Today we walked 30 km of rolling hills to reach Lugo, the capital city of the Principality of
Galicia. It is a walled city with curved narrow streets and lovely common squares.
Mark and I walked the last 10 km into Lugo with Jeff from Arizona. Conversation ranged from
our occupations to how we all prepared for retirement. He knew he was ready when he had a
hard time understanding the mindset of the younger generation he was hiring. He wasn’t
judgemental of them, actually impressed with their devotion to a better work life balance than
his generation. He thinks this may be his last camino at age 73. Caminos require two things:
physical preparedness and mental preparedness. Being fit is doable with some preparation
exercise, but you have to want to get up at 7 am, repack your gear, and walk everyday. That
is getting to be the hard part for him. I shared my wife’s retirement stages with him to better
see where he was at. The first stage of retirement is go-go. You are fit enough and interested
in going on lots of adventures. The second stage is slow-go where the speed and distance
and challenge may become less. And finally no-go is the third stage. Adventures are over and
you are content to be at home. I think he’s done well to keep the go-go stage going until 73. I
think he will enjoy the slow-go for many more years.
It’s 10:30 pm in Spain now and I haven’t been up this late for a while. The six of us in our
albergue, Mark, Anton, Nathan, Matias, Lucia, and me, joined six more pilgrims staying
elsewhere for drinks and pinchos or tapas as we say in North America. We are all 100 km
from Santiago and getting excited. Most of us will arrive in Santiago on the sixteenth when
there will certainly be another gathering. Just as on previous caminos, community grows
through common challenges and regular contact. Those that stay at hotels don’t get the same
communal experience.
Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos is a hospitalero at Hostal El Porton del Peregrino in Lugo, but recently moved his
family from Cuba. It has been an adjustment for his family but he is hoping his children will
learn to appreciate the new culture and many possibilities now open for their futures. When
Juan Carlos learned Mark and I were Canadians, his face lit up and he treated us like long
lost friends. Apparently Cubans really appreciate the friendship of Canada and the continued
support of their tourism industry.
We had three traditional foods tonight: pulpo or octopus, black rice or rice with squid and
squid ink, and tortilla or Spanish omelette. This was our first experience with many Spanish
sharing their traditions like this. It was a great night out.
Juan
Juan is from northern Galicia, near A Coruna on Camino Ingles. He is walking the Primitivo,
taking every detour to visit churches and points of interest. I learned quickly that Juan is an
expert on Galician culture and followed his guidance on traditional food to try. When we
reached Santiago, Juan became the local guide for our group and took us to hot spots we
never would have found on our own.
Nour
Nour is from Madrid, Spain, and is walking her first camino. Venturing out away from her
usual friends was a big step for her.
Charlie
Charlie is from Madrid, Spain and has joined his old friend Rafa on the Primitivo for a few
days. His stay was short but memorable. He shared many funny stories about Rafa, stories
Rafa would have preferred we didn’t hear. Charlie is a winemaker who really enjoys selling his
wine to Canada because our liquor boards purchase very large volumes.