THE POWERS OUT AND WE HAD A FLAT

The powers out in all of Spain and Portugal, plus some small areas of southern France.  At least that’s what our B&B host tells us.  It is suspected that It’s a cyber attack by Russia, but really at this point it’s anybody’s guess.  We didn’t know it at the time, but I lost cell service and figured it was the E-Sim in my phone as it crashed once before.  We went to a nearby restaurant for dinner and the lights were out in the dining room but it was unnoticeable due to many windows.  After dinner we stopped at the gas station attached to the restaurant and was told, “no gas”.  I then it dawned on us that the power was out.

We headed the short distance to our B&B and the gate was open confirming that there was no power at the B&B either.  Ivan and Isabell were waiting for us at the front door with the news of the extent of the outage.  Ivan still had cell service on his “company” phone so we had a conversation using Google Translate.  No one knows when the power will come back on.  I mentioned that I tried to get gas and Isabell told me they own the gas station.  The gas station has a convenience store, so I suggested that we all go there and eat all the ice cream before it melted.  Unfortunately that didn’t happen.  So we wait to see what happens.

STRANDED TRAVELERS

As of now we’re in limbo.  With the inability to get gas we’ll have to cool our heals at our current B&B.  We are in farm country near Lugo, a pleasant enough spot, but something gotta give at some point.

Update…..sometime around 6AM the power came back on.  Some of the cities got power sooner than the rural areas, so the village where we are staying was at the back of the line.  Everybody managed and by the time we got up everything was back to normal.  Except for the ice cream, it all melted.

We had a little issue with the rental car, having suffered a flat tire.  Of course there’s not spare and it’s the weekend.  We were about 1/2 mile from our hotel, so we walked back and our host Alberto took over.  Turns out Avis won’t send someone to fix the flat, but they will send a tow truck to tow it away.  They also sent us a taxi to take us to Santiago, 1.5 hours away, to get a replacement car.  Just as the taxi arrives, Alberto gets a phone call from Avis telling him that the Avis office at the Santiago Airport closes at 4 PM, 10 minutes from now being Saturday and all.   So the taxi leaves to go back to Santiago without us and is rescheduled for the morning.  Next morning at the appointed time the same taxi arrives and takes us to the Avis counter in Santiago.  We pick up a brand new car for the last four days of this part of our Spain excursion.

We spent the past 10 days on the Atlantic coast, staying in three different places.  First up, A Guardia. Just across the River Minho from Portugal.  We’ve been here before but we want to return to this picturesque fishing town.  The town is right on the Portuguese Coastal Camino, and I had a previous reservation at a old convent turned hotel for our planned Camino.  It rained most of the time that we were here and we saw lots of wet Pilgrims trudging along.  That could have been us.

THE TOWN COUNCIL  

Our next stop on our journey north was in the seaside resort of Sanxenxo where we rented an apartment for 3 nights.  Situated right on the shoreline, it was one of the nicest places we have stayed.  It had four bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, the all important washing machine plus a covered patio for watching the ocean.  This city is known as a Spanish vacation destination for the rich and famous.  Being off season, it was pretty much dead with many of the hotels and condos shuttered for the season.  Still plenty on options for restaurants and uncrowded promenades for walking along the near empty beach.  We had a relaxing 3 days.

Continuing north we found another gem in Hotel Rustico Lugar do Cotariño. As the name implies its buildings are “rustic” as in old.  There are three main buildings that were a small hamlet from the 1700’s.  The hamlet long since abandoned, its buildings with roofs caved in, gradually became overgrown with vegetation.  Our host Alberto, bought the property and it is now a beautiful B&B hotel with 8 rooms.  The reconstruction was mostly in keeping with the architecture of the day.  In addition Alberto prepared a great to order breakfast each morning.  It was Alberto who was instrumental arranging our replacement rental car.

The town we are in, is another fishing village, Camariñas.  Actually more of the size of a small city, it had plenty of sea food restaurants to choose from.  The town is on the Costa da Morte, or the Coast of death, because of the numerous shipwrecks along the rugged shoreline.  We explored along a small gravel road for about 12 miles along the coast, taking in the sights and exploring a couple of beaches.  This is also lighthouse country, mostly unmanned beacons warning ships of the dangers.

There have been over 600 recorded shipwrecks along this coast making it one of the most dangerous coastlines in Spain. Hidden rocks, powerful tides, and steep cliffs contribute to this high number.  Some sources mention even higher figures, like 927 documented cases since the Middle Ages.

On the night of November 10th, 1890, amid terrible weather conditions, the English battleship Serpent ran aground at Boi’s Cape near Camariña. Locals quickly arrived only to find 3 survivors and 175 dead bodies that had washed ashore on the beach. There is a cemetery there where the bodies were buried.

This is the only representation of the locations of the shipwrecks along the coast

THE CEMETERY 

THREE SHIPWRECKS WITH THE DEAD LISTED

Well that’s it for this episode, but the adventure continues….so stay tuned

SPAIN!

 We left Portugal by Bus, arrived in Santiago, picked up a rental car and immediately headed out of town.  Since we’re not walking the Camino yet we will be staying in different places in Glacia, mostly in rural settings.  Staying 3 to 4 nights in each spot allowing us to explore some.  First up a small village right on the Camino, just before Santiago.  We drove to some places on the Camino so I could show Cathie but also visited new places for both of us.

It’s been raining off and on since we’ve arrived in Spain, with cold and wind.  The other day it was snowing, so the weather has not been cooperating.  We drove to O Cebrero one of the high points on the Camino Frances and the last steep mountain climb for pilgrims before reaching Santiago.  Cold, windy, wet and foggy, just like every time I’ve been there.  Known for its stone buildings with straw roofs it still doesn’t disappoint.

With the hope of clear weather we took a look at Lugo, a pretty good sized city with a fully intact Roman Wall encircling the historic center of the city.  The top of the wall is walkable and a nice walk for about 1&1/3 miles.  Build in the latter part of the 3rd century it is a testament to the skill of the contractor hired to build them.  There were a lot of locals out and about being Palm Sunday.  We happened upon a procession from the Cathedral with the local children dressed as the Roman Solders leading the “float” with Jesus.

 We moved to the small village of Maceda which is close to the city of Ourense.  Rain continues as does the cold.  The Bed and Breakfast we chose is a winner.  Thomas, he’s German and Rosa, she’s Spanish were great hosts with Thomas going above and beyond.  More about the later.   Pazo de Chaioso is a multi room manor house which they bought 20 years ago in a dilapidated condition.  It had been abandoned for 30 years and was basically a ruin. The entire building was totally covered in vines and only a small portion of the roof poking out.  They spent 12 years restoring and upgrading and since 2019 have been operating it as a B&B.

They provided detailed itineraries on Google Maps allowing us to follow routes to sights in the area.  It was a great way to explore, just follow Googles turn by turn instruction.  It included historic sights, view points, wineries and restaurants to try.  Eliminating the need for me to spend time route planning.  A great idea and greatly appreciated.

One of the tours took us to Monastery San Pedro de Rocas (of the rock).  This is a 5th century chapel carved out of a cliff face by seven men who build it as a place of prayer.  There are even graves dug into the solid rock.

As many of you who follow this blog or on Facebook know, I am somewhat adventurous in my choice of dinner entrees when I travel.  Pigs Cheeks, Ox Tail, Tripe, Pig Snout and I recently saw Pigs Ear on a menu.  I’ll have to try that.  Anyway of all the different foods I have tried while traveling, I have never had any ill effects. But the other day I ate this:

A good ol' Bacon Cheese Burger.  Boy it was good but it did not sit well with me.  That evening I had some intestinal distress, if you get my drift, and it was to the porcelain throne  where I spent considerable time.  The next morning I felt better, but to make sure all was good I stopped at the local Pharmacy for something to stop the current situation.  After taking two as instructed  I wasn’t waiting around, so off we went to continue our exploration.  But I just never felt right and that evening after another visit to the throne, I took two more pills as I was instructed.  After that second dose, I wasn’t spending time on the pot, but I wasn’t feeling any better.

We moved on to Thomas and Rosa’s Place and I felt is was time to seek medical attention.  This is where Thomas went out of his way.  Took me to the local clinic, took my passport and told me to sit in the corner (well, waiting room).  He handled everything.  Shortly we were in front of the Doctor and Thomas gave her my medical history.  Well at least I pretty sure he did, but he could have said something about this stupid American eating a hamburger of all things when he could have had Sweet Breads or something normal.  But in any event, the doctor seemed to grasp what was wrong with me.  After an exam of her pushing different places on my abdomen, taking my temperature (normal) she explained to Thomas who later told me that the previous medicine I took had prevented me from expelling the remains of that Bacon Cheeseburger.  Off to the Pharmacy for some new meds to get the innards working again.

Now a couple of days later and I am 95% better.  Thomas saved the day and showed great concern for my well being.  So we have moved on and are now in the seaside town of A Guardia.  There was hamburger on the menu at the hotel restaurant but I opted for Barnacles…what could go wrong. 

ACROSS THE POND WE GO

 British Air left Phoenix on time and with that a on time arrival in London. With a 5 1/2 hour layover before catching our flight to Lisbon, we were lucky enough to score seats in the Plaza Premium Lounge with great views of airplane landings.   

The second leg was also on time arriving in Lisbon 23 hours after leaving Phoenix.  I was not at the top of my game and got taken advantage of (think ripped off) by the taxi driver.  I am pretty good at my research before traveling anywhere.  Before this trip I had looked into cab fares in Lisbon.  Who does that you ask?  Well I do.  Anyway I learned that the average fair from the airport to downtown was around 15 to 20 Euros, with an additional nominal charge for each bag.  We got in the cab, I didn’t see a meter so I said something to the cabbie.  He showed me a hand held device that he said was the meter.  He placed it back on the seat next to him.  The guy drove like a madman scaring us to the point where I told him to slow down.  He didn’t.  We got to our hotel and he showed me the amount on his hand held device. 48 euros!  I told him he was a thief, but at that point what could you do.  I tried to pay him with my credit card but he insisted on cash.  I wonder why. So I gave him 50 euros and didn’t think about to 2 euro change he owed me.  The long and short of it I got scammed.  What are you going to do at one in the morning on a dark street in an unfamiliar city.  It’s Uber from now on.

We had just two days in Lisbon, the first was just trying to recover from the trip over.  We really had no specific plans for Lisbon as originally we were just in transit to start our now cancelled Camino.  I did manage to find a great little restaurant with traditional Portuguese food.  We being the only foreigners in the place made it all the better.  Tables close together to maximize the space and so close you become friendly with your neighbor.

The next day we took the train to Porto, where originally we were to start the Camino.  Now just a stop on the way to Spain. We stayed across the river from Porto in Vila Nova de Gaia, the area where all the Port Wine tastings occur.  We did have some Port, but passed on the tourist spots and just drank it after dinner.  We had another great dinner in a local bar, again being the only foreigners.  Just by chance we found this neighborhood spot.  I asked the waiter if the cook would make me a special sandwich consisting of cheese, sausage and a fried egg.  No Problem and delivered to our table by the cook herself.

After a quick two nights in Porto we hopped the bus for Spain, where we picked up our rental car in Santiago.  Spain begins in the next episode, so stay turned.

ANOTHER CAMINO? WELL, NOT QUITE

IF LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE

 THE PLAN:  It's coming up on the 10th anniversary of my arrival in Santiago, Spain after walking the Camino de Santiago.  On that journey I met people from around the world and two of them, Len and Alex became my Camino Brothers, AKA The Three Amigos.  It was decided that the best way to celebrate the anniversary, was to return to the Camino and walk together the last 100 kilometers and arrive in Santiago ten years to the day.  Alex from Brazil, Len from Canada and I from the US would each figure out how to get to Spain and meet up in the town of Sarria on May 4th and begin walking to Santiago.

As for me, say the word "Camino" and I'm ready to go, so I figured that since I was going all that way, why not get another Camino under my belt.  Cathie, who walked a partial Camino back in 2017, was willing to try and finish what she started.  We decided that before meeting up with Len and Alex, Cathie and I would walk the Camino Portuguese from Porto to Santiago, a distance of 160 miles.  Then meet up with the rest of the crew in Sarria on the appointed date.  Not one to waste any time, back in August I started checking flight fares and lo and behold I got a good price on my go to airline, British Air.  We intended on taking our time walking the Portuguese route so as not to hurt ourselves and enjoy the walk.

We decided that we would start training after the 1st of the year which would give us ample time to prepare.  But the best laid plans can sometime go awry.  Shortly after the New Year, Cathie tripped and fell, breaking her humerus.  Luckily surgery wasn't necessary, but the healing time was 6 to 8 weeks, which eliminated most of her time for training.  After a month it became obvious, that Cathie would be unable to walk with a pack for 160 miles.

THE ALTERNATE PLAN: 

With our air travel already reserved along with some of our reservations in Portugal we figured by the date of our flight, Cathie would at least be able to travel.  And so, the new plan is that we're going, rent a car and explore the Galicia region of Spain.  Then on May 4th we will meet up with Len and Alex and at least walk with them on a limited basis.

In a week, we board our flight to Lisbon and from there we will make our way by train and bus to Santiago where a rental car is waiting for us. Then we will spend 3 weeks getting to know Northwest Spain before meeting up with Len and Alex.  So, stay tuned....

THE THREE AMIGOS (2015)