so we conserved. Near what we thought was the end of the downhill we were all out of water, but there was water dripping down plants from the mountain so we filled our bottles,  slowly, from the drips. Sated with water, we started walking again.  Five minutes later we were in a bar in the town that was just around the corner, unseen, from our hydration station.  In the albergue in Berducedo for tonight.

Vistas! Vistas! A flat walk out of Bodenaya to Tineo, then a training hill, from the perspective of the next few days, from there. Towns and valleys from above, then up and over the big hill to see more valleys and vistas, on the other side, below. Into Campiello around 3 pm. This village is Herminia’s empire: sh runs a couple of albergues, a bar, tienda, restaurant…  A huge pilgrim meal for 10 € shared with TP. Marvelous. But I am meeting others in Borres, a few km down the road where there is a 3 € albergue described as “very basic.” Tomorrow,  the Camino and the peregrinos separate again, one  route and group following the Hospidales route over the mountains, one through Pola de Allende in the valley.  David said to take the Hospidales if the weather is good; it is one of the earliest pilgrim routes along the Primitivo. Over 1200 m high across a mountain “with only birds and wild horses,  no electrical wires, roads, or water.” And the remains of three very old pilgrim hospitals along the way. David sold everyone on the route, and tomorrow is the first day with solid sun in the forecast. Others said not to go alone, so a Danish woman, a German guy and I will join up in Borres tonight and give ourselves over to the spectacle of the mountain Way.

Again posting early afternoon in anticipation of being in a gushingly reviewed albergue that is probably without wi-fi. Started the day with a steep uphill in a heavy rain and anticipating a climb of 400m over the next 7 km into Bodenaya.  The valleys,  which we get to see from above, are beautiful.

Update: Oh boy, was I wrong about this albergue not having wi-fi. It has everything.  David, the host, met us (I was walking today with TP, a photographer from Ireland who spends half the year in India), welcomed us to “our home,” offered tea, coffee,  beer… and chatted while we settled in. Then, before doing the paperwork,  he told us the rules of the house. “The first you know already.  This is your house. You are welcome to anything in the fridge, coffee, whatever there is. Then, we will have our family dinner around 8. When you get out of your clothes from today, please put them in that basket. I will wash and dry them tonight and they will be ready for you in the morning. At the end of dinner we will decide together,  like a family,  when the family will wake up in the morning. Everyone will wake together; alarms and phones are not permitted.” Not surprisingly,  David is friends with Don Ernesto from Güemes and with the other Camino David, the center of Casa de los Dioses outside of Astorga. On one wall David has a picture of a pilgrim from 1917, whom he calls “our (the Davids and Ernesto) god.” “You see that he is carrying two bags. One contains food for himself,  the other food for others.  It’s a reminder that pilgrimage used to be hard,  but one always shared and helped others. You had to.” Next to the picture is an embroidery of the Spanish version of a phrase we discussed in class, “el verdadero peregrino no exige, agradece”: “A true pilgrim does not demand, but gives thanks.” Next to that, in the wall, is a stone from the last time, in 2010, the Holy Door in the cathedral in Santiago was unbricked and opened for the Holy Year. The house, our house, is filled with history,  fellow feeling, and good spirit. Right now, we are six peregrinos, two friends, and David,  and everyone seems to know we are all lucky to be here now.

Oh, and it’s all donativo, “and please put the money in the box because I don’t like to touch the money.  It’s more beautiful that way.”

Writing from Grado, 4 km before the days’ s destination, San Juan de Villapañada, which is uphill from here. They have no food and, I suspect, no wi-fi, so i will post here. The Cathedral at Oviedo is a big-time stop in the cult of relics circuit. They have the cloth covering Christ’s face in the tomb, a piece of the shroud of Turin, several pieces of the true cross, a part of a bone from the forehead of a saint, five thorns from the crown of thorns, and one of the six amphorae from the wedding at Cana where Jesus  changed the water into wine. Much more. The building,  cloisters,  museum… are magnificent. Today, a 29+ km day in warm rain. Met 6 peregrinos who started today in Oviedo (they were so clean) and there were about 10 in the albergue, so there are some folks on the Primitivo.

A casual stroll from Pola de Siero to Oviedo. Started in light rain, ended in 70º F warmth. Tomorrow the Primitivo begins.

At the point where the Primitivo splits from the Norte, I briefly remembered last night’s talk with a French woman who has walked many different routes over the past 10 years. She thought I could and should do it. So I became part of the 25% turning left.  And then I went up and then down into Valdedios to see the monastery and then straight up to see the same monastery from what the guidebook calls a hilltop (translation: punishingly hard place to get to). Rain, chills, mud, but … quite nice really. I am the only one in a beautiful, new, municipal albergue in Palo de Siero.