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?

 

 

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.

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.

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….

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.

 

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.

 

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 😉

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. 😎

With the big adventure behind us now and our calves still reminding us, we were understandably feeling like a gentler activity the next day (our last in the mountains) and I suggested that we drive to Cangas de Onis and catch the tourist shuttle up the mountain to the remote Lagos de Covadonga (the Covadonga Lakes.)

The road is described in my guide book as “not a road for nervous drivers..” and in the high season it is blocked altogether when the shuttle bus plies the route. We arrived at the shuttle departure point, could see the bus stop but no sign of activity and the boom gate positioned to block traffic from starting up the mountain road was open. We asked some people that we saw driving down and they said that the shuttle hadn’t started the season yet and the road was “ok but had lots of slow traffic.”

How hard can it be I said and being the adventurous type, off we went.

It started well, a few hairpin curves, relatively wide, saw a few cars and BIG buses coming down, a piece of cake.. but, in order to gain the 1000m in elevation that it does, it then gets pretty hairy. Very steep gradients, the road cut into the side of the cliff in places, massive tour buses coming down at very inopportune times and the occasional cow or three wandering down the road completed the picture.

 

 

At one stage we could see a large traffic jam ahead us on the road and I decided to pull in to a look out and let that pass. The views were spectacular and after a couple of large coaches had come down we thought it safe to continue up the mountain, however, a little further up we came across the reason for the traffic jam. A rental van had tried to avoid an oncoming car on a particularly narrow stretch and the right hand wheels had gone over the edge and whilst not a sheer cliff it looked precarious. The driver and his passenger were waiting in a safe spot for rescue and as we passed Russell went a whiter shade of pale than he had already been and there was silence from Fiona in the back seat. 🤦‍♀️ I was actually enjoying the drive, my only regret not being able to appreciate the view.

After encountering a bit more traffic and a few more cows, beautiful Lake Enol, the larger of the two main lakes, came into view and it was worth every heart stopping moment on the road.

 

We drove up and over the hill and Lake Ercina came into view, complete with a tiny restaurant and a fair amount of day trippers and some serious hikers.

We parked the car and had a bit of a wander but the ground was VERY wet underfoot (somehow I was wearing hiking sandals) and Fi and I were also still recovering from our epic walk the day before so we didn’t venture too far.

(We were to realise later that the respiratory symptoms and tiredness we all came to feel over the coming days was in fact Covid! It made Fiona and I even more proud of our achievement on the Ruta del Cares which was in retrospect Day 1 😢)

Some time later and safely off of the mountain, we decided to investigate the easier to access but no less well known sites, the first of which was the Santa Cueva de Covadonga or Holy Cave of Covadonga.

“THE SHRINE WITHIN THE HOLY Cave of Covadonga is dedicated to the Virgin of Covadonga. But though the cave is now linked to Christianity, it’s believed it was first a site for prehistoric pagan worship.

Covadonga is an important site in Christian history. It was where Christian forces in Iberia defeated a Muslim army at the Battle of Covadonga, marking the beginning of the Spanish Reconquista.

According to Christian tradition, the cave was where Pelagius of Asturias, a Visigoth nobleman and founder of the Kingdom of Asturias, found a statue of the Virgin Mary that a hermit had erected. The statue then later miraculously helped his forces defeat their enemies. According to another version of history, Pelagius and a group of Christian refugees sought refuge in the cave, where they found safety and fed on honey from the bees that lived there. The Christian troops then returned after their victory at the Battle of Covadonga to place the statue there.”

Whatever you believe it is an important spiritual site and we climbed the stairs to where several people were worshipping in the tiny chapel before continuing through the tunnel which connects to the precinct dominated by the spectacular Basilica de Santa Maria la Real de Covadonga.

Built between 1877 and 1901 and constructed entirely of pink limestone it is a magnificent Neo- Romanesque Church that dominates the skyline. We had a look inside (less magnificent) and then made our way back down the hill to the car and then on to Cangas de Onis.

Crossing the car bridge and walking back over the (quite steep) Roman bridge was enough for us today (with our soon to be confirmed Covid symptoms 😜) and we headed back to our accommodation just over an hour away.

This was our last day in the mountains so we had a bit of packing up and consolidating to do before moving on the next day, this time to the beautiful city of León.

Since we had decided to include the Picos in our itinerary many months ago, Fiona and I had been committed to doing the Ruta del Cares (Cares Gorge) hike, also known as La Garganta Divina, the Divine Gorge and a very apt description it proved to be.

It follows the deep gorge created by the Cares River from the village of Poncebos to the village of Cain and return for a total of 23.6 kms – the route from village to village by road is approximately 100km and nearly three hours on winding mountain roads.

So, we were faced with a dilemma, not sure if we were up to the return trip by foot, how to get back?

We arrived into the tiny village of Cain just in time for lunch and our serving of the local signature dish of fabada, (fat white beans) was ENORMOUS and defeated all of us 😂

Fiona and visited the restrooms (the last one for 12kms!), zipped up our coats and posed for pics at the beginning of the trail before waving goodbye to Russell who was going home with our guide, they would meet us at the other end.

After a lovely sunny morning sadly the heavens decided to open and it began raining as soon as we began walking! The rain would accompany us for about three quarters of our hike, not ideal but character building…

Fiona had tragically left a (“perfectly good” she told me) rain jacket in Australia and so the emergency poncho came out of my bag and actually did a surprisingly good job although we didn’t look like the most professional walkers on the trail 😂

With the weather just not cooperating I eventually packed the camera away and relied on the more ‘all weather’ iPhone as the rain became steadier. I still managed to take so many photos it is really difficult to cull them so please indulge me and I hope you appreciate (quite) a few of this magnificent region and probably one of the highlights of our whole trip.

There are some ‘passwords’ required at various points along the way which resulted in Fiona having to stare down the ‘local trail guides’ but we managed to get past without anyone going over the edge 😂

At the deepest part of the gorge the river is 1.5kms below and the sense of grandeur is breathtaking, with or without rain being able to experience this is an absolute privilege.

The last little stretch involves an uphill gradient followed by quite a steep downhill section with very loose gravel underfoot and after carefully negotiating this with very tired legs we were somewhat relieved to reach our pick up point just shy of four hours since leaving Cain.

With perfect timing Russell and Fernando rounded the corner and we climbed aboard for the journey home – wet, weary, hungry and exhilarated! 🙌

Tomorrow, we reach new heights at Covadonga Lakes.