Our route toward Santiago today encompassed a lunch stop in Lugo.

Lugo is the fourth most populous city in Galicia and has a very unique feature which is why I had included it in our itinerary. It is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact Roman walls, which reach a height of 10 to 15 metres along a 2,117-metre circuit ringed with 71 towers. How cool is that?

We entered the walled city via one of the original gates and quickly decided that to walk the wall would give us the best viewpoint.

Almost immediately we were confronted by a fantastic mural depicting Caesar (I thought of Sam straight away..) note how even his shadow has been painted enhancing the 3D look.

We walked most of the circumference before succumbing to hunger pains and heading down into the town where we had a fairly forgettable lunch and then resumed our journey. The closer we got to Santiago the pilgrims were everywhere, on foot, on bikes and even on horseback. It sounds like a fun thing to do but not all the roads were that scenic, I think you’d have to pick your route carefully.

After looking at prices for Santiago accommodation (!) I had booked a small cottage in Arzúa, a rural area which would place us within a short drive. It turned out to be very unique, filled with objects the owner had collected in his travels some of which appeared quite valuable and I was glad we didn’t have a toddler with us. We immediately felt at home though as his rather sparse garden featured what I’m pretty sure was the Australian Callistemon Harkness – the Gawler hybrid bottlebrush!

The next day after taking a little time to navigate the streets of Santiago and then find a park we eventually made our way to the actual cathedral.

So, why is this the destination millions of pilgrims have toiled toward since the 9th century? 

“According to a medieval legend, the remains of the apostle James, son of Zebedee were brought to Galicia for burial, where they were lost. Eight hundred years later the light of a bright star guided a shepherd, Pelagius the Hermit, who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela…”

Where would we be without Pelagius I ask?

Whatever your belief, in 2023 over 440,000 pilgrims reached Santiago, some to follow their faith, others to follow their nose. It was busy when we arrived as I suspect it is everyday and we joined the throngs waiting to see inside the cathedral where allegedly the remains of St. James repose.

After waiting perhaps forty minutes and almost within touching distance of the entrance, the great doors were closed for a one hour mass! At this point we had to question our piety and subsequently decided to abandon the line and go for lunch. This turned out to be a good decision as when we returned after lunch there was only a very short wait to get inside.

Inside was ornate but dark, remember we had seen a lot of cathedrals by now…  It was crowded and the ambience was not helped by a group of particularly loud German folk immediately in front of us. Eventually my disapproving looks led to them waving us on in front of them and the rest of the tour was quieter at least (as it should be in a Church whatever your belief I believe.)

I’m glad we visited and the rest of the city looked interesting had we more time but we decided we had seen enough of Santiago for today and after successfully locating the right car park we headed back toward Arzúa.

I had read about Galicia’s tallest waterfall being not far from home so in a lst minute decision we decided to go that way and without too much difficulty found the car park and signage pointing the way toward Fervenza das Hortas. It was a fairly decent hike from here via a wide, well marked path leading down to the canyon (passing a closer car park on the way 😜 ) and we saw no one. As the thunderous roar became louder I was anticipating how great it would be to have the place to ourselves, already relishing the photo opportunities.

That was until I rounded the last bend and realised we were not alone….

I guess he too was worshipping in his own way and perhaps he hadn’t had access to a shower on the trail… Either way, on the much harder hike back up the hill I thought it wise to warn the young lady at the front of a primary school group that we encountered coming down. Using a combination of sign language and actions she eventually got the message, turned away from the kids and quietly said “f^*k” – the same in Spanish apparently 🤣

Enough excitement for one day, tomorrow we cross the border into Portugal.

Reaching the coast around lunch time, we stopped at the picturesque and very popular fishing village of Cudillero. A collection of pastel coloured houses hanging on to the sides of a steep valley, it was heaving with Sunday tourists and it took us a little while to find the car park which necessitated a short walk along the coast back to the village proper.

Seafood was very much the flavour of the day and after lunch and a glass of wine we were on our way again.
 

Trying to decide where to base ourselves on the Asturian coast had proven to be a challenge but in the end I had booked a cute little place near the town of Luanco. I hoped it would prove to be a location that would facilitate day trips to my ‘hit list’ locations whilst still allowing us to unpack and enjoy five days in the same lodging. I was a little anxious about the owner’s directions but we actually found it pretty easily and after unloading the car Fiona and I ventured down to Luanco, a few minutes drive away.

Sunday afternoon/evening didn’t afford us a lot of choices for dinner but we made do and scoped the (closed) supermarket out for supplies the next day.

A glass of wine on our deck was a fitting way to end what had been a long day.

Over the course of the next few days we ranged along the coast to various locations that I had uncovered through hours of (very enjoyable) research at home. My holidays actually start in this phase 😍

The first of these was Cathedral Beach or Playa de las Catedrales. Situated in the Galicia province, low tide exposes a series of rock formations resembling cathedral ‘flying buttresses’ as well as caves and interesting sandy beaches making it a very popular destination. So much so that (free) tickets are required in order to limit the number of visitors during peak times. Despite visiting mid week it was quite busy, I can only imagine what full capacity would look like. 

We spent a pleasant couple of hours on the beach (with one of us in more appropriate footwear than the others 😂 until the tide started to come in.

Using my favourite app again (Locationscout) we detoured off the main road and with my newfound penchant for lighthouses, navigated our way to the scenic Faro de Ribadeo.

The walk to the lighthouse was a little longer than normal and parking a little more challenging as workers were in the process of upgrading the main car park.

Once we got there though, apart from a couple of guys fishing in what looked like a somewhat precarious position, there was no one to spoil this rugged, windswept spot.

Locationscout had also shown me another great photo opportunity a little further along the coast, heading east back toward our lodging, so we set off in search of the Horreo de la Regalina.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned them before but we saw many horreos throughout our travel on the Iberian Peninsula…

“An hórreo is a typical granary from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Asturias, Galicia, where it might be called a Galician granary, and Northern Portugal), built in wood or stone, raised from the ground (to keep rodents and water out) by pillars  ending in flat staddle stones to prevent access by rodents. Ventilation is allowed by the slits in its walls.”

It was not the easiest one to find as it turned out and particularly problematic were the lack of public toilets en route but that’s another story….

However, sometimes when you are lost you find the best places and we did just that, coming across this beautiful beach with a tiny little bar tucked away just around the corner complete with what passed for a toilet out the back.

Sufficiently rehydrated and bladder sorted, we resumed the search and lo and behold a couple of kilometres up the hill and indeed looking over the beach we had just found, was the Horreo de la Regalina.

A landslide here in 2021 left the horreo in a very tenuous position so the community raised funds to dismantle and rebuild it in its current position, just down the field from the lovely little chapel, Ermita de la Regalina, built in 1931 by pilgrims on the Northern Way.

I for one thought it was worth the search and spent some time happily snapping away until the lengthening shadows reminded us that we had a few miles yet to cover before ‘home.’

The following day we exchanged coastal scenery for a more urban scene when we visited the city of Oviedo.

Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It has a population of around 220,000, a very long and interesting history (having been settled in the seventh century), beautiful architecture and was also the home of Fernando Alonso of Formula One fame!

For us, (well Fiona and I,) it was a chance to do a little window shopping and maybe some retail therapy prior to our cultural walk around town.

Not only is Oviedo one of the cleanest cities in Spain (officially) but it has an incredible number of street sculptures making it a veritable open air museum. Subjects include Woody Allen, famous historic characters, horses, dogs, ‘fat bottomed girls’ and the traveller.

We found the famous cafe Rialto for lunch and a taste of their iconic moscovita biscuits -these fine marcona almond and chocolate-coated pastries have been made by Rialto confectionery for almost 100 years and we can vouch for their deliciousness!

Suitably refreshed we continued on to find yet another cathedral, this time the Cathedral of San Salvador. With origins dating back to the 8th century and with many modifications/restorations since, it was a feast for the eyes.

The bronze scallop shell symbols embedded in paving and cobblestones are everywhere in the towns and cities of this region, proudly reminding us that we are on the Camino de Santiago, the Pilgrims Route, (also the Way of Saint James.)

We saw hundreds of people making their way along the various sectors of the pilgrims route in Spain and Portugal, their backpacks adorned with real scallop shells.

These days the walk is extremely popular for both the devout and the not so devout who just like a good hike.

We put our best foot forward and can claim to have traversed many short sections of the Camino 😉 Tomorrow we will begin our drive to the common destination of all pilgrims on this route, Santiago de Compostela.

León had popped up on my radar when I read a trip report that mentioned the León Cathedral and once I googled a few images it became a definite in the itinerary.

Having booked our accommodation just out of the pedestrianised old town we were only a short walk from the Cathedral, it was the first place we visited and it was amazing.

Santa María de Regla de León Cathedral is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was commenced in the 13th century and became the first monument declared by the Royal Order of Spain in 1844.

It was built in the Gothic style with French influences but is particularly famous for its 1,800 square metres of stunning stained glass windows which architecturally was quite rare in medieval Gothic times.

The facade is made up of two towers with the central portion dominated by a beautiful rose window.

The Cathedral was quite busy as apart from being arguably the best example of the Gothic style in Spain, it is also a key stop on the Pilgrim’s walk to Santiago de Compostela.

After a considerable length of time we ventured outside and wandered around the Museum, the cloisters and the Roman baths that the cathedral is built upon. All in all absolutely worth our short diversion to León and we weren’t done yet!

Russell’s bad knee wasn’t feeling up to any more walking so Fiona and I set off to find the Museum of Contemporary Art (MUSAC), another achitectural delight we were told. It WAS quite a walk but there was no mistaking it when it came into view.

The glass mosaic of 37 colours that receives the visitor on the main facade was taken from digital processing of an image from the stained-glass window called “The Falconer” in the Cathedral of Leon. The window is one of the oldest (13th c.) and depicts scenes from a hunt.

We didn’t really have the energy to visit inside so we took our photos and walked back to the apartment for a cold drink along the way, noting several cool references to the city’s namesake 😉

León again presented challenges for the vegetarian amongst us 😉 but we ended up finding a wonderful Indian takeaway that surpassed all expectations and we had a quiet night in, people watching from our window.

The following day, our last here, we headed off to see the next thing on the checklist, the Convento de San Marcos, formerly a convent as the name suggests but now a luxury hotel.

I would love to have stayed here but the rate was way above even my budget so we contented ourselves with a quick peak into the foyer before we explored the parts that are open, namely a museum and a consecrated church.

 

The origins of this building lie in the twelfth century, in the days of Alfonso VII of León. His sister, the Infanta Sancha of Castile, made a donation in July 1152 to construct a modest building on the outskirts of the walled city, on the banks of the Bernesga river, where “the poor of Christ” could stay. 

The darkest period in the monastery of San Marcos’s five centuries of history is concentrated in just four years. During the course of the Spanish Civil War cells, rooms, stables, cloisters, church, choir, museum and every fast corner of the building were transformed into impromptu dungeons or jailers’ offices, in what became officially known as “Campo de concentración de San Marcos” (San Marcos concentration camp). Between July 1936 and the end of 1940, up to 7,000 men and 300 women were imprisoned at the same time. It is estimated that, over the entire war and the period immediately following, the number of Republican militia members and political prisoners that passed through its cells totaled some 20,000. (thanks Wikipedia)

 These four years of history are hard to imagine as you wander through such a beautiful and serene building.

The last building I had wanted to see was Casa Botines, famous because it is one of the few buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi but built outside of Barcelona. It was initially built for a fabrics company but now houses a museum dedicated to Gaudi, Spanish art of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the history of the building itself. Unfortunately it was partly covered in scaffolding today. In retrospect we should have visited at least the Gaudi museum but I think we were a bit museum’d out by then..

Goodbye León you were well worth the detour, tomorrow we’re heading north to the Asturian coast, lets hope the sunshine continues. 😎