Last evening's sunset from the top of the mountain was fine ... camera even managed a fiery shot ... supermoon a while later, from further down ... the scenic spot a little perilous to descend in the dark ... reflecting on the resurgence of pagan forms, born of awe at the power, beauty and mystery of the movement of the celestial entities ... after a long and often violent debate with Christian powers, the daily disappearance of Sun, falling off the edge of the earth, only to show up later on the other side, commonsense once the spherical form of planets and stars was accepted ... makes this pilgrim still awed, but surely less so, processing the images through apparatus accepting contemporary science ... and still preferring the formless to Pagan, Christian or other structures, started to help explain the Mystery, inevitably evolving to keep power hungry people in control ... usually blokes ... as Taoism says: The Tao which can be explained is not the immortal Tao .... and yet we keep trying ... even Taoists ...
A fond farewell with Fatima last night ... Michele this morning ... and out early to walk, without a plan ...towards Cee, 16 km on a fine sunny morning ... mostly coastly. .. a group of pilgrims with packs at the bus station looking uncomfortable, almost guilty ...passing oncoming pilgrims ... the beautiful Julia, 23, from Lithuania, with her handsome home made staff .... walked from Lisbon and loved it ... mostly alone on the Lisbon to Porto stretch ... a gentle soul .... next Lisa, last seen in San Vicente de la Barquera, where we dined together ... moving slower, still smiling .. and so to Cee. .. for the first coffee since La Espiral, 3 hours and the next stage is the bus to Santiago, a night there, the Fatima Way south ... blue arrows to follow ... walking backwards on the Portuguese Camino more tricky, though surely common ground to cover ... and if another sign is helpful, why not the synchronicity of Fatima the place and Fatima the goddess?
The bus to Muros follows the coastline ... a small one with local old folks going home with their shopping ... halfway, a happy verbal play ... we can see Cee across the sea ... though Spanish speakers will have spotted the C is neither soft nor hard but lisped as in think ... never mind it was fun to try ... the walking route goes up and over here ... two or three days over the mountains ... beautiful small towns at every bay, still with tourists, but not pilgrims ... at Muros the big bus from Fisterra is waiting ... plenty of pilgrims aboard ... more word play approaching Noia, but the joke breaks down ... and the brain is weary ... maybe the high energy of excited pilgrims, reverting to more familiar sleeping patterns ... conversations more traditional too ... less space between the stories ... perhaps the old energy from the sacred stones sat upon last night ... two nights broken sleep .... let's see what a simple single room at the Hospedaria San Martin Pinario can do ...
Info on the Fatima Way not so easy to find ... the usual suspects say it is not a Santiago Camino ... just happens to start at the cathedral ... Porto tourist info more helpful, printing out proposed stages and open albergues ... anyway it looks like it is basically the Portuguese Way walked backward as far as the border at Tui ... buses also available, though there was never a taboo ... all is allowed ... including another €23 peaceful room in the eaves of the old seminary ... including buffet breakfast. .. and a photo of the never-ending restoration work ... a job for life if you have a head for heights and the requisite skills ... reflecting on the scaffolding, wondering how they built it in the first place ... possibly pre-fabricated in a parallel universe and dropped onto the foundations by space ship ...
Julia passed info and Anna, 26 year old German also ... she walked from Porto before ... this time it was the Frances from Pamplona ... sorry, no pic ... and since the WiFi is weak at the Hospedaria, taking advantage of the friendly US evangelists ... Jose still there, a good base while he resets ... and strong WiFi in the bedroom at La Espiral maybe another factor in the brain energy malfunction ... another bonus for tonight, along with single bed, linen, generous bath towel ... the afternoon nap was good and an early night appealing ... maybe rest the stomach and fill up in the morning ... reset the system as well as the walk ... no more fellow travellers so far, though Lisa's lazy wander shows there may yet be more ... not to mention the wonderful Muxia-Fisterra extension. .. and the excellent scenic bus tour round the coast of Galicia ... after posting, Nuria arrives off the later bus, with two staffs ... the first was given to her by an old man who asked her to pray for him and his family ... the second from an Irishman, unable to carry it on the plane home ... she signs in at the Hospedaria ... some philosophy ensues over a beer ... finished her studies in Literature and Gardening ... hoping for an epiphany on the Way ... what to do next .... nothing came, so she will find a job in Barcelona, maybe receptionist which she has done before ... train home the day after tomorrow ... after much male energy today has been a treat, with four beautiful young perigrinas ... the future ...
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