Pontevedra, now we're talkin'

The "cast of characters" has mostly moved ahead or I left them behind. I occasionally spot one of them from a distance or in a city crowd. I saw Jared, the Canadian motorcycle mechanic, walking with what looked like a Swedish girl, so that's nice. I’m walking alone, which I relish.

Pontevedra is a quintessential mid-sized Spanish town, set up for wandering, browsing and socializing on foot. Narrow streets opening onto broad plazas; grandparents on benches, people drinking wine and having tapas at outdoor cafes, teenagers riding bikes and scooters, toddlers chasing pigeons, wheelchair riders chatting by the fountain, a busker playing classical guitar, and not a car to be seen. Bordered by historic buildings and a cathedral with a statue on top of a Medieval woman pilgrim (you don’t see that often).

Down another stone alley to another plaza with an ice cream vendor and a shop renting pedal go-carts, bikes with sidecars, six passenger pedal carriages. Another guy rents remote control cars that can be driven/ridden by babies as young as a year old, parents holding the remote, laughing hysterically as their toddler drivers whip around the plaza and through the crowd. People walking french bulldogs and yorkies, taking them into bars.

This is how city life for our species is meant to be lived and I think many Americans don't even know it.

Long walk, about 14 miles today. Through eucalyptus forests carpeted with ferns, past big gardens and across rivers.

There were firecrackers/fireworks popping in small towns and in the village of Arcade (Ar-Cod-Eh), a little brass band marched through. Dia de San Juan? I don’t know.Read more