Fonsagrada, in the mist

I am having a rest day in Fonsagrada, I find that walking approx 6 days then having a day off seems to work well. Also, the weather wasn't great yesterday, and looked worse today, so it was an easy decision to make as I lay on bed this morning. The town itself is very small, but the albergue & pension I am staying in is beautiful, very comfortable and very well equipped. At first I wasn't keen on the town, but people have generally been so friendly that I'm now quite happy to stay here for a day. 

Why I'm not walking ! However if it's like this tomorrow, I'll just get going. It's definitely turned to autumn, I knew the summer weather couldn't last but it did change extremely quickly. All those warm clothes I carried now seem a very good idea. 

So today is my washing, a slow breakfast in a comfortable bar, reading a book, going to the peregrino mass in the little church, then finding dinner before repacking my backpack for tomorrow. It's only two days into Lugo, which looks fantastic, so I shall probably stop there for one day before the final push to Santiago. 

Welcome to Galicia !

Not so many photographs today, the scenery was apparently fantastic but as I was walking in cloud most of the time, I really didn't get to see much of the surroundings. 

It wasn't cold, just wet. The cloud seemed to coalesce into rain occasionally then turn back into mist. I was walking just below a ridge with heaps of wind turbines, it was quite eerie hearing them above me but only seeing a dim outline, or nothing, of them. 

The typical view ! The odd glimpses I did get showed green, rolling hills, very lush farmland and moorland. I seem to remember the last time we crossed into Galicia, on the Camino del Norte, it started to rain. 

Just to be confusing, now that we're in Galicia the shells point the other way. Rather than going the direction of the base of the shell, per the last 5 weeks, we now follow the spines of the shell. Standardisation, what's that ?

Grande de Salima, part 2

The walk yesterday was beautiful, not least due to the horses ( wild or tame, I don't know) grazing, hawks circling around, and more fat, happy-looking cows.

The walk was great, however the village we got to was a little basic- no place to buy dinner ! Fortunately there was a little supermarket, so we ended up with a thrown-together dinner of pasta, tuna, bread and salami, shared by about 12 people, with a lot of noise due to the contribution of three bottles of wine from one partipant. If I remember correctly, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Norway and America were represented. 

Low lying mist early morning, as we walked above the mist for a few hours

Coming out below the mist, after walking through it for about an hour, to see the dam

The deserted buildings, left as the valley was flooded for the dam. The atmosphere here was quite haunting, the deserted buildings looking industrial, I'd love to know what they were. Also a few houses, all completely empty, rooves falling in, windows gone, gardens gone wild. 

The yellow building is a very welcome hotel and bar, serving the first coffees and food for 16km. You can just see the dam wall behind the hotel on the right side of the photograph, and the deserted buildings behind. 

The walking has been tough, equaling the first week from Irun to Bilbao - continual ascents and descents, but with amazing views to compensate. Saying that, it's all achievable, and extremely well marked out with the Camino shells and arrows. However while I would certainly recommend this Camino, it would be with a caution about the terrain. It's no casual stroll along a well-made path. 

Grande de Salima, & yesterday's photographs part 1

Today I am a bit more organised with photographs, and in a middle sized town with a little bar serving various fizzy beverages, also wifi. 

Hence I can do a decent update and show some of the spectacular scenery from yesterday's high altitude ( 1120m the highest point) walking, then today's walk above the mist, through and below the mist, to an abandoned town by a spectacular dam. The town was flooded for the dam, only a few houses and some old factory buildings are left, but it's a haunting atmosphere, quite at odds with the by then brilliant sunshine. 

Dawn just about to break, as we left yesterday morning. At 26km, it was going to be a long day, and with rain forecast for the afternoon, an early start was warranted. 

The easy route (La Pola) or the difficult route ( Hospitales) .... Which one did we chose ? The difficult one of course, why take the easy path ?

A typical path, the two ladies in the photograph are Jay and Daphne, with whom I am walking some days, and meeting most evenings. 

Typical scenery, and wind turbines everywhere. Spain doesn't seem to have an issue with any perceived visual pollution, but then again these are relatively remote locations.

The remains of a 15 th century hospitale, a pilgrim's hostel, hence the name of this route. 

Part 2 to follow ... don't want to overload the cafe wifi ;-)

No dinner in Bordercero

This place is a little basic, no cafe or restuarant for dinner, and the albergue is fine but basic. So, one night and then to somewhere else. I just have to decide what to eat tonight, I think a visit to the little shop is in order. 

I forgot to download my photos, they will appear tomorrow, but a great walk at one of the highest altitudes this Camino gets to. We were lucky with the weather, sunny then cloudy later, and beautiful scenery, hawks circling around, horses grazing, fat & happy cows on the hillsides. 

Tomorrow is a reasonable walk, 20km, but a lot of descent which I always find hard work. Hopefully the scenery will be good enough to distract us while walking - I am walking at the moment with a couple of English ladies, who are doing the Primitivo to celebrate their 70th birthdays !

This is Asturia, in Campiello

The Camino Primitivo starts in Oviedo, and for here runs through Asturia for a number of days,mum still in his state. It has to be one of the most beautiful, and welcoming, parts of Spain. They have a real interest In the Camino, and the peregrinos who are passing through their towns and villages. 

I tried to book accomodation last night, in a pension, which was full. Not only did they phone around and find me a room, but they then walked me to my new accomodation. I have been wished Buen Camino more times than I can count, and get stopped daily frequently for a quick chat about why, where am I from, what do I think of the Camino Primitivo etc. 

The facilities here are also fantastic, lots of fountains with potable water, lots of benches where there's a good view, little cafés with snacks, coffee and breakfast. 

Photographs just from today ....

Happy, fat cows. No wonder the beef is so good. 

Beautiful heather and gorse, reminiscent of Scotland. Particularly after last night's referendum and vote count !

The spectacular mountains into which I am walking

Blackberries, fresh at the side of tiny country tracks. Sunripened, ready for me to graze on. 

We have a Camino dog ! Spotted in Salas

We have a peregrino dog ! I don't know his name ( now I know it's Dante), but he's walking along with a little backpack, and carrying his raincoat, thats the white rolled up thing on his back. His owners said they do short days, and accomodation is fine in the country ( there's heaps of dogs here) but much more difficult in cities.  

Summer is definitely over, today was a lovely walk along wooded tracks, as the wind was blowing around me and leaves falling from the trees. There's been a little rain, but not much, so I am hoping that the rain holds off for another few days while I do the high altitude walking. After that, it's back to rolling hills and little villages. 

Yesterday's old city walls, well more like village walls ...

All that lush greenery, I've been lucky so far to dodge the rain

Today's rolling green fields, as I climb higher and higher into the mountains. Each day is more climbing than descending, and the next couple of days will be more of the same. After that, I start the descent, and move into Galicia.