There was so much stone at the beginning of the camino. Everything seemed to be made of it and vineyards were surrounding all of it. The water fonts are abundant along the portuguese trail. We took many pictures, not all have yet arrived onto this blog, but there are so many beautiful roman water fonts along the way. Ancient roman bridges and cornhouses known as ¨horreos´are used throughout Galicia. A farmer took us into his property to show us his beautiful ´horreo´which was full of corn cobs and explained to us how these are processed into cornmeal or feed for the animals.
The spanish countryside is full of large houses often times lined with beautiful flowers. We saw so many wild dahlias and colorful flowers surrounding the farmlands. Large houses and large meals seem characteristic of the Galician countryside.
Young children and dogs are obviously beloved in this part of the world. They are coddled and looked after and so gorgeous to look at. I pet many dogs and every one of them was friendly to me when approached.
Still, I feel the better part of every day is begun with a napolitana from a local bakery and a cafe con leche. This can happen at different points of the day, not only in the morning.
And now it is late, so goodnight.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Have arrived in Bilbao, Basque territory
Came into Bilbao on the toll road this afternoon. Could not believe the toll (17.75 euros!) from Burgos (about a 2hr drive). Well, yes, the condition of the road is excellent, but that is a higher toll than we Americans are used to!
We were excited to see, just before arriving into Bilbao, the sign indicating the Orozco valley. (its spelled a little differently here, Orosko), but still, its our ancestry! We´ll explore some of the valley tomorrow.
But first, need to find a place to stay here in this region next to the shores of the Atlantic.
p.
We were excited to see, just before arriving into Bilbao, the sign indicating the Orozco valley. (its spelled a little differently here, Orosko), but still, its our ancestry! We´ll explore some of the valley tomorrow.
But first, need to find a place to stay here in this region next to the shores of the Atlantic.
p.
Internet cafes closed
Due to today´s national strike, many of the businesses are closed. I am unable to upload all the wonderful pictures we have from the last several days. So I am limited to some descriptive text.
Well, we´ve made some new friends, including farmers, local coffeehouse owners and other pilgrims. Its been a very interesting experience. I loved the spaniards in Galicia. Very uninterested in us and generally cool. Not necessarily rude, but so self composed. No one asked us anything about ourselves, unless they were NOT spaniards. Last night, at a creperie we stopped at, the owner was so friendly that we looked at each other and wondered where he was from, knowing he could not have been a local!
Its geographically beautiful here!
p.
Well, we´ve made some new friends, including farmers, local coffeehouse owners and other pilgrims. Its been a very interesting experience. I loved the spaniards in Galicia. Very uninterested in us and generally cool. Not necessarily rude, but so self composed. No one asked us anything about ourselves, unless they were NOT spaniards. Last night, at a creperie we stopped at, the owner was so friendly that we looked at each other and wondered where he was from, knowing he could not have been a local!
Its geographically beautiful here!
p.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Rain today
Today´s walk 2
Galicia is beautiful
Not all my pictures are coming through, but this area of Spain is so beautiful, our walks have been predominantly through gorgeous vineyards and what seems like miles and miles of fruit and chestnut trees. Today, we took a cab to an area outside the path a little bit to visit the waterfall at Barro. On the way over, we were talking with our cab driver, a local, about the lifestyle here in this area. He was pointing out the different areas of interest and landmarks, local wine culture and when we talked about food, I asked whether there were many vegetarians in this area. ¨¨Que va!¨¨ he said dramatically, then proceeded to tell us how a person cannot really work hard or survive well on a side dish, otherwise known as salad....
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)