Hola!
Leaving Cee, I found this Pilgrim tribute.
The first part of today's 18-mile journey was forests and all up. Pant Pant Gasp Gasp.
Stunning scenery, and I met several other hikers, all headed the opposite way. Many - most people - walk to Finistere or Muxia and then take the bus back to Santiago de Compostela.
My map and the markers did not agree with what I saw. My map (downloaded to my phone) insisted that I turn on a trail that wasn't there. In fact, it chirped and told me I was lost. I went rogue and walked parallel to where the phone erroneously insisted on. It was a bit muddy, but I felt like a real pioneer. I finally got back to the actual trail, and my phone map congratulated me for being back on it. Things have changed for hikers from when I started in Europe more than 30 years ago. I still prefer to follow the trail markers, but it is nice when I am not sure which way the markers mean. Well, at least, when the phone map is correct!
I love being out in the fresh air and farmlands. And today was a nature lover's dream. There was too much uphill for sure, but such scenery and vistas made it work worth it.
From Indo New York, "The Costa da Morte brings back from the Middle Ages the werewolf most feared by pilgrims, and it does so with a festival in his honor. The Vákner, which is the name of the mythological being, will have its own musical event hosted by internationally renowned groups such as Luar na Lubre. This intriguing beast that is trying to be recovered lived in the Dumbría mountains that separate the Xallas plateau and Fisterra, in the middle of the Jacobean Way between Santiago and this place known as the end of the world. The legend of this being occurs just one year after the discovery of America, in 1493, and is carried out by a bishop from Arzendján, Armenia (now Turkey), who continued the ancestral route from the city of the cathedral to Fisterra. The clergyman, named Martyr, assured in his testimony that he had encountered the beast during the tortuous path he took and narrated it in his travel notebook as follows: "We found the Vákner, a large and very harmful wild animal." His adventures caused great astonishment among the population: «How, they told me, have you been able to save yourselves when companies of twenty people cannot pass?» he wrote, adding that after that, he was treated «with the greatest consideration» and that he was taken "From house to house in admiration that he had escaped from the Vákner." Interestingly, I am listening to "Relic" on my iPad about a creature brought back from a grave in South America who is killing people in a NY Museum.
I was lucky with today's weather. There was an 80% chance of rain, and it was dry for the first 60% of the journey. Just as it started to drizzle, I spotted this beautiful bar. It was the first bar I saw for the first 10 miles.
Usually, I picnic on the way, but when I saw this little bar had Omelet Bocatilla, I couldn't resist. The omelet is more of a French omelet. It is very flat and not fluffy like American Omelets. It is cooked in something yummy like duck fat or lard and served on this incredible bread. It is one of my favorite meals in Spain. And to top it off - Coke Zero.
Welcome to Dumbria.
Look how clear this water is.
I followed this river from high up in the mountains for a good part of the second half of the hike.
A trail tunnel.
A most welcome sign. I know I am getting close to my hotel. Mazaricos is actually like a county.
The Pilgrim tributes never stop, and I love to see them. Spanish people are so friendly and welcoming.
Denis and I loved this appetizer. I can't quite place the flavor, but it was familiar. It was like cream cheese in texture but more blue cheese or goat cheese in taste. There were four of them, and right after I snapped this photo, this one was gone, too. I had a veal cutlet with fries, and Dennis had a pork cutlet with fries. The fries here are not frozen ahead of time and are more like home fries. Irresistible.
We had a choice of yogurt with fruit or ice cream cake. Guess which one we chose? Was that even a reasonable question?
I am exhausted today. The trail kicked my fanny. So I bid you goodnight.
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