Portomarin - Climbing into a dammed town

A pleasant day of walking today. Setting out at 7.15 this morning into the mist and drizzle not seen before. Sustained with coffee and a pano chocolate my day begins. The head torch was an essential item again, illuminating where the transiting cows had passed for milking earlier. At one point I lost the yellow arrows and camino signs, and was noisily alerted that I had gone wrong by (on first impressions) fierce dogs. The ones all pilgrims are told of and, few have ever really encountered. These two barked in unison to tell me I had gone wrong and to tell be to go back and retrace my steps. To go back and find the 'yellow arrows'. And they were right, some seventy five metres back was the junction and I re-found my way. You might enquire how I could be so sure these intelligent dogs were giving me directions? Well in the silence of morning and with previous pilgrims ahead of me, these fine beasts had been undisturbed and were therefore not required to offer advice. But, as soon as needed they sprung into GPS mode and vocalised their advice.
Portomarin holds the distinction of being the newest oldest town along the Camino. Portomarin of old was settled in the valley below. Portomarin today is essentially newly constructed, with some buildings (and the church) having been relocated stone by stone. Inspection of the fortress Iglesia de San Juan indicates that the stones were numbered to prevent head scratching later. Or was this an early version of Lego? The Iglesia de San Juan is the largest single nave Romanesque church in Galicia.
The Rio Mino was dammed in 1956, forming the Embalse de Belasar which sits beneath the bridge.
Portomarin gets its name from 'Porto' or river crossing, and 'marin', a reference to the Sanctuary of St. Marina that was located here in the Middle Ages. It enjoyed its peak of prosperity in the 15th and 16th centuries when several of the Catholic Monarchs slept here. The nearby capital of Lugo, also a Roman settlement, grew at a faster pace and Portomarin was quickly forgotten. As recently as 1919 the town was still not connected by a single road that could accommodate wheeled traffic. That has changed, and the prosperity of the town can now be attributed to the reservoir and the Camino.
Having just eaten at the restaurant Perez, I can say this was on of my favourite meals. While chips or fries are a core part of the 'Pilgrims Menu' the braised veal was delicious. I can go to mass to tonight fed, and refreshed. XRead more