Friday, January 2, 2009
May 28, 2008 - Pontevedra to Briallos
This is pretty close to my journal entry, just a few things deleted.
Started the day with two cafe con leche from the machine. Heaven!
We started before nine but spent some time in the city, taking pictures and visited a church for a stamp on our credential. It started to pour rain, a truly soaking rain for most of the morning. We walked through small towns and then another forest. Again, it was all just so lovely.
We started a gentle climb through the forest then came upon a little bar, something Don Pulpo. Pulpo was the joke of the trip and early on, Ray was taking pictures of everything that had an octopus on it.
We stopped at a bar and I had a cafe con leche. We ran into the New Zealanders there. They were staying at hotels rather than refugios so we only saw them on the road. We got the bar to stamp our credential then we headed out to eat our bag lunch in this old station type structure across the street. Amazing how such simple food can be so satisfying. I had two small "black" tomatos, a piece of bread, a slice of ham and cheese (they cut in nice and thick there), a fig and some almonds. None of this was refrigeratated overnight!
Before we hit Don Pulpos, the path was very wet, basically underwater. My lovely wonderful expensive Italian leather boots stayed completely dry as they have through the entire trip. As for the rest, their hiking shoes were soaked through.
It finally stopped raining and the sun came out later in the afternoon. We were able to take off the pack covers and my towel and panties were able to dry.
Today I was first really able to relate to the original pilgrims, truding along - hungry, thirsty and tired.
I wanted to go on to Caldas de Reise, it was supposed to be a great resort town with lots going on but the rest wanted to stay at Briallos for some reason, I think because they didn't want to pay for a hotel room. I was so pissed, the refugio was in the middle on nowhere, no bars, no restaurants - NOTHING! Angela, the Canadian girl we met two nights ago was here when we got there. The refugio was open but no keeper. Angela said the refugio woman earlier told her of a store and restaurant nearby, a Casa Blanco. We headed out toward some houses on a hill and asked a man working in his yard if there was a place to get food. He pointed us to a "white house" across the highway. Turns out it was a tiny little store in this lady's house. It was locked when we got there but the woman saw us and opened up. We picked up pasta and sauce. I got some yogurt for breakfast, a small chorizo and beer. When we got back to the refugio, we ate like pigs. It was comical, I was actually licking the bowl!
I wish we went on to Caldas de Reis. We likely would have run into other pilgrims and had a decent restaurant meal and some fun in the city.
Other than Angela, only one other pilgrim showed up here, a young guy from Portugal. Nice kid, speaks good English. He asked if he could buy one of our beers and I gave him one. Later, I gave him another while he was eating dinner. He was very appreciative.
Additional Thoughts:
Other than the thought of missing out of a possible really good time in Caldas de Reis, another reason I wanted to go on was because it would have made Wednesday a long day, Thursday a shorter day and then Friday, the day we were to reach Santiago, another long day. We hadn't had a nice restaurant meal since Sunday night in Tui (I don't count the Chinese restaurant - we might as well have had pizza). It seemed there was really a lot of see and do in the town and I felt like I really missed out on experiencing one of the Camino's highlights.
Other pilgrims mentioned that you could get a hotel in Caldas de Reis for about 30 Euros. That would be only 15 Euros each. I thought the extra 12 Euros over the cost of the refugio would have been well worth it for the experience.
The refugio was in an old school house in the middle of farm country. It was the only one we encountered that had separate men's and woman's dorms.
Started the day with two cafe con leche from the machine. Heaven!
We started before nine but spent some time in the city, taking pictures and visited a church for a stamp on our credential. It started to pour rain, a truly soaking rain for most of the morning. We walked through small towns and then another forest. Again, it was all just so lovely.
We started a gentle climb through the forest then came upon a little bar, something Don Pulpo. Pulpo was the joke of the trip and early on, Ray was taking pictures of everything that had an octopus on it.
We stopped at a bar and I had a cafe con leche. We ran into the New Zealanders there. They were staying at hotels rather than refugios so we only saw them on the road. We got the bar to stamp our credential then we headed out to eat our bag lunch in this old station type structure across the street. Amazing how such simple food can be so satisfying. I had two small "black" tomatos, a piece of bread, a slice of ham and cheese (they cut in nice and thick there), a fig and some almonds. None of this was refrigeratated overnight!
Before we hit Don Pulpos, the path was very wet, basically underwater. My lovely wonderful expensive Italian leather boots stayed completely dry as they have through the entire trip. As for the rest, their hiking shoes were soaked through.
It finally stopped raining and the sun came out later in the afternoon. We were able to take off the pack covers and my towel and panties were able to dry.
Today I was first really able to relate to the original pilgrims, truding along - hungry, thirsty and tired.
I wanted to go on to Caldas de Reise, it was supposed to be a great resort town with lots going on but the rest wanted to stay at Briallos for some reason, I think because they didn't want to pay for a hotel room. I was so pissed, the refugio was in the middle on nowhere, no bars, no restaurants - NOTHING! Angela, the Canadian girl we met two nights ago was here when we got there. The refugio was open but no keeper. Angela said the refugio woman earlier told her of a store and restaurant nearby, a Casa Blanco. We headed out toward some houses on a hill and asked a man working in his yard if there was a place to get food. He pointed us to a "white house" across the highway. Turns out it was a tiny little store in this lady's house. It was locked when we got there but the woman saw us and opened up. We picked up pasta and sauce. I got some yogurt for breakfast, a small chorizo and beer. When we got back to the refugio, we ate like pigs. It was comical, I was actually licking the bowl!
I wish we went on to Caldas de Reis. We likely would have run into other pilgrims and had a decent restaurant meal and some fun in the city.
Other than Angela, only one other pilgrim showed up here, a young guy from Portugal. Nice kid, speaks good English. He asked if he could buy one of our beers and I gave him one. Later, I gave him another while he was eating dinner. He was very appreciative.
Additional Thoughts:
Other than the thought of missing out of a possible really good time in Caldas de Reis, another reason I wanted to go on was because it would have made Wednesday a long day, Thursday a shorter day and then Friday, the day we were to reach Santiago, another long day. We hadn't had a nice restaurant meal since Sunday night in Tui (I don't count the Chinese restaurant - we might as well have had pizza). It seemed there was really a lot of see and do in the town and I felt like I really missed out on experiencing one of the Camino's highlights.
Other pilgrims mentioned that you could get a hotel in Caldas de Reis for about 30 Euros. That would be only 15 Euros each. I thought the extra 12 Euros over the cost of the refugio would have been well worth it for the experience.
The refugio was in an old school house in the middle of farm country. It was the only one we encountered that had separate men's and woman's dorms.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
May 27, 2008 - Redondela to Pontevedra
This is close to my journal entry but edited to delete personal comments.
Bad start to the day. Karin and I had a falling out and when we left the refugio, she took off - turns out she was heading in the wrong direction. Joe went after her and brought her back but she and Joe kept a super fast pace and I couldn't keep up. I was pretty far behind and thought maybe I would get a chance to walk alone that day but Ray eventually stayed back. I don't know if he chose to go slower or was instructed to stay back with me. In any event, Ray and I did our own Camino and it was far and away the best day yet!
We walked along little villages that had tiny streets that twisted and turned - all up hill. We did our first real climb which was really tough but throught a forest. The forests here are unbelievable, so luch and dense - almost tropical looking. At the top of the mountain you could see the ocean and a bridge as well as boats and ships. Truly awesome! A group of Spanish guys asked us to take their picture at the top and they took ours. The Spanish guys looked like day hikers, they had no packs and were even wearing good smelling men's cologne.
The descent had one real tricky spot. The road was out and we had to take a short but very steep descent thru deep mud. I could not have made it without my stick. Ray did it carrying a grocery bag in each hand - truly wonderous! (The morning plan was that he and Karin would switch off carrying the bags).
After the descent we entered Arcade, a seashore resort town. We stopped at a bar and I had a cafe con leche with the free cookies that come with it. I love cafe con leche!
On the way out of town, this was so cool, there was an old lady in the regional dress chasing a little dog with her pitchfork. This was all happening in another totally scenic place.
Our second climb of the day was great fun. It was steep and we had to walk on stones thru a flowing stream. Extreme fun! Descent was through a forest and more beautiful countryside.
We arrived at the refugio before it opened so we headed to a little bar across the street. There, we saw the Brits and a Canadian girl who was at the refugio the night before. I had a couple cervazas and the bar gave us each a small but free bowl of Spanish rice and pulpo. It tasted so good.
Joe and Karin eventually showed up. They hit the town a while before and went looking for a post office to mail back some of their extra gear. I opted to just leave my stuff behind at the refugio. I didn't want to deal with finding a post office, a box to send the stuff and all that. So I hope someone will make use of my poncho and rain pants. I also left some makeup and my fel shoe soles. Every ounce counts!
The refugio finally opened and we all headed over. Even though the refugio was on a main highway, it was built on higher ground and you couldn't see the highway from inside, unless you wanted to! There were nice mountain views. The refugio was new and had a washer and dryer as well as a cafe con leche machine!
Karin and I talked about our issues but I felt something had clearly changed between us. At least we could all finish this thing in a cordial manner.
After showering, the two old guys who ran the refugio gave us a free glass of homemade port. It was great and the old guys were real characters - even though they didn't speak a word of English. It was so great to use the washer and dryer, to have truly clean clothes! I shared the laundry with Maia, a Brazilian woman, so it only cost each of us 6 Euros. So well worth it though.
When Joe and Karin were out about the town, he saw a Chinese restaurant that had advertised a multi-course meal for something like 6 Euros and that's where they wanted to eat dinner. I'm thinking why Chinese food - we are in Spain, let's find some Spanish food. But I promised myself I would not ruffle any feathers that night so I was like - whatever!
Turns out the earlier price was for lunch. Dinner was 8 something Euros. The meal itself was kind of funny, it was a multi-course meal and we ate it in like 15 minutes or so. The food was adewuate but my main course was awful, I couldn't even eat it - the fish was foul.
Pontevedra was an ugly town. The little bar across the street was the coolest place in town. Would have been fun to have eaten dinner there. Oh well.
Additional Thoughts:
Ray and I had lunch on some big rocks in the forest. Since he had all the groceries, we ate very well!
Dill grows on the side of the road like weeds here. We saw a few people harvesting it into giant baskets.
I left my stick at the bar in Arcade and realized it after we climbed up a very steep street. Ray waited there while I headed back for the stick and then had to do that climb all over again!
This was far and away the best scenery of all. We had it all, farms, fields, oceans, mountains and even a scenic town.
We also had a little bit of every kind of weather, though for the most part, the day was fairly sunny.
Bad start to the day. Karin and I had a falling out and when we left the refugio, she took off - turns out she was heading in the wrong direction. Joe went after her and brought her back but she and Joe kept a super fast pace and I couldn't keep up. I was pretty far behind and thought maybe I would get a chance to walk alone that day but Ray eventually stayed back. I don't know if he chose to go slower or was instructed to stay back with me. In any event, Ray and I did our own Camino and it was far and away the best day yet!
We walked along little villages that had tiny streets that twisted and turned - all up hill. We did our first real climb which was really tough but throught a forest. The forests here are unbelievable, so luch and dense - almost tropical looking. At the top of the mountain you could see the ocean and a bridge as well as boats and ships. Truly awesome! A group of Spanish guys asked us to take their picture at the top and they took ours. The Spanish guys looked like day hikers, they had no packs and were even wearing good smelling men's cologne.
The descent had one real tricky spot. The road was out and we had to take a short but very steep descent thru deep mud. I could not have made it without my stick. Ray did it carrying a grocery bag in each hand - truly wonderous! (The morning plan was that he and Karin would switch off carrying the bags).
After the descent we entered Arcade, a seashore resort town. We stopped at a bar and I had a cafe con leche with the free cookies that come with it. I love cafe con leche!
On the way out of town, this was so cool, there was an old lady in the regional dress chasing a little dog with her pitchfork. This was all happening in another totally scenic place.
Our second climb of the day was great fun. It was steep and we had to walk on stones thru a flowing stream. Extreme fun! Descent was through a forest and more beautiful countryside.
We arrived at the refugio before it opened so we headed to a little bar across the street. There, we saw the Brits and a Canadian girl who was at the refugio the night before. I had a couple cervazas and the bar gave us each a small but free bowl of Spanish rice and pulpo. It tasted so good.
Joe and Karin eventually showed up. They hit the town a while before and went looking for a post office to mail back some of their extra gear. I opted to just leave my stuff behind at the refugio. I didn't want to deal with finding a post office, a box to send the stuff and all that. So I hope someone will make use of my poncho and rain pants. I also left some makeup and my fel shoe soles. Every ounce counts!
The refugio finally opened and we all headed over. Even though the refugio was on a main highway, it was built on higher ground and you couldn't see the highway from inside, unless you wanted to! There were nice mountain views. The refugio was new and had a washer and dryer as well as a cafe con leche machine!
Karin and I talked about our issues but I felt something had clearly changed between us. At least we could all finish this thing in a cordial manner.
After showering, the two old guys who ran the refugio gave us a free glass of homemade port. It was great and the old guys were real characters - even though they didn't speak a word of English. It was so great to use the washer and dryer, to have truly clean clothes! I shared the laundry with Maia, a Brazilian woman, so it only cost each of us 6 Euros. So well worth it though.
When Joe and Karin were out about the town, he saw a Chinese restaurant that had advertised a multi-course meal for something like 6 Euros and that's where they wanted to eat dinner. I'm thinking why Chinese food - we are in Spain, let's find some Spanish food. But I promised myself I would not ruffle any feathers that night so I was like - whatever!
Turns out the earlier price was for lunch. Dinner was 8 something Euros. The meal itself was kind of funny, it was a multi-course meal and we ate it in like 15 minutes or so. The food was adewuate but my main course was awful, I couldn't even eat it - the fish was foul.
Pontevedra was an ugly town. The little bar across the street was the coolest place in town. Would have been fun to have eaten dinner there. Oh well.
Additional Thoughts:
Ray and I had lunch on some big rocks in the forest. Since he had all the groceries, we ate very well!
Dill grows on the side of the road like weeds here. We saw a few people harvesting it into giant baskets.
I left my stick at the bar in Arcade and realized it after we climbed up a very steep street. Ray waited there while I headed back for the stick and then had to do that climb all over again!
This was far and away the best scenery of all. We had it all, farms, fields, oceans, mountains and even a scenic town.
We also had a little bit of every kind of weather, though for the most part, the day was fairly sunny.
Monday, December 29, 2008
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