It was relatively easy walking today. After one challenging uphill out of Cadavo Baleira, it was mostly flat all the way to Lugo.
I made a stop in Gondar, a small village filled with houses made of stone. I wandered the quiet streets looking for the Fontina de Valinas. Legend has it that those who drink from the fountain will fall in love. But after walking through the entire village, I couldn’t find it. Exiting the village, I met up with Cairon from Ireland. He’s a lawyer with a bald head, a full beard, and a good sense of humour. “Fontina de Valinas? Isn’t that the one where, if you drink from it, you get a creepy crush on someone?” Haha, what a romantic.
We finally found the fountain along the Camino just outside of town. I made a big ceremony of it by untying my shell from my pack, filling it with fountain water, toasting the romance gods, and taking a sip. Well, it’s six hours later and the only thing I seem to have fallen in love with is the Camino lifestyle – walking, sleeping in albergues, and having dinner and conversation with new friends who come from every part of the world. Such civilized hiking!
I’m in a bar now in the city of Lugo, a Celtic name, since Lug means Sun God or Sacred Forest. The old part of the city is surrounded by massive walls, built as a defence during the Roman years. The walls are still in pretty good shape and are the world’s largest surviving Roman walls. Despite this defence, though, the town has been turned over a number of times, first to the Suevi, then to the Visgoths in 585, and to the Moors in the eighth century. This is now quite a lively town, great for people watching. At the moment, I’m in a bar with seven pilgrims from six countries watching World Cup football.
