Terry Callery
Chi Walker
I am writing this from Lugo, as I have just taken the bus from Fonsagrada where I stopped walking the
Primitivo after 8 days on the Camino. In that entire time, I saw just one other pilgrim.
The thing that makes this such a stunningly beautiful walk, which is the jaw-dropping mythic landscapes, is also the thing that makes it "mas duro" very difficult. There are long 5 kilometer climbs
Out of Salas (500 meter elevation), out of Grandas de Salime (600 meters) and out of Pola de Allende.
This is a rugged country of steep valleys with the Cantebrian mountains always to the south.
My bus left Fonsagrada at dawn with tangerine skys framing the "purple majesty" of the rolling mountain
horizon. The views from the LU-530 highway were breathtaking and expansive.
But hiking an elevation of 600 meters is the same as climbing the stairs of a 150 story building.
Water is a real challenge, I did not see a single fountain marked Potable Water....even though I am sure most were. I got to bar/cafe out of Pola 3 km and "Cerrado" closed. No water refill. Same thing when I got to Acebo, bar/cafe closed. Waking the extreme elevations, and I am 66 years old, is one thing.
No water, well it was too much.
Both my French Camino (Slow Camino-My Adventure on the Camino de Santiago) and my Portuguese Camino (Portuguese Camino- In Search of the Infinite Moment) resulted in books I published on Amazon. The Portuguese Camino was a cake-walk compared to the Primitivo's extreme topography.
There will be no book this time. No memorable conversations with other pilgrims. No Compostals.
I will now take the train from Lugo and try the easier Ingles.
Terence Callery
Primitivo after 8 days on the Camino. In that entire time, I saw just one other pilgrim.
The thing that makes this such a stunningly beautiful walk, which is the jaw-dropping mythic landscapes, is also the thing that makes it "mas duro" very difficult. There are long 5 kilometer climbs
Out of Salas (500 meter elevation), out of Grandas de Salime (600 meters) and out of Pola de Allende.
This is a rugged country of steep valleys with the Cantebrian mountains always to the south.
My bus left Fonsagrada at dawn with tangerine skys framing the "purple majesty" of the rolling mountain
horizon. The views from the LU-530 highway were breathtaking and expansive.
But hiking an elevation of 600 meters is the same as climbing the stairs of a 150 story building.
Water is a real challenge, I did not see a single fountain marked Potable Water....even though I am sure most were. I got to bar/cafe out of Pola 3 km and "Cerrado" closed. No water refill. Same thing when I got to Acebo, bar/cafe closed. Waking the extreme elevations, and I am 66 years old, is one thing.
No water, well it was too much.
Both my French Camino (Slow Camino-My Adventure on the Camino de Santiago) and my Portuguese Camino (Portuguese Camino- In Search of the Infinite Moment) resulted in books I published on Amazon. The Portuguese Camino was a cake-walk compared to the Primitivo's extreme topography.
There will be no book this time. No memorable conversations with other pilgrims. No Compostals.
I will now take the train from Lugo and try the easier Ingles.
Terence Callery