Cee to Finnisterri 11/22/23

 

What a glorious day.  This was my favorite day so far.  Every morning, it seems to drizzle, but when we get started, the mist vanishes. This morning, there was a rainbow, a full half circle. The End of the Earth hike goes back a number of centuries.  Men made this treks from all over Europe and there were no hotels with showers, or other accommodations.  The botafumerio in the Cathedral de Santiago was because pilgrims smelled - like really bad.  Think months without bathing, no deodorant, no change of clothes. People didn't have toothbrushes much less toothpaste. Many of the pilgrims would walk to Finisterre for the "clense".  And when you get to the end, it is hard to believe it is not the end of the world - especially when it was believed that the earth was flat. Talk about some good changes since those times.

Looking back at Cee.

A mysterious door for Mary Popham.  Number 33 sounds intriguing.

Another view of the bay.

We passed by this church with its ornate spires.  Too bad it wasn't open, although I have learned over the years that if the outside is elaborate, the inside is usually very austere. I still like to go in and say my prayers.

They never seem to feature girl pilgrims, especially red-haired ones.  Isn't she cute?

Dennis and I ate our picnic lunch overlooking this beautiful bay. I saw a young woman wade out up to her knees.  She shreiked and ran back.  So I am guessing the water was very cold.

We passed this house.  This is one garage wall, but the whole house was covered in shells. The owner, a man of 70 plus years, tried to lure us in with a bottle of some kind of alcohol and glasses.  We think he was just lonely but we quickly passed.

These manicured trails are fabulous.

I have long loved the Spanish tiles, especially the blue ones that are entire scenes. If I ever have a blue kitchen, I intend to put one of these behind my fancy stove.  Did you know in years past that blue in a kitchen was verboten?  Blue was not considered appetising.  A Danish woman engineer designed an super efficient kitchen for the Germans and she painted it blue.  She believed blue repeled flies.

What a grand place to own a sailboat.

Another one of these baskets. I am determined to find someone who can tell me about them. I keep telling Dennis that I will buy a ticket if he will carry it home.  So far he is not enthusiastic.

We finally reached Finisterre, and this statue dominated the square.

It was about 3 more miles to the End of the Earth park.  This is one of the most beautiful crosses that I have seen in any country. I have photos of it from my last trip here.

We are standing at mile marker 0.  What a grand accomplishment.  I think Dennis was pretty tired, but making it to the end always cheers people right up.  We were at 15.9 miles when we reached "0". I told Dennis that we should walk to the other end of the Earth.  Unfortunately, I don't think anyone has ever defined that.

For my friend JoAnn Hepperman.  Not one but two Rotary tributes at the End of the Earth.  Those Rotarians are everywhere!

The Finisterre Lighthouse.

Another symbol of hikers - the boot.  This one was bronze.

The last cross perched right at the edge of the cliffs.

What is not to like about finishing a difficult hike and sharing a glass of wine.  How many people can say that have toasted each other at the End of the Earth. 

Nothing to report about dinner.  We were hungry at 5:00 so we went looking for  a pizza.  People don't eat here until about 7:30 or 8:00.  We ended up in a Kebab place.  We got a salad which was pretty good and then a pizza that was meh. Does anyone buy those Amy's frozen (supposedly heathy) meals?  The sauce tasted like the sauce on all of the Mexican entrees. The Indian man was so nice that I would never report that in a post with the name of the restaurant.  So it was still a great experience.

Tomorrow we hike up the coast to Muxia, pronounced Mushia.  

Hugs and kisses and goodnight.

A Picota Mazaricos to Cee, Cee 8/21/23

 

This beautiful house was right across from our hotel.  I just loved it.  We are very near the ocean and the cottage looked so clean and beachy.

Two days ago, I started getting a sore throat, a cough, and sniffles.  Yesterday, I walked 24+ miles, not feeling 100%. I didn't sleep much last night, so when I woke up this morning, I was less than my best.  Dennis put his foot down (wisely, I let him), and we decided to take the bus to Cee, Spain.  What a cluster. Our directions needed to be clearer.  Somehow, we didn't realize we were spending two nights here, so we got the only bus to Cee and then returned via taxi for our second night.  I am sure the hotel was amused at our return because they knew we were spending two nights here.  We felt a little foolish but not enough to count. Ah, but what a dull vacation if you don't have a few mishaps. Actually, we didn't mind coming back here, even red-faced, because we liked the hotel and the food was terrific. Tomorrow, we get a taxi from here to Cee to contiue our journey.  We will be back on track.

Numerous places we have been have these huge baskets.  We are guessing that it is some kind of a lottery to win each one.  This was definitely a dessert lover's dream and it was about a foot or two taller than me.

We wandered around Cee and went into the Santa María da Xunqueira Church.

It was a small parish church built in 1830 but the altar was very pretty in that Spanish over the top gold tradition.

Dennis finally found the one that got away.

Call me dull, but I ordered the lentil soup again and Dennis, having tasted mine last night ordered it too.

Dennis ordered the chicken dinner, a typical Spanish chicken breast cooked on the grill in olive oil.  Don't let the pale color fool you, they are very tasty.  It came with fries and a variety of mushrooms cooked with garlic in olive oil.  Best part of the dish. I didn't get a second course because the soup was filling especially with some excellent bread.

I have had this "ice cream cake" a number of times here in Spain.  It is one of my favorites.  It is quality vanilla ice cream layered with chocolate.  The chocolate is like a dip cone - crunch and sweet. 

This is the basket in the bar/restaurant at our hotel.  This one is a wino's dream. Before we leave I am going to find out about these baskets.

I am going to take my cough syrup and cover up and be ready for the hike to finnisterre tomorrow.  Hugs and kisses - sleep well.

Negreira to A Picota Mazaricos 11/20/23

 Holy smokes, what a day! A mere 24.5 miles of up and down.  I thought it would never end. 

As I was leaving Negreira, I spotted this statue of St. James.

The old city gates.

I loved this statue.

Especially when I walked around to the back of it.

Beautiful scenery.

There were at least six of these solid black cats in this village.  I was feeling relieved that none of them crossed my path, not that I believe in any of those old superstitions. Best to be careful just in case. About mile 20, I was beginning to think one had snuck in front of me.

I know I am in Spain when I see these.

Lots of these mini waterfalls with there gurgling sounds. Such peaceful music.

There were beautiful stones flanking the trail, making me feel like I was walking down the red carpet.

The Alto da Pena Alburgue had Coca-Cola Zero and it was brand new and shiny clean.

I ordered a French omlette bocadilla, which is a fancy egg sandwich.  There were real chickens nearby and having a fresh egg is so much tastier. And the breadman delivers the bread daily.  Might be a simple sandwich but it was delicious. I ate the shorter half and saved the large section for later.

I saw this sign when I THOUGHT I had about six miles to go.  Soooooo tempting.

This was uphill. I thought I was going to walk to the top and continue straight up into the sky.

I knew I was getting close - maybe under a mile.  I pulled out my phone to check the map for distance and it said that I was off trail.  OFF TRAIL!  I had been carefully following the trail markers so this couldn't be.  OMG! I decided to to believe my phone because it had been right all day.  I also knew there were two towns that you could spend the night in.  No signs, of course, because I am in the woods. I didn't want to end up in the wrong town (which I have done before) so I walked back up the steep mini mountain.  I managed to add 3 miles to my already 21 mile day.

I was so tired I could barely walk up the stairs to our room.  A couple of glasses of wine and while, I cannot say that I was as good as new, at least I was better. Dinner was delicious.  I had a enormous bowl of lentil soup.  I would call it lentil stew.  It was filled with many vegetables and the Spanish are wizards of tasty broth.  For my entre, I got a tomato filled with tuna salad.  Spain has excellent tuna.  Forget Starkist, it is barely the minor leagues compared to the tuna here.  Ice cream for dessert and it was off to sleepy town Spain.

Mararicos

 Hello all - I had a 24-mile day so no real blog.  I am fine, just too darn tired.  You will get all of today's photos and information with tomorrow's news.  Hugs and kisses!

Santiago to Negreira 11/19/23

 

        I wasted two miles today trying to find the start of the trail.  Finally, a trail marker and I am on the way.

I love these walled trails.

And I love walking through tunnels of greenery.

My first break - Coke Zero.  These people were so nice.  When I paid for my drink, the bartender gave me a wristlet that said Galacia 2023 and a patch to put on my backpack. The whole bar wished me Buen Camino. 

Look at this bad boy.  His bark was like a big base drum.

I didn't see any live cows, but I liked the ones on the barn.

 I think these are Beech mushrooms, but I don't know enough about mushrooms to ever eat one in the wild.

Such a meticulously groomed shrub for a poorly maintained yard?

My first view of Ponte Maceira.

GaliWonders states,  "Crossed by the Tambre River, Ponte Maceira is a small village with just 73 inhabitants (at the time of writing). It is part of the list of Most Beautiful Towns in Spain (the first town in the Province of A Coruña to achieve it) and, recently, it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).

Its bridge, A Ponte Vella, is undoubtedly its most recognizable asset and dates back to Roman times, as we will see later. Hórreos (granaries), mills, and cobbled streets complete the attributes of this picturesque town, which also stands out for its green surroundings."

And no trip is ever complete without some cat photos, particularly black and white ones.  Today, I got a two-for-one. I haven't had anyone look at me with this much suspicion since I was chasing fugitives.

I was in the bar (with Dennis) and heard lively Spanish music.  When I investigated, I discovered this busload of seniors dancing the afternoon away. The guy in the reflective vest was the singer, and he was good.

Another wonderful dinner.  I started with a light Galician soup of white beans (yum!), greens, and potatoes. Then Dennis and I both had fried Hake with salad and potatoes.  The salads here are so fresh; we are close enough to the ocean to have fantastic fresh fish.

So goodnight and sweet dreams.  My day was 22.1 miles, and I am soon to meet the sandman.