Camino Primitivo: to Lugo

18 May 2022 Thom Camino Primitivo, Pilgrim Reports

Another short day. We left the village later than expected, mostly thanks to pilgrim camaraderie and conversation at breakfast in the albergue with the Double A’s and Wendy from the UK and Patrizia from Brazil. The village itself was larger than I expected, considering that it was supposedly too small to be on any of our maps.

Dirt roads this morning through field and forest. We took a slight detour to visit the ruins of the church of San Salvador. As it turns out, this wooded path is full of ghostly ruined buildings and walls.

The church itself is a little marvel. The interior has mostly been gutted of its statues and fixtures, but the altar appeared intact. I got the overwhelming feeling that this little church was sleeping, waiting to wake up to better days. It was an eerie feeling, and I don’t quite know how to describe it better than that.

After leaving the forest, we had some roadwalking through charming villages and countryside. There were a number of public fountains with places to sit provided, which is just a lovely thing. I wish we had some of those during the hot days of the past week!

Eventually, the Camino headed off-road onto a forested dirt and gravel road, which was much nicer for walking. The road took us through Forest and Field, Farm and Village, Until it eventually deposited us on a highway for some more roadwalking.

Just when I thought we’d be taking the highway all the way into Lugo, the Camino abruptly swerved back onto a forest path. It was here, near a pasture filled with horses, that we overtook the Double A’s, Alice and Amy.

We eventually passed under an arch way made of pine trees, and the gravel road became a cobbled street. The final approach into Lugo included a couple of bridges over major highways, a long gradual uphill on an ill maintained gravel road through scrubland, a small grassy field complete with a shepherd and his flock, and small stands of trees. All the while, in the distance to the left, more and more you could see an increasingly suburban cityscape.

Then suddenly we found ourselves walking through the suburbs, and through the trees and houses you could see the great metropolis of Lugo ahead.

And metropolis it is, with towering apartment blocks crowding in on narrow streets. We have rented a flat inside the old city center, inside the Roman walls, near to the cathedral.

After a big, late lunch and a little nap, I set off to start exploring the city.