Two Pilgrims Two Paths

Hiking Days 35 and 36      May 14 & May 15  Melide to Arzua Miles   10.0 Total Miles   495.8 Ascent   900’ Descent   1060’ Arzua to A Rua Miles   11.8 Total Miles   507.6 Ascent   768’ Descent   1115’ I am doing the last two days in one blog due to lack of WiFi last night. Saturday May 14 was overall an unremarkable day of walking.  The miles are short and the scenery is  much like the rural and farm areas we have seen for many days. The difference today is the number of pilgrims. Once we connect with the Frances at Melide, the path is literally a swarm of people. The photos below highlight this difference.                                              The Camino Primitivo just before it joins the Camino Frances                    ...

 Hiking Day 354     May 13 Ferreira to Melide Miles  485.8 Ascent  1088’ Descent  1387’ It is interesting how one little action can set off a chain reaction with unexpected consequences. Today I am hiking along on a shaded gravel path, a path with greenery close by both sides of the path. The path requires very careful attention to your feet as it is littered with manure splats of all shapes and sizes; and the splats are recent and still very wet and juicy. A manure wagon had passed this way only a short time ago. As I walk along I have my trekking poles tucked under my armpit so I can focus on the manure. I suddenly spot one of the best examples of a marshmallow farm that I have ever seen. Eager to get a photo to send to the grandkids so that they know where marshmallows actually come from, I weave between the splatters to the side of the path. The paths along the entire Camino have one of two types of vegetation along the side boundaries…either raspberry ...

 Hiking Day 33     May 12 Lugo to Ferreira  Miles  17.5 Total miles  471.8 Ascent  1432’ Descent  1230’ Last night we stayed in Lugo, an ancient city which is the only city in the world surrounded by intact Roman walls. The wall around the city stands between 26-40 feet high and 13-23 feet thick.There are 10 gates and 71 towers and you can walk along the top of the walls for 1.3 miles around the old city. Lugo was settled by Celtic inhabitants of the region. In 13 BCE the city was conquered by the Romans who built the walls over several decades in the 4th century. Despite the monumental defenses, the city was lost by the Romans in the fifth century. Later the city was ceded to the Suebi and Visigoths.  After a period of decline, the city rebounded and became a center of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages for pilgrims on the way to Santiago.  Last evening we walked on the walls over looking the city and enjoyed a wonderful dinner. We start...

 Hiking Day 32     May11 O Cadavo to Lugo Miles  19.6 Total miles  454.3 Ascent  1387’ Descent  2255” Following a sparse  breakfast with zero proteins, we are on the road by 7:45 am, starting with a long and steep climb of over 500 feet. The beginning is very chilly and soon we opt for the lesser traveled alternative route for a few miles. It is a good choice, both shady and on a gentle path. The day is enjoyable but without any coffee stops during the long 20 miles, just a snack break and a sack lunch break. We average 3.2 miles per hour moving speed and finish our walk in about 7 hours, avoiding the worst heat of the day. We arrive in the city of Lugo, a city of about 100,000 inhabitants with a very extensive history, which I will touch on tomorrow. To add some levity, I would like to post some of the oddities we have seen on this Camino trip. I will let you experience them via a few photos: “Pot-Trisha”- we saw numerous of these in various styl...