Sanabrês Way:
Zamora to Santiago de Compostela
“ The cat is a trickster” and the mysterious coffee...
In April 2017, we finished Le Puy and went to Zamora by train to start the Sanabrês Way. It would take another 17 days. We rested for two days in the city and took the opportunity to organize the next hike.
One afternoon, we were sitting in a bar with tables on the sidewalk when we saw an old man walking with difficulty. He seemed to be blind. When he got close to our table, his cane fell and he got a little lost. Helinho got up, picked up the cane from the floor and gave it back. The man thanked him and asked for alms. Helinho, feeling sorry for him, gave him the money. The man walked away with difficulty and at the other table where other “gringos” were sitting, the old man dropped his cane, again!!! We noticed his trickery and laughed at his creativity. Well, and we Brazilians are the ones who are called rogues...
Rested and with everything organized, we began our walk. The rustic, flat landscape, with endless straights and lots of gravel was a punishment for our feet. On the first day, we arrived in Montamarta, a very small place with few resources. From there, we continued on to Granja de Moreruela.
It was difficult to find a place to stay, but we talked to a shopkeeper here, a cousin there, a sister there, and in the end we stayed in a rural house. Seeing the difficulty that two Dutch cyclists, Caroline and her partner, were having in finding accommodation, we talked to our hostess and she managed to get us a place at her sister's house. That day we did another good deed and also helped a couple from Belgium.
Even though the four of us were staying in other houses, we had dinner where we were staying. Each person prepared their own dinner, but we all had dinner together, drank wine, talked and the journey started to get better again.
The next day, we continued walking on the straight and gravel road. We started to meet other people. A Canadian, a French woman, a Spaniard who knew Brazil, and a quiet Italian. This is because this route is a variation of the Via de La Plata, which starts in Seville. And these people had already come from far away, on this route. We also had the company of the rain, which came to stay for a few days. So, we went to Tábara and then Santa Croya de Tera.
One of those days, the quiet Italian and I were walking together. We stopped to rest in a small village that didn’t have any bars or anything. But a man saw us sitting on the sidewalk and invited us to go to the Residents’ Association. We accepted immediately. It was a warm place, with good “cafe con leche”, snacks and water. A good rest in the middle of the journey.
The next day, we went to Rionegro del Puente on a beautiful road and under more rain. Passing through Villar de Farfón, which looked more like a ghost town, it started to rain very heavily. We saw a little wooden sign with a picture of a coffee cup. We stopped and there was a couple and Wallace, the owner of the café and hostel called “Rehoboth”.
This was a very small hostel owned by a South African couple. They dedicated much of their lives to helping orphaned children in Zambia and India. One day, while walking by, they saw a house in ruins. They decided to buy it, renovate it and build what is now this very nice hostel, which survives solely on donations. Each person pays what they can or what they want. We stayed there chatting, drinking coffee and eating some biscuits while the rain eased.
Wallace told us about his decisions to stay there, about paths and their meanings. We commented that we didn’t really know why we liked walking so much. And that walking was what made us happy. And he told us that when we walk we return to our “original state”. That hit us hard! That was what we needed to hear to understand our feelings while walking.
The rain stopped, we said goodbye and continued on. A little further ahead it started to rain again. We stood under a tree, but the rain no longer bothered us. Instead, we stood admiring the rain. We had never seen such beautiful rain! We were in a state of grace... What could have happened? Was it because we discovered the meaning of walking or was it because the coffee had some additive? The fact is that we never forgot that day, that feeling and that rain...
Receiving another visit from the “bed bug”...
In addition to the good feeling of the previous day's rain, that day was going to be a day of promised luck. We found the "estevas" (rockroses), those flowers that perfumed our path in Portugal, on the Rota Vicentina/Trilho dos Pescadores (Fishermen's Trail). The detail was that a Portuguese man told us that whoever found the seven-pointed rockrose would be lucky. And we found it. So, happy with our good luck, we went to Puebla de Sanabria, a medieval city.
The next day, we set off without rushing. It was Sunday and we decided not to walk too far. We passed by roads, forests, trails, rivers, until we reached Requejo, a small town like the others we had been to so far, with less than two hundred inhabitants. From there, our destination was Lubián. The people we met in this little town were very nice and easy to talk to. The couple who owned the small grocery store said that many young people go to the bigger cities and the town is emptying out. But there, what we saw were many houses being renovated, a sign that these same young people must be returning. Perhaps with children, looking for a quiet place to live.
So, the next day, we went to A Gudiña, in Galicia. It was the fifth time we had entered Galicia, but the excitement was just as great. This time, our alternative was to go to Laza, via Campobecerros, a small village that had little to offer. But the walk was promising. The highlights of the view from the top of the Serra Seca were the As Portas dam, a sea of mountains, the valley and the sight of Portuguese lands in the distance. The rare “pueblos” were a handful of houses, but almost no inhabitants, who, among other reasons, had moved due to the harsh climate and the presence of wolves, enemies of livestock.
Arriving in Campobecerros, on the way down the mountain, we saw blood on the ground. Later, we found out that a woman with her daughter had fallen and hurt herself badly. The path down was very slippery because of the loose rocks. There were many workers there, who were doing major construction work on the railway. There was only one very strange hostel, with bunk beds stuck together. There was also a hotel with a restaurant, where we stayed, like most of the workers.
It wasn't exactly clean, but what can you do? We had our own sleeping bag and bath towel. We didn't need to use anything from the hotel. We woke up the next morning and guess who came to stay? That nasty allergy, because of a bite from the damned "bed bug". Again!!! I felt bad with itching, chills, and swelling on my face and body. When we got to Laza, we went straight to the Health Center because we were running out of allergy medicine. Just to remind you, the same thing happened on the first day of the Le Puy hike. The doctor who attended to us was very nice and tried to find the Spanish name for "Alegra", but he couldn't find it. I was given medication. We had to sanitize all of our clothes, sleeping bag, and backpack to make sure none of those damned bugs were hitching a ride. And that was a big job.
A German man also stayed at our guesthouse and said that he had fallen on the way down to Campobecerros, just like the lady. He had lost his camera and all the notes for a book he was writing about the Via de La Plata. He said he was going back home and didn't want to walk anymore. We suggested that he ask for help from the Civil Defense staff, who are very helpful. But he didn't accept our suggestion and left disappointed and angry. He had already walked more than 800 km and his rash attitude may have brought some regret later.
The most important thing about these walks is knowing how to manage adversity, as we were managing it. When we enter the “paths” we are aware that anything can happen. Therefore, it is always good to maintain balance, harmony and a cool head... Always!
Another birthday on the way...
A great therapy is to always remember “less is more”. We have been practicing detachment from material things for a long time. We feel much better having less, but being able to enjoy more, experiencing life on our own feet. Traveling to walk or walking to travel, it doesn’t matter. And the best thing is to have just enough in your backpack. In the morning, you don’t have to worry about what to wear or what to wear. The clothes are always the same. We have a routine. We get back from the walk, rest a little, do the laundry, clean our shoes, take a comforting bath, have dinner, buy snacks for the next day.
But, do you think this routine is boring? Not at all! It’s great! Because even though it’s a “routine”, each day it happens in a different place, in a new setting, with different people.
And it was in a routine and different way that we headed to Xunqueira de Ambía, where along the way we met several friends. Each one in their own way, from a different place, but all on the same wavelength. Just to give you an idea, Marcel was a scared Dutchman who walked so fast that he always had to stop to rest. The crazy Japanese guy, who we called Takashi, because we never knew his name, didn't speak a word of Spanish, English or any other language other than Japanese. He carried a notebook in his backpack, two iPads and two huge watches on his wrists, which almost spoke... We even thought they spoke. It was with all this technology that we were able to communicate. But his white sneakers were rubbish. We also met Birgite, a very funny French girl, Cabral, whose name we also didn't know, but that's okay because when we don't know a name we always make it up, and the quiet Italian guy, who already spoke, and we later learned his name: Gianni. Then we met Michel, a Frenchman who speaks Portuguese very well, having lived in Brazil for a long time, and we kept in touch.
Well, we headed to the big city, Ourense. We took a break from the peace of the countryside and enjoyed the city by walking around. In a random square, a random pigeon, but with great aim, landed a turd on Helinho's head. Could this be another sign of luck? From there, we went to Cea, Bergazos and, one day away from Santiago, we arrived at Ponte Ulla.
The next day, May 24th, another one of Vera's birthdays, we left calmly because our destination was already close. This was our fifth time in Santiago de Compostela. But this time it would be different because we would arrive from another side of the city.
It was a beautiful place, just for us. But halfway there we met a Spaniard who was walking fast and talking a lot. We had to stop and put a stop to him. We let him go, because that wasn't the way we wanted to go.
The sun was scorching and the temperature was over 30 degrees. And there we were again. Happy, in a place that, at this point, was already our home. We did all our rituals. We thanked Santiago for this opportunity, attended the Pilgrims' Mass and its famous botafumeiro, and rested for five days. This gave us the opportunity to see Phillipe and Simon, an Israeli, who we met on the Le Puy Trail. And we also met the crazy Japanese guy, Takashi (?), looking lost, still wearing his inappropriate white sneakers that were now tied with duct tape. We celebrated my birthday in the city, which we already felt was ours, and planned our next journey...