Day 28. Taking it easy

Lugo has been a good place to take a break. The hostel is nice and clean and perfectly located, and Pedro at the front desk goes the extra step to help me locate the bus and train stations, as well as Alquimia, home of the best gin and tonic in town.

Lugo happens to be celebrating a music festival this week and last night featured an evening with soprano Roberta Invernizzi accompanied by Ars Atlantico, a group dedicated to the interpretation of music from the baroque through the classical eras. The group included José Manuel Dapena, playing a guitar crafted by José Luis Romanillos, master luthier, avid promoter of Spanish guitar music and author of several books about Antonio de Torres, the father of the modern classical guitar. Roberta was the star, of course, and she had a beautiful and captivating voice.

Lugo was originally a Celtic village but after Roman armies invaded the Spanish peninsula to dislodge the Carthaginians, they established a stronghold in Lugo to control the gold mines on the south of the Cantabrian mountains. The Roman defensive wall which still surrounds the city was built in the 3rd century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can walk around the top of the wall which is over 2 km in length. I walked around twice and saw other strollers, dog walkers and joggers. Gonna kill my daily average unless I do another 20 laps, but the thunderstorms are going through. Maybe time to head over to Alquimia.

By the way, regarding the fellows in the last picture of yesterday’s blog: they are fellow peregrinos from Huelva. Just north of Huelva, to be precise, the region that produces the best jamon jabugo in Spain. A special breed of dark-haired black-footed Iberian pig is raised in this micro-climate and fed on acorns for the one-month fattening period to give the distinctive taste and melt-in-your mouth texture. After their sacrifice in winter, the shoulder and hind legs are cured in salt for a month or so and then dried for up to three years in special drying warehouses. Victor, the younger man in the picture (no, not me), recommended that I purchase the caña de lomo, the dried pork loin of the Iberian cerdo jabugo. His father, the old guy (no, not me), suggested if you want to ensure the best quality and not be fooled by unscrupulous vendors, purchase at Corte Ingles.

I have not seen many of the peregrinos I started out with. Maybe this break will give them a chance to catch up. I did see Takaya, but he was on the other side of the plaza when a thunderstorm rolled through. Back on the trail tomorrow!