Lugo - Sobrado Dos Monxes (By Bus)

I woke up at 8am, got dressed, and went downstairs to the restaurant to read my Bible.  I'm finished reading the gospel of Matthew, and am now reading Mark.

Jen likes to sleep in, and I didn't have the patience to wait for her before eating breakfast, so I ate on my own.  At 9am she came down and joined me.

There was tension in the air.  I can't explain why, but I just know it's there.  I think she's averse to leaving Lugo, much less staying in a monastery in Sobrado.  No harsh words were said though.

We walked around town until around 1:30pm, and just before taking a taxi to Friol, we got some ice cream to cool us off.  It was actually a pretty hot day.

By 3pm we were in Friol, where we had enough time to sit in a park for a while before catching a bus to Sobrado.

We arrived in Sobrado at 4:45, and the first thing - almost the only thing - we could see from a distance was the massive towers of the church.

From the exterior, the monastery looked quite unkempt, but once inside I was actually really surprised how well taken care of everything was.

We checked in, quite tired and a little stressed.  I'm stressed because I know the end is coming: Jennifer will leave tomorrow and go to La Coruña.  That makes me sad.  She, on the other hand, is stressed (I think) because she worries about missing the bus tomorrow, and not having all her clothes washed and dried for the trip.  Talk about different sources of stress.

After we checked in, she plunked down in her bed and read a little.  I, on the other hand, had a quick nap, until 7pm, at which point I headed down for visperas.  The liturgy was inviting and accessible.

We skipped dinner at the monastery, going instead to the Plaza bar across the street to watch the Barcelona - Real Madrid game and eat there.  I was surprised that most people cheered for Real Madrid.  Given the magical style of Barcelona's game the past few years, and given the horrible antics of Real's coach (Mourinho), I thought most people would cheer for Barcelona.  But I was wrong.  Maybe it has something to do with the separatist aspirations of the Catalan people, I don't know.  Regardless, the game was great, and the final score was 2-2.

Tomorrow Jennifer and I will go our own way.  I'm sad.

Day 14: Lugo - San Román de Retorta (19 Kms)

Going for a 20km walk?  Try this on for breakfast: a massive sausage, 2 eggs, patatas fritas, a loaf of bread, and a café con leche!

Given our fairly short itinerary today, only 19kms of walking, and given that we wouldn't be looking for a place to stay in San Román, Jen and I decided to sleep in and not rush our day.  We woke up at 8:30, left Brios at 9:30, and only started walking after breakfast, at 10:30.

Less than three hours into our walk we arrived at Canedo, where we stopped for a drink and a rest at As Seras.  Canedo has, as any good small town in Spain does, two staples: a church and a bar.

Overall, today's route was rather boring.  The first half was mostly on pavement, which is hard on my feet.  A couple sections were a bit dangerous too, in terms of oncoming traffic.  Our guidebook warned that this may happen, and our experience confirmed it.

Most of the areas we walked through had farms, such as the one below.

Towards the end, we walked through a couple forests, near Bacurín.

But even though the scenery was boring, walking with Jennifer was a nice change from previous days.  Knowing her for 4+ years means that I have a comfort level, a way of being, that goes much deeper and is much "safer" than any other relationship in recent years.  We only speak when someone has something to say, and it doesn't have to be anything significant, it can be something quite mundane, and it usually is.  And better yet, I almost never feel like I have to say anything at all.  

In years past I'd have been uncomfortable being with someone and yet not saying anything, but I've come to treasure that in our friendship.  I've begun measuring closeness with someone else not terms of how much is said between us, but in terms of how we fare with silence: if I can't be silent with someone, I'm not sure I can be with them at all.

We arrived in San Román at 3:30, and bought ourselves a coffee at the local bar.  I was pleasantly surprised when a local Spaniard offered to give us a ride back to Lugo.  He was going that way anyways, he said.  "How kind!", I thought.  Forty five minutes later, I was equally surprised - and disappointed - to find out that the driver had a sick wife, sister and mother, and that he was unemployed and had 2 kids to feed.  He wanted 30 Euros for the ride.  Latin America made more sense after this experience.

We ate dinner at  Povio's, or Porio's, or something along those lines.  I ate filete de ternera, with a tortilla francesa, patatas, ensalada, and accompanied by an albariño wine.

Towards the end of the evening I got quite annoyed with Jennifer because she spent a long time looking for something on her tablet.  I felt ignored, but I didn't mention anything to her and just went to sleep.

Tomorrow we will leave Lugo and head for Sobrado.

More Rest In Lugo

I was quite pleased this morning, waking up and not having to pack all my stuff into a backpack and get walking for 20+ kms!

We decided to change up our routine and try a different place for breakfast, so we went to Don Leon's, where I had a café con leche and a chocolate croissant.  But actually, before we even went for breakfast we had a tour of the cathedral in Lugo.  It's a magnificent church!  

There was one statue in particular that struck me to the core, a statue of Joseph and Jesus.  They are walking, perhaps in the field somewhere or outside their house in their yard, Joseph holding Jesus' hand, and as they walk, Joseph glances down at a delighted and joyful Jesus.  Joseph's glance towards the young boy is so tender, so embracing, so loving, it really touched me.  And Jesus too, he has such a joyful and trusting expression on his face.  It's the image of a good and healthy father-son relationship.

In the tradition of the church Mary gets so much attention, I sometimes feel bad for Joseph, and so I welcomed this beautiful image.  The artist got it just right.

After touring the cathedral we walked around the muralla romana, the Roman wall that encircles the old part of the city.  Lugo is one of 2 cities in the world that still has such a wall.  What's unique about it is that it encircles (what would've been) the entire city (in the middle ages).  It spans about 3kms, and took us an hour to walk, at a slow and leisurely pace.  As always, I took pictures during our walk: many pictures.

 The timing of our visit to Lugo actually couldn't have been more perfect, because this whole week is fiesta.  They're celebrating their patron saint, San Froilán, and so most people have the week off work or school, and there are festivities everywhere.

One of the things that I've found refreshing about Spain is that there seem to be lots of children around, everywhere.  In the western world it's unusual to see places with many kids, but I wonder if Spain bucks that trend.

Below is a picture of a culinary specialty of Galicia, pulpo.  Octopus is advertised in almost every food establishment.  I tried some at lunch, and thought it was just ok, it had the feel and texture of squid, and it tasted similar, but then again, my seafood tastebuds are rather underdeveloped.  Jen liked it more than I did.  We also ordered pimientos de padrón, small, salted and seasoned grilled green peppers.  Now they were good!

Below, a gigantic pot of paella.  Mmmm.

For dinner we stayed inside the ancient Roman walls and ate at a restaurant.  This caused a bit of tension for Jennifer I think.  She wasn't that hungry and was wanting to be a bit more picky in terms of choosing a place to eat, including going to a place that would mean we wait upwards of 30 minutes for a table.  I, on the other hand, was starving, and just wanted to go to a place where we could sit down without too much of a wait.  Usually she wins out on restaurant selection, and I'm ok with that, but tonight I think I bulldozed my way through to get what I wanted.

Tomorrow we want to walk to San Román.  We've concluded that the best option  for walking is this route, as it's short and well marked.  The route between Lugo and Sobrado, because it's not officially part of the Camino, is not well marked, and very long.  The plan then, is to walk 20kms tomorrow, somehow find our way back to Lugo, stay here for the night, and then head to Sobrado by bus the day after tomorrow.

I'm so glad to be here with Jen.  To be sure, we've grown a bit distant this past year, but maybe this time together can reverse that.  I'd welcome that, because I enjoy being with her.  I always have.

Rest In Lugo

Morning: we slept in until around 9.  Then we got up and headed downstairs to eat breakfast at Brios.  I ate tostadas (basically a big slice of toast) wtih a café con leche.   

Afterwards, we went to a local dry cleaner to get some of our clothes washed and dried.  Yes, a luxurious treat, after spending a few weeks handwashing our clothes.

Close to noon we arrived at the tourism centre of Lugo, to ask all our "what should we see and do while here" questions and plan out the rest of our stay here.  We decided to walk around the casco viejo (old centre of town) and see the historic sites there: Praza Mayor, the cathedral, and a lots of other beautiful sights.  Then we stopped at Canela for some yoghurt and tarts.  Mmmmm.

Afternoon: late in the afternoon we decided to eat chinese food.  Jen was craving for it, and I was just happy to be with her and get some food in my stomach.  We landed at Shanghai, and treated ourselves to a good lunch.

Dinner: we once again stayed at Brios, and just as last night, I ate filete de ternera, and paired it with a nice tempranillo.  I think we're both tired from so much walking over the past week that come night time, we couldn't be bothered to go out and sight-see.  We've seen so much already!

We've decided to stay in Lugo one more day, before we continue walking.  We're having a bit of a difficult time deciding which route to take out of Lugo.  Given that we've decided to stay in Lugo one more day, we have only 1 day to walk together. 

If we stay on the Primitivo the route is short (about 20kms), kinda boring, and ends in San Román de Retorta.  If we go to Sobrado dos Monxes, the route is long, 30kms, but it's a hard trek because much of it is on pavement.  Our end destination, however, is Sobrado, because that's where I've arranged to stay at a monastery for a few days, and Jen plans to take a bus to La Coruña from there, as that's where she will meet up with her dad.  They plan to walk the last week of the Camino together.

Day 13: O Cádavo - Lugo (31 Kms)

Another brutally hard day.  I definitely don't have the right footwear to go 31kms per day, much of it on pavement!

The morning started in typical Galician fashion: cold, chilly, damp.  But eventually more light broke through.

In Castroverde (8.5 kms) I stopped and gave my feet a break.

Near Soutomerille I met up with the Finish couple that I've seen a few times along the way.  They are a very pleasant couple, farmers.

I had a great conversation with them about life in Europe, Finnish culture, work, and a bit of theology too.  We walked together until we got to Gondar, where I decided to take another break, and where I met up with Martin and Dave, the mad Englishman (below) who has walked 2 prior Caminos and written about one of them, the Via de la Plata.  He's also a self-proclaimed blister-prevention specialist.

The last 10kms today were all on pavement.  Brutal.

I arrived in Lugo at 5pm, and went to the municipal albergue to say goodbye to all my pilgrim companions and to get direction to the private hostal I'd made reservations at.

By 5:30 I'd checked in at Hostal Brios, a lovely little oasis of simple comfort.  The owner was very welcoming, showing interest in my Camino experience, and extending a warm hand of hospitality.

Jennifer arrived at 6, and at around 8 we went downstairs to eat dinner at the Brios restaurant.  I devoured a filete de terrnera, accompanied by, what else but a glass of tempranillo.  For dessert I had a flan.

We spent the rest of the evening catching up.  I love her company.

Day 12: A Fonsagrada - O Cádavo (25 Kms)

The weather in Galicia is very similar to BC weather: cold, chilly, rainy, foggy, damp.  All day.  Everyday.  I didn't expect that, but actually, I don't mind it.  But whereas in the first 10 days of the Camino I had to make sure I stayed cool and hydrated, for the rest of the Camino I'm going to make sure I stay dry and warm.

Today's walk was very hard, with lots of ups and downs.  It began with a steady climb towards Hospital de Montouto, followed by a steep decline to Paradavella.  Then another massive climb ensued, quite possibly the steepest on the Camino yet, given a short distance of about 5kms, through A Lastra to A Fontaneira, where I took a break to mend my blisters (which have behaved relatively well the past few days.

Rain threatened, but never materialized.  As the pictures below indicate, much of today's walk was amidst trees in a forest.  Very quiet.  Peaceful.

I continue to ponder what it is in life that makes me happy.  I have many disappointments in life.  What is it that propels me onward and forward?

Once in O Cádavo I talked to Jennifer on the phone.  How will our visit go?

In the evening I watched a Champions League game with other pilgrims: Barcelona 2 - Lisboa 0.

I'm tired.  Will I crash physically in Lugo?

Day 11: Grandas De Salime - A Fonsagrada (27 Kms)

I haven't said much about prayer in my writings about the Camino.

I've called this walk a prayer walk, a time to pray about my life - direction, choices, discernment - while going for a long walk, so it's quite appropriate to say a few things about it here.

Over the past few years the Jesus Prayer has become important to me.  "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  Or the shorter version which I most often use, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me."  Five times in the gospels, people come up to Jesus and say these words, or variations thereof, and in the tradition of the early church this was a really important prayer (and it continues to be so for many Christians today).  If interested, I wrote about it here.

The reason it's such a popular prayer is because it's so poly-functional.  It fits all contexts of life: praise, thanksgiving, petition, repentance, supplication, you name it, the situation fits: Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!

 

So this is the prayer I have chosen to pray on this walk.  I pray it everyday, all the time, when I walk, when I eat, when I rest, when I'm in a conversation, even in my sleep: whenever it comes to mind, I pray it.  Sometimes I pray it when I come across a spontaneous thought ("Wow, the view from atop this mountain is gorgeous!"), sometimes it's a little more directed ("My blister hurts like hell"), and sometimes it's quite specific, intentional, about a particular issue/person ("Bless Ralph as he continues to heal from his horrible accident").

Before starting the Camino, I sent an email to family and friends, offering to pray for them while on the walk.  I suggested anyone who is interested, to send me his/her list of requests, and I would raise them in prayer to God.  To my surprise, about 25 of my loved ones responded positively, and consequently, I left home with quite a robust prayer list. Over the past two weeks, my list has expanded, both in terms of people to pray for, as well as things to pray about.  This means that I spend a good portion of each day's walk in prayer.

So, what does this actually look like in practise on the Camino?  Here goes.  I choose a person to pray for, based on who is on my heart and mind.  As I walk and ponder life, thoughts eventually lead me to someone on my list, family or friend.  Once this happens, I bring to mind the concerns s/he shared with me.  The next step is simple: I pray the Jesus Prayer 100 times, replacing "me" with the person I pray for: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on Bob."  I try to do it slowly, thoughtfully, and with varied emphasis (if it's a supplication I emphasize mercy, if it's a prayer of confession I add a sinner to the prayer, if it's a prayer of praise or thanksgiving I emphasize Lord).  This gives the prayer a determined focus, direction, and rhythm.  It takes me about 15 minutes to "cover" one person.  Then my thoughts continue, until I arrive at another person on my list.

As I remember the particular concerns I'm holding up to the Lord in prayer, I sometimes forget the number of times I've prayed already.  While this is not a huge deal (God forbid I pray for Bob 99 or 101 times!), I do try to bring in a count system.  Right now it's just my hands, the left hand to count in "tens", the right hand to count in "fives".  I'm beginning to see the importance of prayer aids, like rosaries or prayer beads.  They would come in handy at this point, but as of yet I don't have any.

I don't pray specifically for everyone everyday.  Since I made a promise to everyone who responded to my invitation, I do keep track on a notebook who I've prayed for.  But as fair as I try to be, I do end up praying for some people more than others.  Ralph, for example, is constantly on my mind.  Jennifer too, is in my heart.  Oralia, and the relational pain she's experiencing, is heartbreaking.  In terms of people I've met while on the Camino, I pray for Markus and Martin often.

What are the personal concerns that I've brought with me on the Camino?  There are about a million of them, but the main ones are vocational and relational discernment.  

Vocational: I went to university, worked in the marketplace (x2), did a missions term, went so seminary, and then studied chaplaincy.  What's next?  What door awaits me?  Will I recognize an opportunity, and will I have the courage to walk through it?  How open am I to the Lord's leading?

Lord Jesus Christ have MERCY on me!

Relational: if I'm honest, the relational challenge for me is more on my mind than the vocational.  Put simply, growing up, I'd never imagined I'd still be single at this point in my life, and this causes me great stress, pain, and disappointment.  Subconcsiously, 2 statements that my mom said to me over the years have come to mind recently: 1- "You should take the search for a life partner seriously, otherwise you will end up alone when you're older."  2- "You will probably never marry."

How prophetic.  When I was younger I kept waiting for the "perfect" fit in a woman, letting some very good opportunities pass by.  And now, I wonder if indeed I ever will marry.

Companionship.  Connection.  Why is it so hard to find that in our world?  These are the things that are on my heart.

Lord Jesus Christ, have MERCY on me!

 

The picture above was taken at a bar in Alto de Acebo, near the halfway mark of today's walk.  It's actually in the province of Galicia.  I've finished my stay in Asturias, and will spend the rest of my Camino in Galicia.

The bar is quite isolated, in the middle of nowhere.  The nearest town's an hour's drive away.  The owner, pictured, has lived here all his life, and in fact, this establishment has been owned and passed on by his familial ancestors for upwards of 300 years.  Absolutely amazing, the number of pilgrims they've served over the years.  What a ministry!

The picture below is of a Frenchman, Erwan, who I met on today's walk.  He started his walk in France about 2 months ago, and has made his way all the way here.  Just over a year ago he had back surgery and was told he'd in all likelihood never walk again, and yet here he is, a true pilgrim.

LORD Jesus Christ, have mercy on Erwan!

Day 10: Berducedo - Grandas de Salime (21 Kms)

In some ways today's journey was similar to yesterday's: a steep incline to begin the day, and then an equally steep decline.  The difference is that there was much less fog today, and the distance much shorter.

I'd planned to begin walking with Francisco, but I forgot my walking stick at the albergue so I had to return and get it.  It was only a 5-minute trek back, but Francisco was a little annoyed with me I think, so when I returned with the stick, he'd already left without me.  Too bad, we went out for dinner last night, and continued our very interesting conversation there.

The first 2 hours or so were steep uphill, and a good portion of it on a paved road, as the picture below indicates.  There were also many wind turbines along the way.  I've discovered over the past few weeks here that Spain is a world leader in wind turbine technology, so it's been quite common to see turbines all along the Camino.

The summit of today's walk was Buspol, a small village - if you can call it that - of about 5 houses and a chapel.  The next 3 pictures below were taken just behind the chapel, overlooking the valley.

When I arrived near the bottom of the valley, I met up with Martin again.  I met him in Salas at the restaurant, and we've had a few good conversations since.  A staunch atheist he is, so our chats are lively to say the least.  But he's a good man, I enjoy his company. 

At the bottom of the valley we crossed a dam, pictured below, and then went up a hill and to a restaurant for an early afternoon coffee.  I was pleasantly surprised to meet up with Jenna again at the restaurant.  Turns out that Brian was so sick that he had to be hospitalized, so Jenna was "enjoying" a day off at the adjacent hotel.  I understand that he will be back up and about by tomorrow or the day following: I wish him a good recovery.

We exchanged addresses, took some pictures, and then enjoyed a sip of the very tasty Spanish coffee.

Martin and I continued onwards, as did our bantering.  We broadened our talk to include politics and economics, and he had a very well crafted opinion about each of these topics.  This comes to me as no surprise, because he's a retired man who has lots of time to think, and who enjoys interacting with others while walking.  This is his 2nd Camino, having previously completed the French route in its entirety.

Once in Grandas, we checked into the municipal lodging home.  The attendant there was eclectic to say the least.  A very strange man.  But the facilities were top notch, by far the best albergue on the Primitive Way.  San Juan was nice because it was cozy, but the housing set up here is new, clean, and roomy.

I was also pleasantly surprised that the church in Grandas was open.  It was a bit too dark inside so I didn't take any pictures, but I did spend a good 30 minutes inside, sitting down and reflecting on my journey thus far.

Dinner was very special.  I met all of the people pictured below in San Juan, and so it was a reunion of sorts, at a local restaurant.  I learned from Mariola that while the tempranillo is the staple wine in Spain, the crianza is a step up, if you will, both in quality and cost.  We ordered 2 bottles of the Bodegas Bordon Crianza (2007) and polished them off in no time.  The restaurant owner was an idiot, charging us 2 Euros for each basket of bread (a first thus far), and we contested it at first but then chose let it go.  The food was decent.

Tomorrow another long walk awaits me: 27kms, to A Fonsagrada.  I'm looking forward to arrive in Lugo where I will take a few days' break with Jennifer.