Mondañedo June 28

 Lourenza to Mondoñedo is not really a stage, it is part of a stage, but it is one of those decisions tour companies or people planning on their own make when the "official" stage is 30k+ AND hard.  For people going farther than Mondañedo, this is a good stop for coffee and a visit to the huge cathedral. (Maybe by definition cathedrals are huge.  In any case, this one is.)  I arrived at 9:30, which is absurdly early.  Yes, I could have doddled but why?  Anyway, I had a plan.  There is an eight mile circular walk, which seemed just the ticket.  

So off I headed to the starting point and immediately was faced with a huge, steep climb.  That´s how it is around here.  But up I went and started the trek.  It started as a dirt and stone path that morphed into a thick, grassy overgrown, path, that got progressively more overgrown, and it was raining, and there were big puddles, and even though the views were lovely (they would have been more lovely in better weather), I was not loving this new adventure.  There was a shortcut a couple miles in so I took it and ended up arriving at the hotel at about 11:30, so it was still a pretty short day: 11 1/2 miles.  But not easy miles.

The pretty path before it was overgrown:

And the pretty river:

And a dog guarding sheep, uhh, goats:

But the dog was wagging his tail at the same time that he was barking, giving off something of a mixed message.

Pieces of slate like this might make an attractive path in a garden:

A fig tree

There is a supermarket right near the hotel, but it is not very super.  It is about the size of a 7/11 except that it sells fresh meat, cut to order, but lettuce or fresh bread it does not sell.  It is not easy to stay supplied, and the next few days the pickings are going to be very slim, indeed, especially given that one of those days is in a town with a small hotel and a gas station and not much else and the other is a Sunday.

Tomorrow will be a challenging day, no, not challenging,  hard, as in really hard, but after tomorrow, the long, steep, ups and downs become less severe.  The weather continues to be very San Francisco-like, or maybe San Francisco on steroids, which, actually is not bad hiking weather.

Louranzá June 27

 Slow news day.  Difficult walk.  So glad that yesterday I shaved off a couple of miles, which included one sizeable hill because there were so many!  And my intuition not to go farther because I might have difficulty getting a taxi to come pick me up was right on the money because there was not a single bar, or enterprise, or church or anything to tell the taxista where, exactly I was, just random farm buildings.

But I must tell of the nicest thing that happened.  Miguel, el taxista, picked me up at 6:30 to take me to Santa Cruz, no not that one, the one with the sign on the road:

 It was raining lightly and as I was getting my poncho on and organizing my gear, Miguel,who had already left to go back to Ribadeo, swung around, got out of his super nice Mercedes, opened the trunk and pulled out a neon green vest sort of thing and put it over my poncho.  

The rain was not terrible and it was in the 60´s.  How anyone could do this stage in the hear, I do not know. Over 1000 meters (about 3300 feet) of climbing is what it had to offer, and the guide book pointed out—this is when you are desperate—that there was the lovely small of eucalyptus along this stage.  Have I complained sufficiently about the amount of asphalt on this Camino?

I do not know whether this cautionary sign is for people or cows:

This is who comes out to play in grey, rainy weather:

And these two who seemed to be having quite a tête-a-tête:

(Buy a computer in Europe and you can easily do an accent circumflex)

It was heavily misty all day, so the pretty views looked like this:

I am staying as Casa Gloria, the most modest of properties, but it is a sweet sort of set up and there are lots of bunnies running about:

Ribadeo June 25 + 26

 I am staying in Ribadeo two nights, but I did not walk here today, as the walk was over 20 miles, and, yes, I could have done it, but decided to break it at a place called Tapia de Casariego, take a taxi to Ribadeo, go back to Tapia in the morning, walk to Ribadeo, AND go beyond some 6-8 kilometers into the next day´s walk because it, too, is super long.  In other words, take two really long days and turn them into three more manageable day and bag the rest day.  

The bed-on-wheels hotel was a good mile from the start in Navia and the walk to town was all down hill, meaning that the walk out of town was all up hill, as these things go.  I had two GPS possibilities and, not realizing that the routing was not the same for both,  unknowingly picked the one that put me on the highway from hell until I realized, after about an hour, that, hey, I do not have to be here.

Fortunately, it was easy to get to the alternate route, even though it, too, sometimes met up with the hellish road. 

Overall, the walk was unremarkable, mostly boring with a few stretches on path, real path as in dirt, and a few sights, such as this cat:

And these rhodies:

And a man walking his dog:

Then there was a lesson in agriculture.  Have you ever wondered how bales of hay hanging around a field:

get to be placed all neat and tidy?

 

Well, a guy in a tractor that has two huge spikes sticking out the back, the tractor, that is, backs up and spears a bale, and then backs up to another one and spears it—how he has the aim, I have no idea, ´casue that must take some skill—then drives over to the deposit place and there must be a release mechanism that drops the bales from the spikes.

Here is one bale patiently waiting its turn:

I was pretty hungry when I arrived in Ribadeo because the taxi took a long time coming, diez minutos turned out to be about 25, so I headed to the local Eroski, not one of my favorite chains, and on the way saw a place that had take-out chicken.  This was truly exciting! Until I ate it.  Stringy and flavorless.  There is a kebab place across the street; I will investigate there tomorrow.  In the meantime, I replenished my supply of nuts, added some not great raisins to the supplies and was able to secure a particular bread I like.  Depending on the walking situation tomorrow, maybe there will be time to explore some of the beeches.

I, keeping up somewhat with the local news, read that there have been 40 reported bear sightings in CT so far this year, and residents are being advised to "exercise caution." I would love to know how one does that...do you learn it at a gym?

And  one more bit of news that some may have missed.  If this does not make you shake your head in wonderment, nothing will.

Taxi came at 6:30, a really nice Mercedes as opposed to the you-will-be-car-sick-in-five-minutes one of yesterday and deposited me in the start place even though the driver did not know where it was until a local advised him.  This is so Spain!  The walk to Ribadeo was fine.  Mostly flat after one big hill.

Plastic wrapped bales of hay make for good bathroom stops as they are tall enough to hide behind:

View:

Typical section:

And then, wow!  All of a sudden....

But the views did not last long.  However, for about 1/8 of a mile there was a boardwalk:

You cross a 1/2 mile bridge to get to Ribadeo.  It shook and vibrated as the enormous trucks roared by:

It looks très sleek, does it not, from the harbor at Ribadeo:

My plans were more ambitious than their execution.  I did not walk as far into tomorrow´s walk as I had planned because after speaking to the taxista this morning, I had an uneasy feeling that it might be difficult to get a taxi back to Ribado, so I conquered the first major hill and then turned around and walked back to town, which is a major city, really.  Took a stroll along the harbor, then a stroll along some of the streets, then a stroll to the Alimerka that sells the bread I like, then strolled back to the hotel where I decided to just RELAX.  There were some ambitious possibilities had I felt like it, but I didn´t, and tomorrow´s stage looks demanding.

Tonight I was able to join the siyum to celebrate finishing Bava Metziah, a tractate that ends with an utterly charming discussion about gardens.  If you live upstairs, and your downstairs neighbor has a garden whose, let´s say lemon tree grows such that some of the branches are near you, are you allowed to take those lemons?  Yes, says one rabbi, so long as you just reach your hand out naturally and dont´t stand on a stool or hang your kid over the railing to reach them or indulge in any shenanigans!  Actually, at the very end, the king of Persia weighs in on the matter!  Surprises at every turn in the Talmud.

Návia June 24

The long, steep, windy descent into Luarca yesterday was mirrored by a long, steep windy ascent this morning only in a different direction.  This is definitely best done at 6:30 a.m., although there was much more upping to follow.

A roof in need of, actually beyond repair but really quite charming to look at what with the flowers growing out of it and all (definitely click to enlarge to see better):

 

(Speaking of roofs needing repair, Bava Metzia 116-117, spilling into 118 as Talmudic discussions tend to do, deals in large part with what happens when the floor in the upper story of has a hole in in or collapses or something along those lines, and a  tenant is renting this upper story....what are the responsibilities of the landlord?  It is a fun discussion.)

These bits of plants that grow our from the cracks in a wall are so sweet:

This is Jose Luis. As I was a-walking along, he, being in a car at the time, stopped and asked if he could take my picture.  He had a placard with the request printed out in English.  Yeah, I thought it was a bit weird, but maybe he likes to take photos of peregrinos, as they are called.  He had a pretty fancy camera, so I asked if he was un fotógrofo.  He said he was not, but I think he was being modest!  He was a charming man!

Colt at rest.  Or is that a foal?  OK, looked it up. Probably a foal because, even though I know nothing about this, this purdy little things seems to be less than a year old.  Between 1-4 years, it is a colt if male and a filly if female.  At 4 the colt´s destiny is determined!  If castrated it becomes a gelding, and if not, a stallion.  If it mates, it is a stud and if it produces (!) a sire.  The female progression after foal, is filly, mare or broodmare, and then a dam.  (I wonder how many languages make these distinctions!  It is a lot of work.) 

A web, of sorts, but not the spidery kind

:

These cows, like the one who got the bad Air B&B, did not get a fine dining dinner res:

I thought I was going to have trouble finding my hotel, because on Google Mpas it seemed to be floating in a field, but wouldn´t you know, it was right on the path (street).  I had walked pretty fast this morning and arrived at about 11:30 (20k), "Check in is at 3:00."  OK!  The town was still a mile farther on, all downhill, so I went yonder to gather provisions. 

 When I got back about an hour and change later, I thought, "I am so hungry that I will sit on the steps and concoct my sandwich right there."  But I was granted admittance.  I spent the afternoon on logistics.  It was time well spent!

The bed in this room is driving me nuts.  It is on wheels that are not locked—yes, I tried to see if there was a lock—so when I lean against the headboard, the bed starts to roll away!  Very annoying!

Luarca, June 23

 The walk today was surprisingly pleasant.  About 1/2 was off the road!  What a difference that makes!  Also, have I mentioned that I have been very lucky with the weather?  It has been in the 50´s (early morning) and 60´s and grey.  Good walking weather.  Watch!  It won´t last!

This is what off the road can look like:

As opposed to this:

There was even a patch of forest:

This puddle was deeper and wider than it looks:

So there was this;

This church looks very modern, but was built in 1925:

Old (roof on lower building) and not so old:

Luarca is an adorable town with a pretty harbor:

:

I was happy that I had brought a hunk of onion and a tomato, and had snuck a jar of mayonnaise into my suitcase and figured out how to transport a few nectarines, oh and the bag of lettuce, because when nothing is open on Sunday, nothing is open!  Tchatchke stores and restaurants are, as are some bakeries and candy shops, but no groceries were to be had.  AND it is not only Sunday you have to prepare for, but Monday-until-arrival-at-destination.  Outside of major cities, Sundays are always challenge.

Doesn´t this look like a challah (except for where I tore out a piece)?

It did not taste like much, alas, even after being all dolled up with butter and raisins!

Cadovedo, June 21+22

The stage from El Pito to Cadavedo looks like this 

and is actually more than 20 miles because 1) you have to get from the hotel to the trail and 2) you have to get from the trail to your hotel, and 3) the mileage tends to be under reported.  So....I had decided to do this in two stages and glad I made that decision.  It was not easy walking, although some of it was interesting meaning that you had to pay attention to where you were placing your feet.  Paying attention did not prevent another boots-filled-with-water incident but this time due to a swollen stream, so there was that.

There was a decision to be made at Soto de Luiña:  Take the very up and down route nearer to the sea (see above) or the inland route.  Both are challenging, according to the guidebook.  The inland route has some huge climbs, is not signed, the path is overgrown and in some places very hard to follow, and there is no access along the way, but you will be rewarded with some great views.  This was not a tough decision to make! 

Not the offending stream, just a view from a bridge:

A raised storage shed in a state of disrepair:

Road side sale:

or free for the taking.

Life in the country:

Cat:

View:

Now, this is what I call signage:

See the old bridge in the background?:

Yesterday, the receptionist insisted that I pick up a pic-nic to take with me since I was not having breakfast.  Since I knew that the shopping options would not optimal, I said, "OK, gracias, pero jamon no como."  "Thank you but I don´r eat ham."  "Yo tampoco". "Neither do I." This morning a huge bag was on the desk, so I quickly shoved it into my suitcase because no way could I carry it.  When I unpacked, there was a cheese sandwich the size of a sub, a banana, something like those hard corn things, and a cookie.  Lunch/dinner!  (But the banana was tasteless as bananas can be sometimes.)

At the point where I had determined the break the walk, there was a bar, which is actually one of the reasons I decided to make that the stop point, since a taxi would be able to find it.  I bought an ice cream (fake ice cream) and asked the señora if she could call a taxi (using my phone because she did not know from phones).  This request she did not like very much.  She informed me that in two hours there would be a bus, which I knew, but I did not want to wait two hours and besides, I needed a supermercado!  Reluctantly she made the call; the taxista said, "No."  Then she called another, and after I looked up all the available taxis in the area, she finally got a "si, en media hora."  Fine.  I took the wait time as an opportunity to take off my wet boots and stuff them with paper towels from the bathroom.  (I keep a pair of very lightweight shoes in my pack for situations such as this.) 

When the taxista arrived, I informed him of my need for a supermercado and he insisted there was one in Cadavedo.  Really?  Well, he pulled up to this tiny little store, no sign, and in I went.  Let´s just say that the pickings were slim, but señor el taxista had no intention of taking me to the Alimerka in the next town, so I had to make do.  Some lettuce rounded out the cheese sandwich, and as for the rest, not exactly gourmet dining.

The hotel is gorgeous on a magnificent property.  Dinner has two seatings: 8;00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.  I will be at neither.  But I am pretty tired of eating out of my suitcase, especially when the enhancements are not particularly good.  

Flowers from the hotel´s garden in the lobby:

The hotel guy, incredulous that anyone would want a taxi at  6:30 a.m., (he asked me the time three times), ordered one anyway and Esther, la taxista, showed up right on time to take me to the bar of yesterday´s departure.  On the way she told me that she had heard from several peregrinos that the path was flooded in many sections, and recommended I take the road.  I was especially unhappy to hear this because some of the way was on REAL paths!  Had I known, I would have nixed this stretch altogether and done some circular walking in the area of the hotel. Oh, well. Inadvertently, I did start out on the path and after about 1/2 mile realized this was not a good idea, so I turned around and hunted for the correct highway.

Thank God it was not the A8 way up there:

There was not much to see except for some moss on a wall:

Toward the end ,there was a man and his horse doing the Camino

so I figured it was safe to do that stretch on the path and it was fine, though nothing special.

Once in Cadavedo, I hit the store that advertised take out.  It had the lovely smell of chickens cooking.  "Can a person get chicken to take out? I asked en español.  The reply was, "Sí pero más tarde, a eso de las 3:00."  So I called Esther and asked if she could take me to the Alimerka  in Luarca which is where I go tomorrow, but tomorrow being Sunday, el supermercado will be closed.  She could and she did and I had a lovely dinner and have enough for tomorrow, too!