Noia and end of the week

We've had a good week, but it has rained most days at least part of the day. We are still walking a lot (several miles each day), and it is getting easier.

School is going well. I am going to be moved to a slightly higher level next week so our class days will be split up. Phil will go in the morning with a woman from Holland and another from China. I will be in class with a woman from Australia in the afternoon.

We picked up a schedule for the Easter week processions and learned that there will be a festival next week in a nearby village (The Pigs' Feet Festival), so we may hang around next weekend instead of a day trip. Music, parades, and of course a pigsfeet banquet is promised!

Today we took a bus to Noia. It is only about an hour away and it's right on the coast with a large estuary that supports a shellfish industry. Specifically cockles are harvested here. They are kind of a small clam and there are several kinds. The work is done mostly by women who wade out in the water in wetsuits with a special rake with a basket attached. The also have a little inner tube to float a basket along to hold their catch.

Phil and I went to a maritime museum and a lot of this fishing process was explained. It was a nice, rather new, museum. The volunteers were very nice and everything was posted in three languages so we could understand.

We also went to a church that displayed tombstones that show a person's livelihood. There were cobblers, butchers, sailors, and even a pilgrim!

We visited an albergue that will be open this summer. It is managed by one of the organizations that we volunteer for. There's a Camino route through this town so we might walk it next year. Maybe we can volunteer here one day, too.

Finally we ate at a highly rated seafood restaurant. We arrived just in time as the tables filled up fast. We both had a plate of Zamburinas (little scallops) for the first course. Phil had lamb chops and I had cod for the second course. Then we shared a Mango Mousse and a Tiramisu. After a coffee, we waddled along the sea shore fully stuffed a bit before we caught the bus back home.

Tomorrow is a laundry and study day.Weiterlesen