Pilgrims on the Way

We had lunch here at Casa Calzada. As I wrote in another place, the Camino is littered with various cafés and bars, and they’re especially thick on the ground for the final 40 or 50 kilometers. I think we’ve stopped at this one in Calzada on each of our Caminos. I think it’s because you become extremely conscious of the […]

Warning! Googly-eyed cows ahead. Who may or may not answer to “Mona”. Date: 01 May 2013 Place: somewhere past As Barrosas (Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) Today started: Arzúa (Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain)

After leaving Arzúa, the Camino took us back into the Galician countryside, a land of farms, fields, and forest. Good news: it wasn’t raining! There was a bit of mud, but we were definitely used to that by now. This morning was an easy, gentle walk through springtime greenery. Date: 01 May 2013 Place: Arzúa (Province of A Coruña, Galicia, […]

After spending a lovely evening in Arzúa, we headed over to the local church of Santiago. I was particularly captured by this side altar, which has a type of depiction of the Blessed Virgin with the child Jesus that I’d never seen before. Saint Roche is in the top niche of the retablo, but I’m not sure who the others […]

Throughout the Camino, you will see many eras of sculpture represented on and in ecclesial and civil buildings. Much of this tends to be Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance, with some spectacular Baroque outliers. But even 20th century styles can be found, such as this delightful Art Deco cherub. Date: 30 April 2013 Place: Arzúa (Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) […]

In the city of Arzúa, which we fondly call “cheesetown“, you may see this fountain, featuring a statue of a stubborn lady with her even more stubborn cow. The second person-cow pairing seem to have a much less contentious relationship. The statue is located in the plaza of the church of Santiago, which you can see in the background. It’s […]

Although there aren’t any in this photo, there are more cows than people in Galicia, and there are signs to remind you even when the cows aren’t in view. Indeed, we heard from several people the ironic unofficial motto of the country is, no hay vacas en Galicia. Because they’re everywhere – there are even monuments to them, as we […]

Ribadiso was once a traditional Galician farming village left nearly vacant as its inhabitants sought work in the industrializing cities, although it was never entirely abandoned. In the early 1990s, it was restored and re-established primarily as a pilgrim village with albergues and amenities. In this, it was returning to its roots, for several of these buildings once belonged to […]

In contrast to the immaculately kept suburban yards and houses on the road into the village of Castañeda, the old village itself was considerably more run down. Ruined, even. I note that on the current images available in Google maps that these buildings are either gone or unrecognizably restored. As the Camino has continued to gain in popularity, nearly approaching […]