A Coruña

We went to the coast last week with Gonzalo and visited the ‘second oldest lighthouse in the world’. There we met a man with a tattoo of the Hercules Tower on his shoulder, and he recommended we come to A Coruña to see it, the oldest one, so of course we thought that would be a great idea.

Monica has moved on but I still have Patti Pie with me, so on the spur of the moment, we booked our tickets and a hotel and off we went.

The day started with me waking super early and taking off to the bus stop still chomping on a piece of vegemite toast and trying to finish dressing at the same time as running down the hill. I filmed my walk to the bus stop but not sure if anyone is interested. (If you are, let me know, because the highlights of the impromptu shower under the garden hose and the sighting of a rabbit should not really be missed). I walked past a large corn field too, which may or may not be of interest to anyone who is or isn’t into gardening and watching things grow😳

I had time to purchase a coffee so I went into old town and visited my favourite cafe. On the way there, I noticed a really old woman who appeared to be training for an iron woman event or something! She had a large bag balancing on her head and a heavy supermarket bag in each hand. I could tell it was all really heavy and she seemed to be struggling. Enough procrastinating, I thought I would offer some help, but she started off down the hill and I hesitated for a moment. She gathered speed so I had to start running to catch her! The momentum took hold and the heavy bags and head balancing thing took over. She ran, I ran, we all ran to try and help! Then she disappeared around the corner and I didn’t see her again. It was weird….as if I had imagined it!

I then made my way down to the railway station to meet Patti Pie and we boarded the train to A Coruña for our next adventure. She took this picture of me..

It looks like I’m deep in contemplation, but I was actually just enjoying the fact that I was moving again wondering why people don’t stay in Galicia for a little bit at the end of their Caminos. I know some are time-restricted, but it is one of the most beautiful and interesting parts of the world I’ve been to. There is so much to see and experience, and the history and culture here is so interesting.

So this is why I found myself on a train. I haven’t been to A Coruña. Well now I have, and I’m wishing I had more than two days. We wandered, mostly lost, among the streets of town until we found a cafe for lunch, and then through the park where we met a man with a pram. There were 8 dogs in there!

We went to the chocolate factory and sampled some, admired the street art, window shopped and mingled with the locals. Patti takes more photos than me.

We went to the beach. It looks a little like the towns on the Norte Camino

And then walked out to the Romanesque lighthouse and along the cliff top to our hotel – where siesta was necessary.

We waited until the hottest part of the Day was done and took off again on the coastal path. It showed me a mixture of Australian and British coastlines. One part actually looked so ancient and Greek with steps carved into the rocks leading to the blue-green water.

Im not sure if this is normality here, but the rocky cliff face seems to be a great sun bathing spot. This is not very remarkable really, except that everyone is stark naked. (I didn’t take photos) but it sure was interesting. Spanish men are small but only in some aspects. Lol

We stopped at a cafe that had been recommended and enjoyed a cold drink accompanied by the sound of two toddlers throwing tantrums, and then wandered deep into the forest of tapas bars for dinner. I actually felt like I was in the laneways if Melbourne and the streets were a sea of people moving like waves between the bars and cafes. The hustle and bustle was exciting and we ate one of the best meals we’ve had so far.

On the way back, we came across a free concert in the park… was fantastic!

As I’m writing this, it is the next morning. I woke to the sound of sparrows chirping and the waves crashing on the rocks. I’m reminded how fortunate I am to be able to enjoy such experiences and I’m pinching myself for the hundredth time on this little sojourn. My feet are aching after our almost 18km walk yesterday. That is about an average Camino stage for me but I don’t have my hiking shoes. It was hot yesterday too. There will be a repeat performance today too with expected temperature of 28.

I took so many photos yesterday…Here are some more 😳…

I guess you could say that I like this town and it is a feast for the eyes, and Im looking forward to today