My walking was ahead of schedule! I had allowed 21 days to complete the walk, based on my weather experiences of last year on the walk from St. Jean to Santander. But in 2021, the weather had been much kinder, and I was making better progress than expected. As a result, I was no only a short walk from the next city, Lugo. I decided to go to Lugo and spend a day there as well.
I left Vilar de Cas with only 15km to go to reach Lugo. As with so many days on the route, the morning was misty, but dry.
I followed quiet country lanes, passing fields of grazing animals, until eventually, the city of Lugo came into sight. Even then, however, entry to the city is not so straightforward, going down into a dip in the terrain before going back up to the city itself.
The development of Lugo goes back to Roman times, and the city is famous throughout Spain for its walls. Started during the years of Roman rule, the walls of the city were developed over the centuries and feature 85 rounded bastions.
On entering the city, I went straight to the cathedral to get my stamp on the pilgrim passport, but mass was in progress, so I was asked to come back later. So I had lunch and checked in at my accommodation. When I did go back to the cathedral, the stamp from there is one of the most impressive on my pilgrim passport.
My total steps that day was just 29,778. And in Lugo, I had reached just under 100km from Santiago.
The next day was designated as a rest day. But it was not entirely rest. I had accumulated a significant amount of laundry to be washed and two visits to the lavanderia were required.
I also took the time to walk the walls and to see the old city. Within the walls, Lugo is mainly a city of small streets, sometimes with houses almost tumbling over each other, but always dominated by the cathedral.
The walls of the city form a complete circuit, with a walking trail on top that is as wide as a street. It is used by joggers and walkers. The city is appropriately designated a UNESCO world heritage site.
After a day of rest in Lugo, I was ready to go on. And even though it was a rest day, my step count was 18,855.
Walkingman 