Month: March 2022

We had a pleasant day of walking. We walked a little over 7 miles. All in a green valley beside a big mountain stream, through a number of charming villages. We stopped once for breakfast and again for coffee. Even though it was a mostly gray day and rained off and on, very light rain, it was one of our favorite days of walking. We walked from Trabadelo to Las Herrerías. At Las Herrerías, we stopped at a bar and asked the owner if he would call a taxi for us. The taxi driver took us to where we are tonight, Liñares. The taxi driver took us through O Cebreiro which is a high point on the Camino. He took us the way the bicycles would go on this climb. We walked this climb back in 2013 and decided to by-pass it this time. This is one of the prettiest areas on the Camino, if not THE prettiest. Our taxi driver was great and suggested we stop several places so we could take photos. He invited me to sit up front so I’d have a good view out and I got to chat with him in castellano, which is what everyone around here calls Spanish. He was a kind, soft-spoken man.

Wynette and Margarita, our Airbnb host, more on her later, but mainly I loved the red hair on the woman next to them.

Here is a new variant, insult Castilla and add “solo” after Leon. We learned from Margarita that this is a separatist, nationalist movement.

I get it but I wonder how the tires could have followed those tracks

Do they have weather too? I didn’t get my camera up fast enough to show the temperature map where Portugal is completely blank. It appears Portugal does have a few wispy clouds above it.

We had a good time in A Coruña, and good weather. By Friday we had decided we’d head back to the Camino when our time there was up. So this morning, we took a bus back to Villafranca del Bierzo, where we left off before, had a cup of coffee, and then started walking the 6 miles to Trabadelo where we are staying tonight. We got here just in time for a late lunch. The cook here is excellent. We had one of her lunches in 2013 on our first Camino and never forgot it. Today we had the menu del día and chose the trout. “Trucha” in español. It was delicious. For those who live in New Mexico, you might know the town in Northern New Mexico named “Truchas”, or “Trouts”. I’m sure many good trouts have been eaten around there, too. We walked along a large clear stream most of today. It’s flowing just outside our room. If it were summer I bet we would have gone out and done some wading.

It’s cooler here than it was in A Coruña but not as cold as it was when we left a week ago. Actually perfect walking weather. Mostly cloudy with sun peeking out every once in a while. We are glad to be back on the Camino.

Actually the oldest extant lighthouse, a landmark in A Coruna. I walked up there today to climb it. It was a beautiful sunny warm day. Here is the walkway up to it.

I walk up there, up the steps and go to the entrance. Two people were guarding the entrance. A ticket booth was off to the left. I said I wanted a ticket and they said you can’t get them here, you get them at the kiosk as you enter the park. Okay I’m Camino guy, I can do that. Down the ramp, the stones on concrete are quite unpleasant to walk on. Way over to the kiosk. Two people there guarding the ticket booth. Wait for one guy. Use the disinfectant they require. Put on my mask. Go to the booth. They ask me what country I’m from. I get the ticket that is only good for 30 minutes. Guess what? It’s free on Saturday, but you still need a ticket, from the kiosk, at the entrance to the park. Walk back to the ramp. Walk up the ramp and the stairs and give her the ticket.

It is about 250 steps up, I counted. Standard tower steps, square, five steps a flight then turn 90 degrees. 20-30 circular staircase steps at the end. I’m the only one there. The views are great. Overall I saw them turn away 5-6 people with no tickets. I came back, not sure how many others did.

[enter snark mode] I’ve read 4-5 articles in the last year about the record number of pedestrian deaths and injuries all over the US. One even mentioned Albuquerque as having one of the highest rates in the country. I’ve been a pedestrian (aka “target”) every day in Albuquerque for several years and I’m happy to report that I am still alive and unmaimed even though I always carry a backpack that reduces my maneuverability and car dodging abilities. But lets be realistic, how long can my luck hold out?

The Spanish have come up with a clever solution to this problem that they call a paso de peatones, in English it would translate into something like ”crosswalk”. For Albuquerque residents unfamiliar with this concept here is what they look like.

Here’s the idea: people enter the crosswalk and the cars stop for them, every time. I know this beggars the imagination but it is really true, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Albuquerque could try this ingenious Spanish idea and reduce the pedestrian fatality rate and avoid bad press on the national media. [exit snark mode]

These are some photos I wanted to share. They are totally unrelated except they were all taken in A Coruña.

Our Airbnb host, Margarita, suggested we might enjoy visiting Monte San Pedro, a high hill northwest of A Coruña with great views of the city. We did that this afternoon. Took a bus to the base of the hill and then walked to the top of the hill (a steep 20 minute walk). It did have great views of the city and the Atlantic. After hanging out there for a while (it’s also a park), we walked back down and then home along the ocean front. About an hour walk. So, trying to stay in shape for the Camino.