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Laurie Reynolds
Laurie Reynolds

Laurie Reynolds

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  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Last day teaching and Camino meetup

    November 18, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We didn’t have much time for a long walk this morning, so we went down to my favorite sock store, Pedemeia. (Portugal makes wonderful high quality socks – who knew?). It’s located next to what they call the Loja do Cidadão, the Citizen’s Store.

    It’s a great concept — all public utilities, government services, etc. have a counter in this large place. Phone companies, electric utility, gas, drivers license, passport, labor questions, it’s all under one roof. When you enter, there’s an automated kiosk, so you can get your number for the place you want to go. The one I like best, but would dearly hate to go to, is the one for “I lost my wallet.”

    As always, class went quickly, and now it’s over! I just can’t bring myself to consider that this might be the last year so I will just keep my hopes up.

    The day ended with a real treat, a get together of five members of the online camino forum. We met, appropriately, at a bar with the name Peregrina. So great to meet some people whom I had only known virtually before today. It was so much fun, even for the three spouses who are not quite as enamored with the Camino. 🤩    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Morning in the museum

    November 17, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Teaching from 2-5 makes it hard to do much on teaching days. But this morning we headed to Lisbon’s municipal museum for a short visit. It’s in what used to be a beautiful palace, owned by a marquis in the 18th century. So the rooms are covered in gorgeous blue and white tiles.

    There are bits and pieces going back to the first human settlement 20,000 years ago. I was most impressed by a Neolithic scythe. Some beautiful moorish and Roman pieces and a great model of Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.

    We walked back, going through the decidedly unattractive campus of the Universidade de Lisboa. I have to say the Católica is prettier.

    One more day of teaching!!!!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Back in Lisbon

    November 15, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Back into the routine, and today I was happy to meet up with one of my closest law prof friends in Lisbon. He was in charge of the international program way back in 2004 when I first came to teach, seems like just a few years ago! Our time was cut short by the fact that we had to head to a Millenium bank to take care of some issues — turns out the local branch couldn’t deal with this simple transaction, and we had to go up to the Colombo shopping mall to a bigger branch. That gave me a chance to remember that this shopping mall set the gold standard for an homage to consumerism.

    After today’s class we had to head downtown to find an “oculista” that would repair Joe’s glasses. That gave us an excuse to walk around some of the main central parts on the way to our favorite pizzaria. Sitting on the outdoor terrace next to the river, much of our view was blocked by a huge cruise ship. But the pizza is just as yummy as we remembered.

    I am so sad to be going home just days before they light up the holiday lights. There were none at all last year, and the city has promised that they will be better than ever.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Romans and the moorslayer

    November 14, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Weekend trips go fast! Today we decided to head to Miróbriga, site of a Roman town. It isn’t as spectacular as Conímbriga further up north, but we enjoyed walking all around, climbing up and down around the baths, the forum, the rows of shops. No mosaics, but there were a couple of rooms with some paintings.

    Then a stop in Santiago do Cacém, where there is a hilltop castle (much more impressive from the outside, because nothing much other than the local cemetery is located inside) and a church dedicated to Santiago. Not the peaceful loving Santiago the pilgrim, but the Santiago the moorslayer.

    After a lunch in a small local restaurant in the middle of the old town, we headed “home” to the Marriott. Workout done, we will go get some grilled fish in just a few minutes. Not that we have been deprived of grilled fish, by any means! Back to work tomorrow.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Aljezur

    November 13, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    A lovely little town on what used to be a river that went straight into the ocean at Praia Amoeira. But the 1755 earthquake pushed the river underground and the town was essentially cut off from the sea.

    There are ruins of a Moorish castle, ruins of moorish settlements all over the place, a lovely municipal museum some beautiful pieces found in the castle from the 10C, and signs that the town is stubbornly refusing to bite the dust.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds
    1

    Arrifana and its Ribat

    November 13, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    I knew we wanted to head south today, and when I put “Arrifana” in my Google offline maps (which work GREAT btw), up popped “Ribat de Arrifana.” With a castle icon next to it. So off we headed. But first we got detoured by signs to Monte Clérigo with binoculars next to it (symbol for picturesque). A few miles walking on headlands, café on the cliffs, and finally we arrived at the Ribat.

    As we later learned at the municipal archaeological museum in Aljezur, the Ribat was an Islamic religious site, where the ruins of nine mosques have been discovered. It was also a fortress and place where warriors off to the holy wars were blessed. And a burial site. With spectacular views!

    Aljezur has a moorish castle. We walked up to it. The Portuguese flag flies there because it was one of 7 castles in Portugal conquered from the Moors. The local museum is very interesting and has artifacts from the Iron Age forward.

    On the way home, we couldn’t resist a turnoff for the Praia (beach) and found ourselves on the other side of the glorious Amoeiras beach, which has a wide river snaking around the hills to empty in the ocean. Tomorrow back to Lisbon.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Weekend begins!

    November 12, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    About three years ago, when we checked out of a hotel in the Algarve, the receptionist suggested we drive back to Lisbon along the western (Alentenjo) coast. We stopped in several random beach towns, each one prettier than the next and decided to come back for a weekend. So here we are.

    We left Lisbon right after my class on Thursday and were in the hotel here by 9. The hotel is not on the beach but in a great location, about smack dab in the middle of the area we wanted to explore.

    Today we walked about 10 miles and got into a routine of driving to some pretty place, getting out and walking for an hour or so, and then driving on. Sometimes up on the headlands, sometimes down on the beach itself. We had a very late and very delicious lunch in a fish restaurant in Zambujeira de Mar — one of those typical Portuguese places where you point to the fish you want (knowing it arrived no more than a few hours ago from the ocean) and then they grill it. Heaven! The bigger fishes are much easier for us ignorant Americans to debone, so Joe and I frequently get one to share.

    After lunch, a long beach walk, and then a drive to the Sardao lighthouse, where we walked along the cliffs for a couple of miles and then saw a beautiful sunset.

    Though our balcony doesn’t have much of a view, we are going to sit out there and have a few snacks instead of a real dinner. Given our lunchtime feast. Tomorrow we will repeat the routine, except we will head south instead of north!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Tourist on a Tuesday morning

    November 10, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Since I teach from 2-5, the day is pretty well cut in the middle. But this morning I managed to get to the gym, eat breakfast, and get us to the castle by 10. We’ve been there many times, but the days are beautiful and it’s fun to re-visit. One new development since the last time we were there was the discovery of some Iron Age hill forts, covered by some Phoenecian building, covered by some Roman building, covered by some Visigothic building, covered by some Moorish building, covered by some medieval Christian building. Sheesh — it is a tough call for the archaeologists — at which level do they stop? What do they preserve?

    One of the nicest things about the hilltop castle is of course the views — out over the river, down over the Alfama (moorish section), down over the old city. We enjoyed ourselves a lot and hopped a cab to get back by 1:15.

    Uber has come to Lisbon. Cab drivers are unhappy. So we split the baby in half — one way we go in Uber, one way in a taxi. The differences are not huge. We have not been using the fabulous metro system, less because of covid and more because of how long it would take us given my limited time and Joe’s slowing pace. Good excuses anyway. :-)

    My students from Sweden and Norway received news of the first snowfall today. And here we sit in sunny and 60s. No complaints at all.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Day 2 of Teaching

    November 9, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Well, I have to admit that teaching for three hours in a row tires me out a lot more than it used to! And dare I say that teaching with a mask on (and trying to understand non-native English speakers with their masks on) is a challenge. But I am loving it. My class is much smaller than usual, because of covid restrictions. 14 as compared to the normal 35 or 40. About 1/3 Portuguese and 2/3 Erasmus (EU). Teaching US law to a bunch of EU law students is very fun — they are undergraduates (as compared to my more jaded graduate US law students), and they are grounded in a system that is very different than mine. Being able to push back on their assumptions and challenge their thinking is a teaching delight.

    The teaching days are falling into a pattern — go to the gym, take a two hour walk after breakfast, get Joe set up back in the room for the hours that I will be gone, go teach, and then walk to dinner in a different direction than we walked yesterday. We’ll break up the routine by going to the castle tomorrow morning early, and then on Thursday we leave for the long weekend, so I really don’t have much of a pattern going on!

    Weather is absolutely spectacular, as is the fresh grilled fish.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Loving Lisboa

    November 7, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Thinking about the fact that this is our 17th visit to Lisboa, I realize that some would think it’s silly to keep coming back over and over, especially when there is so much of the world that I don’t know.

    But today’s walk through the old city just filled my spirit, if that makes sense. In part it’s because the city is so gorgeous, but it’s more than that. I’m an outsider but one who feels connected and welcomed. The foreign has become familiar. I guess I’m in love with the entire Iberian peninsula, because I can say the same about Spain!

    It’s been a while since I’ve been here when the chestnut sellers are out.

    If I’m lucky this will not be my last trip to Lisboa.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    My 7 mile old town walk

    November 7, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    When we lived here for a year in the early 2000s,, we had a lot of visitors. I made up a “walking tour” through my favorite parts of the old city. Every year since then I’ve done it at least once.

    It was a beautiful cool cloudless day, so it was a perfect thing to do. A little slower than previous years maybe, but we had all day so no rush.

    More of my favorite places had closed but there seemed to be a lot of new businesses open. And the cruise boats are back, so I guess things are taking a turn for the better.

    Back to our neighborhood grill for dinner. Work starts tomorrow!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in LisbonLaurie Reynolds

    Like coming home!

    November 6, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Our flight over was uneventful. That’s a good thing. I had been unable to get our seats online or even at the Champaign airport, so when we checked in at flight time they put us way at the back of the plane. Little did I know that that would be a stroke of luck, because we both were able to snag a full row — four seats across. That made for a very nice flight, and a lot cheaper than business class. Going through Madrid airport was very easy as always, and we got a little breakfast before our flight. A quick flight over to Lisbon, a 10 minute cab ride, and we were back at the Marriott.

    Both the doorman and the guy at check-in treated us like we were returning prodigal sons. I suppose that’s not surprising since this is our 16th year here!

    Joe always likes to take a nap on arrival, while I try to power through, so I went down to the fitness center. Then a big circle walk through the neighborhood to see what’s happening.

    Biggest changes I’ve noticed are the opening of a huge Lidl store and the demolition of my favorite frutería. But I am glad to report that our favorite grilled fish place is still standing and we will eat there tonight.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
    1

    Camino arrows everywhere

    September 27, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today is my last day in Spain, at least for this Camino. My one unchangeable ritual is to pack up as many liters of olive oil as I can realistically fit— in my backpack, as well as in the duffel bag that I sent up to Santiago empty at the start of the camino. This is a tradition that dates back about 10 years, and I don’t think the Berkeley gang has had to buy any olive oil at all since I started.

    I was able to take a little stroll in the morning, before buying my olive oil. Everywhere I looked, I saw camino arrows. A branch of the Camino de Madrid, called the Camino Mendocino, comes through Soto, but very few people walk it. Except for you, Nuala! When you’re a Camino addict, and when you can’t walk, and when you are constantly seeing Camino arrows, it is like waving red flags in front of a bull.

    I am glad I have my PT appointment set up in Champaign, because I would still describe walking as slightly painful. That is actually a little comforting, because it has reassured me that I made the right decision to stop walking.

    Tomorrow I’ll be at the airport bright and early for my flight. With two bags to check and the Covid ritual, I think erring on the side of arriving early is a good one. For anyone contemplating a trip to Europe in the near future, I can recommend the Binax NOW Covid tests that you bring with you in a box. Then you perform the test online with a proctor. No need for an appointment in a lab, and you can do it at whatever time works best for you in the three day window.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    Sunday in Soto

    September 26, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today was family day with my friends in Soto del Real, with the unexpected bonus that the two (now teenaged) kids came with us for a long lunch outdoors in a local restaurant. As a newly appointed EU prosecutor in a unit dedicated to intra-EU fiscal fraud team, my amiga had many fascinating stories about the first few months of her appointment. She really feels like she is doing something worthwhile and for the greater good. And Paco, as always, had many fascinating local government law issues to discuss. Maybe a limited audience, but it is exactly up my alley and we finally stopped talking at 10:30 to turn on the news to see what was happening in Germany.

    Usually when I visit, we are able to take some beautiful long walks in the mountains that start about four minutes from their house. But today it was just a few baby steps to soak up the sun and see the views.

    I have a good friend who arrives in Madrid tomorrow morning to start the Camino de Madrid. We will probably connect in WhatsApp. I feel like I am passing the baton but am still a bit bummed at how it all turned out. But as many of my Camino friends have already told me, the thing to do is to start planning my next Camino!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
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    111

    From Santiago to Madrid

    September 25, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I woke up in O Pino and wasn’t sure exactly what to do. But that muscle or nerve or whatever it is was not happy, so I decided to take a taxi into Santiago. Lest you think it was a wasted day, I was able to see two good friends, Faith and Bostjan. One of them lives in Santiago and the other, from Slovenia, was walking, a different camino but had an injury and had had to stop.

    It was a really weird feeling, being in Santiago, but not really being one of the “in crowd.” I was kind of an interloper, a cheater, not a “real pilgrim.”

    My first order of business was to pick up the duffel bag I had sent up from Leon, which was waiting for my October arrival into Santiago. Unfortunately, I will never have an October arrival into Santiago. Next, time to take my online Covid test. It was very stressful, and took several hours, but finally the magic of Faith and the Pilgrim House made it happen.

    From there, I met Bostjan, and we had a quick reunion, but then I had to get to the airport. Taxis were nowhere to be found, and finally a taxi driver going off his shift took pity on me and drove me to the airport in his private car. The fixed fare is €20 and I tried to give him €30 for his generosity, which I thought should be repaid, but he absolutely refused it. The generosity of people is just astonishing to me.

    I am heading to Madrid, and will spend two days there with my dear dear friends. I have a flight home on Tuesday, and have pretty much made my peace with the end of this Camino.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    End of camino

    September 24, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I walked about 16 km, making it into Arzua where the Norte joins the Frances. And in about 5 minutes I saw more pilgrims than I had seen in total from the whole Salvador and Primitivo. And then I decided that my body was just not cooperating. My self-diagnosis (along with the online help of a few friends) leads me to conclude that it’s piriformis syndrome.

    So after two or three days of occasional bad pain, I decided it was foolish to continue. I am right outside Santiago, but my main goal was to get there and then go south to Braga in northern Portugal to walk a new (for me) route —the Geira. Walking into Santiago on the Camino Frances is always fun but it was not my primary purpose.

    Since I only have 10 days to walk the Geira route, it seemed silly to spend a few days resting on the hope I could walk at least some of it. So, hard as it is to do, I am cutting it short. I have had to do this once before, in 2008 I think it was, and I know it is going to leave me deflated and bummed out. But if this means I can count on 12 more years of caminos till the next problem, I’m all in favor!

    I know one person who will be happy about my decision, 😄 though I’m sure he’s not glad about the circumstances.

    So now I have to cancel many reservations, figure out how to get to Madrid (trains are all full for days and the bus is not much fun), spend a couple of days with my BFFs in Madrid, and change my flight. I am assuming I’ll be home on Wednesday or Thursday.

    I do know that I need to pay more attention to the fact that I’m no spring chicken and that I have to cut back the distances of my walking days. No more 40 km days for me next time!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    Second day on the Camiño Verde

    September 23, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Wow the second day bore no resemblance as our transition from the Primitivo was completed in Sobrado dos Monxes.

    Yesterday in Friol I met a nice Dutch woman who had walked the obviously much better Verde route from Lugo to Friol. We had dinner together and I was fascinated to learn all about her job as a card dealer in a big casino. You just can’t stop meeting interesting people on the Camino!

    We started out together this morning, and the walk went from one lovely green tunnel to a lovely pine forest back to another green tunnel and then through some Meadows. It was just gorgeous. We arrived at Sobrado dos Monxes, which has an Albergue in a very old monastery. I wanted to continue on a few more kilometers and wound up in heaven. The Abeira da Loba was built on the ruins of the house of the owners’ grandparents. Super modern, super echo, just absolutely a wonderful place. There’s a very nice albergue upstairs but I’m in one of the oh so comfy private rooms.

    I am going to go out and lie in a hammock, but not until I finish the weirdest post-walking task I have ever undertaken. I am sitting on about five ice cubes. For the last few days I’ve had a bad pain in some muscle that must be in the middle of my butt, but runs down through my leg. And when I stumble on or kick a stone (not infrequently,unfortunately) the pain shoots up. Yesterday with some ice and anti-inflammatory cream, things got much better. So I’m hoping for some equal improvement today.

    Wonderful day of 32 kms and about 400 m elevation. My sweet spot is a few kms and a few hundred meters lower than last camino, but I’m still chugging along!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    The long way to Friol

    September 22, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Since the Camino Primitivo joins up with the Frances in a few days, many pilgrims look for alternative routes to keep them off the Frances and its crowds while still getting them closer to Santiago. The Camiño Verde is one of those, end it goes over to Sobrado de los Monxes,, where it joins the Camino Del Norte.

    I have the GPS tracks, so what could go wrong, right? The first thing that happened was that I didn’t turn the track on and missed the turn off. So I found myself still on the Primitivo. That was actually quite all right, because I wanted to go to see a third century Roman crypt or bathhouse or sanitarium (no one knows exactly what it is), and it is accessible from either the Primitivo or the Verde. It was nice, because I walked with a couple of people I had met before.

    Santa Eulalia is an amazing site, with unrestored paintings of all different sorts of birds and floral motifs on the walls. Really wonderful.

    Taking my GPS tracks for the Camiño Verde, I followed them quite well till they took me off the road and into a grassy field where no real track was visible. To make things more interesting, a big German Shepherd started running towards me and barking. So I quickly backtracked and went out onto the road. Taking the road rather than this track would add about 6 km to the day, but I did not fancy encounters with dogs and overgrown tracks. As I started forward on the road, which Google Maps showed would take me into Friol, two more huge dogs started bounding towards me. I turned around and saw a shepherd, obviously the owner of the first dog, with his goats. I went up and asked him about how to best get to Friol, and he told me the path was not in very good condition. Lots of overgrowth, some sharp descents. I quickly made up my mind to do the roundabout road route. And luckily those other dogs belonged to an elderly couple out on a walk.

    I hadn’t exactly counted on 30 km of road walking, but I’m here and in good shape and really loved that Roman/pagan building.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    Afternoon in Lugo

    September 21, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Well there was a lot for me to do. First I walked the Roman walls and occasionally felt like I was intruding into someone’s private space as their windows opened onto the path.

    Then a real splurge for lunch at a place called Paprica. I got the menu del dia but even so it cost more than my hotel room. But my hotel room is very cheap. 😁 I have walked in Galicia many many times, but I have never really tried all the seafood specialties. So I am making up for lost time.

    In the afternoon my main objective was to find a new shirt to replace my dear blue shirt, whose right shoulder has been ripped open by the backpack strap. Not surprising after ten or twelve caminos. But I went from store to store and found nothing. So I called it quits and went to a few Roman sites in town.

    Lugo is a beautiful city with a lot of life. I was talking to Joe from a cafe in the plaza Mayor and he could hardly hear me.

    Weather looks good!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
    1

    A short day into Lugo

    September 21, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    By 1:00 I was in my hotel and washing clothes. I will have all afternoon to enjoy this beautiful city. The walk was much nicer than I remember it, and I am assuming they have taken huge chunks off the road and put them on gorgeous little green tunnel paths.

    At about 12 km along the way, I came to a point where the arrows offered a choice to take on an extra kilometer and visit the church at Soutomerille. I had done that once before, long before there was any announcement of the option, and when I got there the whole church was covered in overgrowth. So I decided that this fancy little sign must indicate that someone had bothered to cut away the brush so the church would be visible.

    What a great decision, with several ancient chestnut trees as a bonus. One, according to a plaque, is at least 400 years old. And the church has a window that has been dated to the pre-Roman times. So it all was definitely a worthwhile detour.

    Lots of people walking these days and the weather is super. Sunny and 66 degrees in Lugo.

    I am off to walk the Roman walls before lunch. It’s about 2 km around and the walls are in tact. The guy who checked me into my hotel said they are the only fully intact Roman walls in the world. And the only ones that have free access 24/7 and no charge.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
    1

    Up and down in Galicia

    September 20, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    This was a beautiful walk, except for a few kms in a logging forest, and with a lot more elevation than I remembered. Wikiloc tells me it was 34 km and 920 m up. Five years ago that was a walk in the park —this year I was dragging when I finally got to my destination. I deliberately went an extra 8 km beyond the “normal” stage so that I would have a short day into Lugo tomorrow.

    I have yet to come to that promised “end of huge elevation gains”, but I just take it slow and steady and enjoy the beautiful scenery. This morning on one particularly steep ascent, I came across an old man who was walking slowly up the hill. I tried to talk with him a bit, but I don’t know whether it was his lack of teeth (I only saw two) or his very thick Gallego accent, but my comprehension was limited. Every now and then I heard the word Camino or Santiago, but that was about it. When I finally got up to the town at the top, I asked the woman in the bar about this elderly gentleman. She told me he makes the 3 km walk up and 3 km down every day, rain or shine. In his rubber boots and holding a big stick for support. And there I was in my fancy trail runners with my expensive hiking poles, huffing and puffing as much as he was, or more!

    I’m staying in a real hotel tomorrow in Lugo, and I am very much looking forward to a shower that is bigger than 2 or 3 square feet! Not a complaint mind you, since I am already at the pilgrim luxury level of having my own private room and bath.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    Short day to A Fonsagrada

    September 19, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    This was just about as perfect a Camino day as you could design. Nearly all off road, through a few picturesque hamlets, two serious ascents (with only one slightly steep descent), blue sky with puffy clouds. Maybe a little short but all in all it was A-ok. 21 km, 650 m elevation. (I guess I wasn’t paying attention when I said there would be no more big elevation days, but this wasn’t so bad). The only slightly frustrating part is that you can see the town, strung out along a high ridge, from about 15 kms away. And you never seem to get any closer.

    I arrived pretty early, which was not planned. But the nice meson, where I had hoped to take a long rest with a snack, did not open until an hour after I was there. So I just kept walking.

    I am in the region of Galicia, which seems to get all the buzz about being green and beautiful. But for my money, Asturias is much prettier. Since it is more prosperous, the little villages are prettier and better maintained. But more than that, there are way fewer eucalyptus trees. I won’t start on my anti-Eucalyptus rant, but I do not like those trees!

    There are two very well-known pulperías here, so I will go and have some pulpo (octopus). I do like it a lot, but only for about five or six bites. I must be quite the connoisseur because I’ve been told that my assessment of good and bad is spot on. It has to do with the texture — there is a perfect sweet spot between not too mushy and not too chewy.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
    3

    Hill fort

    September 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    This is my fourth time on the Primitivo. Every time I have wanted to visit the Bronze Age hill fort about 5 km beyond the typical stopping point. So this year since I’m sleeping only in private rooms, I saw my chance! There’s a little casa rural right there near the excavations! So I made my reservations, walked on through Grandas, and got to Castro only to learn that the hill fort is closed for renovations!!!

    Oh well, the museum was open and it was great. Showing how the hill fort went from Bronze Age to Iron Age to Roman. That seems like such an abrupt change that is hard to get your head around. But this Castro was “Romanized” and has a small villa.

    When I left the museum, I saw an “elderly woman” (aka someone about my age) who was sitting out on a bench. We started to talk, and she told me that she was the owner of the land where the Castro was discovered. She was growing wheat on the land and one day her brother found a spoon there. An ancient spoon it turned out. From there about a half hour of stories about how the archaeologists worked on her land and they eventually sold it in the early 1990s for 2,000,000 pesetas. I love these encounters, ending with the señora telling me that life is a gift and it’s short. Don’t we know it.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
    11

    Dry but cloudy — I’ll take it!

    September 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    I left early, headlamp in the dark, and in a few minutes came up on someone taking off his raincoat. He said it was fine for me to tag along behind till daylight, and we were halfway through the descent to the dam when some light timidly tried to push out of the clouds.

    Lots of us had left early because of the forecast for rain, but happily it never materialized other than about 15 minutes of drizzle. The route goes through an area where there were bad forest fires a few years ago, and it still looks pretty bleak. The dam has a functioning hydroelectric plant, but there are many abandoned buildings and machinery dotting the hills around. I usually find dams and reservoirs pretty depressing, but this one was even more so than usual.

    Crossing over the dam means the start of the ascent, which was steep. But today’s total of 700 m is less than previous days and more than most of what’s coming up. So I’m a happy camper, especially when it’s added to the short day’s total of 23 kms.

    Tomorrow we leave Asturias and enter Galicia!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds
    11

    Hospitales in the Sun

    September 17, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    I had my first communal dinner last night, in a big room with a window and door wide open. It was fun and the food was great. So nice not to have a dinner with french fries and other greasy stuff. Javi makes it all, including the bread. It was the best bread I’ve had since arriving in Spain. And he’s a very nice guy. Anyone who is going to walk the Primitivo take note— Samblismo is the place to go. It’s right at the split for Hospitales.

    Today’s walk could not have been better. About 30 K and 1000 m of elevation, so it wasn’t a walk in the park. But it was beautiful, sunny the whole way until we got to the pass. A thick fog rolled in, and we could only see about 10 m in front of us. But as we started down on the other side, it all cleared and was lovely all the way to Berducedo. I had four more kilometers to go to get to La Mesa, but I decided to have my daily Kas de Limon and a handful of nuts. Unfortunately, just as I sat down to enjoy it, it started to rain. And it rained hard the whole way here. I am in a private room, worth every extra euro I have spent above the Albergue price. The hairdryer alone is worth it.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021Laurie Reynolds

    Cloudy but no Rain -to Samblismo

    September 16, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I woke up to a much better forecast than what I had seen last night. No rain in the forecast!!! 31 km and another 700 m elevation so I am getting in the swing. But I can see that the pace that’s comfortable for me this year is slower than the last camino. Not surprising I suppose.

    Today was just beautiful. Lots of forest walking, lots of spectacular views over the hills. Even though the clouds hid the mountains in the back, it was still a really beautiful walk.

    I am now in an albergue in the middle of nowhere. My first Albergue but I have a private room. Meeting the typical international crowd —German, Czech, Brit, and Dutch today. But the majority of walkers are Spanish. That has never been the case on my earlier walks on this route, but I think many people are staying close to home.    Read more

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