The people in the south of Bavaria were so fortunate
To be able to wear lederhosen and suspenders,
The man who wore them won fair woman –
To the rejoicing let him blow his own horn,
The man remained a symbol of regional pride
Somewhere in the Alps will be his own!
And he who never managed to fit in lederhosen
Let him diet forth from the eating throng!
(Thanks to Gerry for the poem)

Our albergues in Galicia have been great. They are run and provided by the council… they are xunta albergues and so far I can recommend all that we’ve used.

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I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. And this is one: I’m going to tell it – but take care not to smile at any part of it.

So last night we slept in the Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real de Oseira.  What the albergue itself lacked in warmth the building made up for with its centuries of history.

Brother Alfonso greeted us and signed us in.  He also explained what time Vespers was held if we wanted to attend… which we did.

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Last night we wandered out in search of dinner and as usual we found that nothing was available until 8.00 pm.  We had a long day ahead us and that was too late for us so we found a cafe on Plaza Major that served sandwiches, hotdogs and Churros… Camino Heaven for my two buddies!  Hot Chocolate and churros are just not my thing but I did enjoy a toasted sandwich and a very nice frozen yoghurt.  We ate as the square got busier and a chap came by playing clarinet to a soundtrack… we had Yesterday and Imagine before he moved on. Then we wandered back through the busy streets to our hotel and our beds.

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Birds flyin’ high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me.
Yeah, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me,
And I’m feelin’ good

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Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river:
Nowhere by thee my steps shall be
For ever and for ever.

But here will sigh thine alder tree
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
For ever and for ever.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever

We ate simply last night.  Maggie had eaten her fill at lunchtime and couldn’t face another morsel.  Instead we found a little shop and like kids in a sweetshop we bought fruit and yogurt and cheese and bread.  I made myself a cheese sandwhich and we had fruit and yoghurt for breakfast… and I made a banana sandwhich for lunch… Maggie opted for a cheese… preferring to eat her banana on its own.

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THEY shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a path through the woods
Before they planted the trees:
It is underneath the coppice and heath,
And the thin anemones.
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods

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INMATE of a mountain-dwelling,
Thou hast clomb aloft, and gazed
From the watch-towers of Helvellyn;
Awed, delighted, and amazed!

Potent was the spell that bound thee
Not unwilling to obey;
For blue Ether’s arms, flung round thee,
Stilled the pantings of dismay.

Lo! the dwindled woods and meadows;
What a vast abyss is there!
Lo! the clouds, the solemn shadows,
And the glistenings–heavenly fair

Last night we ate lasagna and it was sooo delicious!  We stayed in Hostel Oscar as we’d read that the albergue had been closed for bed bug fumigation.  As it happens that wasn’t the case but we were happy with our choice.

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Tom Pearce, Tom Pearce, lend me your grey mare.
All along, down along, out along lea.
For I want for to go to Widecombe Fair,
With Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney,
Peter Davy, Dan’l Whiddon, Harry Hawke,
Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all,
Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all

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I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend

Last night’s bed was good but the dinner not so much.  We stayed at a Hotel just outside Padornelo… it promised a restaurant and a cafe and a bar. Continue reading →