Pilgrims on the Way

The next morning, we set out from Portomarín, and we were soon walking in the Galician forests once more. The weather was cool and sunny – perfect hiking weather. Our goal today was Palas de Rey, about 24km away. Date: 29 April 2013 Place: Portomarín (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain) Today started: Portomarín (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)

The parish church of the town of Portomarín is this imposing structure, built in the thirteenth century. This is the Irexo de San Nicolao, otherwise known in Castilian Spanish as the Iglesia de San Nicolás. It was built as a fortress, as this area was at the time subject to raids by organized bandits, as well as the usual Reconquista […]

I am constantly amazed at the amount of public art on the Camino. There are, of course, many statues, paintings, and murals of Santiago himself. This one, in the town of Portomarín seems to have a cloak filled with stars, perhaps a nod towards the “compostela” (field of stars) in the city of Santiago de Compostela. Date: 28 April 2013 […]

Put this in the “adding insult to injury” file. Once you cross the long, scary bridge, there’s a final obstacle to get into the town of Portomarín – the stairs! After a long day’s walk, they’re absolutely brutal. Oh, you could follow the road to the right with the cars and trucks and eventually loop around into town, but that’s […]

After you cross the Rio Miño, there’s a climb into the town of Portomarín – more on that tomorrow. Partway up the stairs, I turned around and took a photo of the bridge we had to cross. This long bridge is primarily used by automobiles and has the narrowest walkway for pilgrims. It was nerve-wracking to cross with the cars […]

Eventually, we made it to the river – and not just the one pouring out of the sky on us. No, this was the Rio Miño. All we had to do now was cross over a long bridge primarily used by automobiles with the narrowest walkway for pilgrims. The wind as we crossed the bridge was fierce enough that our […]

It’s been sung that the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain, but our experience has been mixed. For my money, the rain in Spain falls mainly in Galicia. Ponchos on as we approach the final village before the major town of Portomarín. Date: 28 April 2013 Place: approaching Vilachá (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain) Today started: Sarria (Province […]

While I’m not entirely sure which village this is – perhaps Mercadoiro? – I can say that it’s a pretty typical Galician village. The buildings are stone, with slate roofs. The street is concrete with stone drainage trenches. And everywhere the trees crowd in. Date: 28 April 2013 Place: somewhere between As Rozas and Portomarín (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain) […]