April 15, 2018

Day 10 on The Camino

It was a wonderful day to start – no rain or fog! And even a bit of blue sky and sunshine! 

Last week we discovered that there were few open bars or grocery stores on Sunday so we wanted to be prepared this week, thus our grocery run last night.  However, we asked at dinner and were told they would be open for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. We elected a late start anticipating breakfast in front of a long day of walking.  In spite of this decision allowing us to sleep in after a hard day yesterday, the lights in our albergue automatically blared on at 6:30!!!!  And then, after waiting 45 minutes for the bar down the street to open, we finally gave up, had a snack of our own food and hit the road at 9:00. 

Leaving Castroverde the guide book tells us that as we enter Souto de Torres and ascend to Santa María De Gondar that we should take great care as legend holds that anyone who drinks from the Fontiñade Valiñas will fall in love.  We didn’t take the chance…

We passed through Bascuas and A Viña.  Eventually we entered the Puerto de San Pedro and on into Lago – one of the few “big” cities we encounter. It took us a little over four hours to cover the thirteen miles.  Though we had a few hills (always seem to) it was generally a fairly easy going day – on highway, through woods, along farm fields, in a cow herd and in and out of villages.

Originally a Celtic holding (lug is Celtic for ‘sun god’ or ‘sacred forest’, Lugo is most famous for its Roman years – think massive walls. The Romans lost Lugo in the 5th century. Suevi rule yielded to the Visigoths in 585, and then Lugo was ruled by the Moors in the 8th century. 

There are many historic sites to see, and some Roman baths that we were really looking forward to enjoying. Unfortunately, due to shortening our schedule earlier in the week given conditions, etc., this leg of our journey ends up being on a Sunday and the baths close at 1:00.  Additionally, we decided to stay in a hostel instead of a albergue, and the checking in process was challenging – taking a couple of hours.  Our beds look like space pods!!

There was still a little time for checking the town out, as well as getting a dish of my favorite, Padrón peppers!

Entering into the Cathedral of Santa María was a highlight. According to my guidebook, “… although construction began in 1129, the building combines Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, and Neo-classical styles.  I was struck with all the beauty, and enjoyed stepping out of the rain!