BLISS

“Follow your Bliss."

If you do follow your bliss,

you put yourself on a kind of track

that has been there all the while waiting for you,

and the life you ought to be living

is the one you are living.

When you can see that,

you begin to meet people

who are in the field of your bliss,

and they open the doors to you.

I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,

and doors will open

where you didn't know they were going to be.

If you follow your bliss,

doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.” 

― Joseph Campbell

The Pilgrim Menu

The Pilgrim Menu is basically the Menu del Día that is served all over Spain usually between 2:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon.  Bars and restaurants along the Camino simply designate it as something special for pilgrims.

It is a 3 course meal that includes a starter plate, a main course and dessert.  It also includes bread (unlimited) and a beverage of choice.

The average price is usually between 7-10 euros but can vary depending on several factors....location, competition and quality.  Paying between 12-15 euros usually is a guarantee of some higher quality fare but not always.

For each course there are usually various options to choose from.  Some examples of the first plate or primer plato might be:
rice, pasta, salad, a vegetable (often asparagus), melon with a little ham or garbanzos

Sometimes in a large hostal or albergue, the Pilgrim Menu will be shared buy all the pilgrims that wish to dine together.  This was one super sized dish of garbanzos, potatoes and chorizo, a spicy pork sausage.  The second plate on this menu was an equally sized dish of roast lamb, potatoes and red peppers ;-)

Main dish or segundo platos are always meat or fish and accompanied by even more starchy sides, often fries or other style of potato.

These meals are very high in carbohydrates as you can tell but walking all those kilometers requires a lot of calories.  Before the meal I always say to myself...I am NOT going to eat all the bread in that basket nor ALL THOSE FRENCH FRIES ON MY PLATE!

Oh well.....

One Last Castle

Making my way back to Spain from Portugal I was able to make an overnight stop in the beautiful city of Segovia.  I arrived late in the afternoon, but as Madrid is only about an hour south of Segovia, I would still have the bulk of the following day to visit the city before returning to Madrid for my flight.

The Cinderella Castle of Walt Disney fame was inspired by many different castles in Europe and the Alcazár in Segovia was one of them.

The castle was the former residence of Spanish royalty but now serves as a Royal and Military Museum.

It contains beautiful antique furniture and tapestries and even the royal thrones but the beautiful stain glass windows really caught my attention.

Next....a night view of the beautiful cathedral.  This was the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain from the 16th Century.

Something that really impressed me was seeing the place where Isabella was declared Queen of Spain in the San Miguel Church in 1474.

BUT....the highlight of Segovia, and of course it is UNESCO related....the aqueduct that was constructed by the Romans in 50AD to bring water from the nearby mountains to Segovia.

Yes, I was totally amazed by this aqueduct especially to learn that the 25,000 or so granite blocks were constructed without any kind of mortar!  It is 850 meters long and its height from the lowest point to the top is 28.5 meters.

No visit would be complete for me without tasting some of the local fare and Segovia is well known for it gastronomy which includes roast suckling pig and lamb.  And I did try both but this soup called Judias de la Granja or Farm Bean Soup was the winner.

And finally, the hand of Fatima, which has great significance for Islam, Jews and Christians alike and is important in the history of Segovia denoting a time when all three cultures lived in peace and harmony.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It

Porto, Portugal

The decision to visit Porto in Portugal was easy to make....there was a train for which I had a discount pass (Seniors ;-) and it left at the reasonable hour of 10:00 am in the morning and was faster than the bus.

A whirlwind tour it would be but I figured even a small taste of Portugal was better than none at all.  I really wanted to see if my Spanish would get me by.... and mostly it did.  The Portuguese people seemed to understand me just fine and many words were similar sounding so I was able to grasp a lot of what was said to me.
My hostal was only a few short blocks from the train station and I signed in, dropped my pack and was off to get lost in the labyrinth of Porto streets....and it didn't take long.  While I was lost I found a great pastry shop and stopped to enjoy and snack and some coffee

It seemed there were bakeries and pastry shops on every block; the hard part was deciding what to have.
While still trying to figure out where I was, I spotted an open peluquería or hairdresser's shop.  I was in dire need of a trim and the shop had no other customers in its chairs.  I felt so much lighter and with a clearer head that I was soon able to navigate myself back to the familiar territory of the Plaza de Libertad.
Dominating this plaza is the monument to Portugal's beloved King Pedro IV.

He was such a believer and fighter of preserving the constitution of Portugal during the Civil Wars that he dedicated his heart to the city.  It is interred in the Church of Our Lady Lapa while the rest of his remains were taken to Brazil as he also served as the Emperor of that country.
Porto is a huge, beautiful and elegant city of more than 230,000 people.  The soul of Porto is the Ribeira or riverfront area consisting of medieval streets, alleyways and traditional boats on the Duero River.

It is colorful, crumbling and fascinating and easily the most picturesque part of the city.  So much so, that UNESCO also deemed it worthy of their designation.  I wish I had been keeping track of all the wonderful UNESCO designated spots I have visited just on this trip.
Bridges are also considered one of the highlights of this magnificent city and one of the favorites is the Dom Luis Bridge.  There is a lower level just for vehicles and the upper level is a pedestrian walkway and also for the light rail system of public transport.

There certainly is no shortage of photo opps of stunning buildings and monuments and so to maximize the viewing opportunities, I opted for a bus tour.  It took most of my one full day there but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a beautiful sunny day sitting on the upper open deck of the tour bus.  The commentary was interspersed with great Portuguese music and as it is quite traffic congested the music was indeed appreciated.

Well I could go on and on with the parade of photos taken from the bus but two other things deserve mention before finishing this entry.  First and the most obvious is the production of port wine...hence Porto.  I didn't know that the British invented it by adding brandy to the wine.  Luckily part of the bus tour was to get off and on wherever you liked and it seemed a must to visit a port cellar.

I believe it was the Cockburn cellar I was visiting.  Not being a port aficionado the name was not familiar to me.

And last the Franceschina.  Porto is famous for this sandwich and they say you can find it in other northern Portuguese cities but they are a bad imitation.  It seemed every restaurant had them on the menu so how was I to decide???  Well, when I walked by Cafe Santiago....I considered it a sign.  The wait on the terrace was long and there was one seat at the bar available.....which turned out to be the best seat in the house.  When the two men that were working the assembly line of sandwiches saw me trying to take photos, they stood back, smiled and opened their arms to let me shoot away!

And just what is in this famous sandwich??

Well for starters...two thick slices of grilled bread, about five different kinds of meat; including steak, ham and various sausages, topped with an egg and a pile of cheese.  Interestingly, the cheese slices that circle the sandwich go on last and each one has a hole cut in it to allow the egg to show!!!  When the fries are added, the whole thing is covered with a spicy sauce.  Who would have known this if you didn't have the best seat at the bar to watch this production!

It is very obvious to me that....this city deserves another visit.

The Cíes Archipelago

The trip from the port in Vigo to the islands took about 1/2 hour.  When I saw the islands come into view I knew I had made the right choice.  You will understand what I mean if you check out the aerial photo in this link:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cíes_Islands

The center and north island are connected by a sand bar and also a concrete walkway that allows the ocean to fill the lagoon at high tide.  The center island, called Monte Faro, has a lighthouse at the south end and there is another on the far end of the most northern island called Monte Agudo.  The launch docked at the sandbar between the center and north islands and I decided to make a lighthouse to lighthouse trek, first heading in the direction of Monte Faro in the center.

View of the south island from the lighthouse on Monte Faro.

View of the north island from the same lighthouse.

More stunning landscapes...

To add to these stunning landscapes, they say the highlight of this area is the extraordinary marine environment.

Well, between islands I couldn't help but make a beach stop.

My feet had touched the Atlantic and even though it was not connected to the Camino as is Finisterre (end of the earth) I felt that now this leg of the journey was complete.  It was time to begin the turning toward home....but first a stop in Portugal!

Santiago de Compostela

Although the Camino Primitivo is considered somewhat isolated there is still one major city called Lugo,  about 4 days before Santiago.  This city has a population of about 100,000 people with a beautiful historic center and is completely surrounded by intact Roman walls.  The walls at some points are 7 meters wide and reach heights of 10 - 15 meters along a 2,117 meter circuit that contains the remains of 71 towers.  The walk along the top of the wall is continuous and there are 10 gates for entering and exiting the city.   Of course, these 3rd century walls are protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Galicia is famous for its seafood and in particular pulpo or octopus.  I noticed that almost every eating establishment whether it be a restaurant or bar had pulpo on the menu so of course.....

After Lugo, the route was less mountainous and passed through a stream of small villages and towns.  There was more road walking than pathway but the traffic on these roads was minimal.  The horreos, structures designed for storage that I mentioned in a previous entry, now have a more rectangular look.  I really like this photo with the contrast between the old horreo and the modern windmills.

Cloud and mist continued to predominate but the temperatures were still in the mid 20's, so a very comfortable walking temperature for me.

On the 27th of July I passed through a small town called Melide where the Primitive Route and the French Route unite and this of course meant many more pilgrims would be walking the route and looking for beds.  I stopped for the night in Arzúa and calculated there was still about 38 km to reach Santiago.  It would be the longest stretch I had done so far, but from this point on, all the hostals were large and would be overflowing with visitors. At 11:00 am in the morning, these mostly young students, already done walking for the day, were waiting for the hostal to open its doors.

 One of the last hostals before Santiago is Monte Gozo with 500 beds!!!  Approaching this site, which is famous because it was visited by one the the Popes, I could hear the voices of young people singing and cheering and no offense.... I understand their excitement but I did not want to spend my last night in that atmosphere so I continued on.  I still managed to find sections along the route uncrowded especially in the afternoon when most pilgrims had chosen a hostal and stopped for the day.
  Galicia has a Celtic culture rich with legends and myths and much of it to do with witches.  It is such a special feeling walking through these dense, quiet forests only hearing the sound of your own footsteps and a chorus of frogs and birds.

And still there is camino art.

There are so many historically significant spots along all the routes and I find the history of this town interesting and a little humorous.

Today Lavacolla is the sight of the airport that serves Santiago but historically it had the last river the pilgrims would cross prior to reaching Santiago.  Wanting to arrive clean before visiting the Cathedral they would bath in this small river.  There are a few versions of the origin of the name Lavacolla.  One is that Lava comes from the Spanish word lavar or wash and colla means scrotum.  OK...so I hope no one is offended and enough history for this entry.

This next sign was also a first on the route.  Sello means stamp, and you need to collect stamps from the hostals, churches, bars, etc on your credential to prove that you walked at least 100 km to receive the Compostela or certificate of completion.  Even with the Spanish spelling, the second offer is obvious.

The sellos or stamps are all unique, colorful and sometimes very artistic.

Thirty-eight km seems like a long way but after so many days of walking, I was well accustomed to the distances.

What seemed more tiring than the distance was standing in line at the Pilgrim office to receive the Compostela.  But after walking over mountains and through valleys, villages, towns and large cities, in intense heat, fog and some rain for 37 days and 932 km, I would bear it.

Wandering back to the Plazo do Obradoiro where the famous Cathedral of Santiago is located I was excited to reunite with some of the people I had come to know during the past weeks on the Camino Primitivo.

These 3 fellows I had come to think of as the Three Musketeers...Zach, Kasper and Andreas.  They were planning to walk 3 more days to Finisterre and at this point I was still struggling with that decision.

And what a varied group this was; Spain, Denmark, Sweden and France...and Canada.

These are only a few of the many pilgrims I met along the way as they just happened to be in the plaza at the moment I passed through on the way to my room.
To all those people who I met and parted ways with, I want you to know how much you have enriched my life in the time we shared together.  Perhaps our ways may meet again and perhaps not but to ALL, I wish you BUEN CAMINOS ALWAYS!

I decided to treat myself to a private room and was lucky to find one in the San Martin Pinario Monastery.  Oh..... the joy of sheets and a towel!  No shortage of great food in Santiago and I chose a tapa tour instead of the many offered Pilgrim's Meals.

The following morning I still was undecided about what to do with my precious few days.  I had until noon to leave the Monastery and took that time to research my options.  I had considered visiting the coastal city of Vigo in Galicia and while researching I discovered that a short distance away by ferry, it would be possible to visit one of 4 archipeligos just off the west coast of Galicia.  The entire archipelago is designated as a National Park of Galicia and I chose the Céis Archipelago consisting of  3 islands.   The photos looked stunning.  There would be beaches and a little hiking so I would not  stop walking cold turkey.

One last photo leaving Santiago...

and I was ready for another adventure.

Off to Vigo.....