Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Day Seven on the Camino (Dornelas to Outeiro)

This morning we left the beautiful gardens at Casa Goris ...




Our Señors (in other words our "Honeys") drove us back to yesterday's ending point ... So we started "Day Seven" not knowing the who, what, where and why of today's "Way"!


We have found we had a lack of information due to the absence of a proper detailed map of the route we are taking. 

Instead we are working with an uninformative photocopy of the trail with limited info provided by the Office of Tourism.

Because of this "Molly" (our GPS) the woman of the house, oh I mean the woman of the "Citroën C3"(GPS) ... has trouble finding her way and our "Chase" car sometimes has great difficulty knowing where we are ...



We walked and for the first time on the walk we found some signage and a café in Castro on the"Way" for a quick cool drink of juice for me and Cola Light with ice with for Madame M.




The water of life ....

                

We walked far and near to the new railway bridge...
Señor Honey is astonished at the amount and extent of new road and rail construction; all built to standards rarely seen in North America. 
While we see numerous construction projects (houses and apartments) in an unfinished state it is clear that a considerable portion of Spain's national debt has gone in to infrastructure which will in time aid Spain's economic recovery.








We finally found our way to Ponte Ulla..




As we crossed the old bridge into Ponte Ulla ... we were greeted by a local Señora who we think had just come back from a walk on the Camino ... she had a bag full of pine cones!



After a phone call between Madame M. and Monsieur Guy we were to meet the Señors ... 
a quick drink and some calamares and we were on our way.




Wind beneath my wings ... we were so appreciative of the warm breezes when the wind was blowing...
 

Finally ... Outeiro 

Our day finished with the "Hunt for Casa Roberto" ...
This place was not easy to find ....



Spanish lawn mowers ...


After we found our way to Casa Roberto, checked in and settled in ... 
The Señors spent a little time in the Bodega.




Then we headed down the road to a local bar ... here Madame M. and Monsieur Guy were able to cheer on the Belgian Red Devils as they won the match of soccer.

                       
  

Here the amigos are walking back to the Casa ... soon dinner!



                    

Tomorrow ... day eight



Monday, June 16, 2014

Snakes And Ladders (Day Six on the Camino)

#CaminodeSantiagodeCompostela#Bandeira#Dornelas#CaminoMozarabe
#ViadelaPlata

This is Monday's walk...

Our Walk today started in Silleda ... "Allez"  ... On to the next place!

The directions / signs took us from the paved highways to the "Real Caminos"


It was like a game of "snakes and ladders" ... Up and down, zig-zagging and criss-crossing between the rural "Caminos" and the paved roads and highways.






It was not an exciting walk today ... not a lot of sites well maybe I should correct myself because we did meet up with our Señors in Bandeira before we headed to our next destination.

It is amazing at the Spanish cafés when you order a drink ... "If you are hungry when you leave it is your own fault"...
It is on the house ...

                   
Toxa River



We criss-crossed the highways ...once through a tunnel under the N525 which was decorated with crosses and the emblematic clam shells ...




And then we had to walk on the overpass over the "Auto-Pista" ... I had to once again face my fears about heights.





You never walk alone ... Madame M. and her new friend.





We walked further than planned and we are actually ahead of our planned itinerary for our walking days...

We finally found Dornelas and the nearest intersection on the highway to meet up with the "Señors".


We headed back to Merza with a detour at a Monastery ... this one is under restoration and the inside is totally empty.







We dined at Casa Goris this evening after meeting some Flemish pilgrims who had been biking from Seville to Santiago. It is a small world ... These lovely people do not live far from Madame M. and Monsieur Guy's hometown in Belgium.



Three more days ...