El Camino (Levante) Cross of Los Milagros above Portocamba (10.9km) to Laza and a bit extra towards Soutelo Verde Monday 16th April, 2018

Hmmm - good start!  My Cambelbak seal got trapped, stretched and didn't seal my water in the reservoir so I felt cold water running down my trousers which soaked me, left my camera drenched and not working and me without water!  It was a fabulous day, glorious sun driving back the clouds and great views - such a shame as I missed some of the best scenic photos of the trip.  My phone camera just isn't quite good enough for that sort of panorama.

It was still a lovely walk and I did manage to capture some wonderful cloud moods over the valley.  There were a number of pilgrims who passed me to day or walked a little while in step just behind or in front.  Most said hello or held a short conversation and we all regularly stopped to look at the views and photograph the blue skies as the clouds moved aside to reveal a glorious and hot day.

The little covered area where a flask and teas and coffees are
left for pilgrims - along with some bales to sit on and rest
awhile

My "muy crujente" nuts were much appreciated on the walk down and kept me sustained through the morning.  My energy was flagging somewhat as I neared Laza and the heat kicked in to make it more tiring. As usual some kind pilgrims had built an arrow here and there where there may have been some ambiguity as to which direction to follow, but on the whole I think they were just having fun as it wasn't a difficult route to find.

Decorated marker in Eiras near
the little rest stop

The walk was simply beautiful and there seems to a be a lot of care taken towards pilgrims and their well being on this route.  It is completely serviced by those who pop up from Laza (or so it seems) to keep it looking pretty and make sure there is some refreshment.  All they ask for is a "donative" - a lovely idea but I was not thirsty and did not stop.  The pilgrims I had passed were all partaking of some refreshment and of course this mean they would all pass me again further down the mountain.

Rest area heading towards Laza - lovely place to stop and
picnic for pilgrims

 There were lots of nationalities out today - German, French, Spanish and myself... The French guys were very noisy chatters!  They wished me Buen Camino but later when we passed again they asked what language I spoke.  The main guy asked about French but I said mine was a bit out of date (rusty) and he said something weird like "I expect so" (?)  They asked where I had stayed the night before and I explained that I walk the camino in sections and then M and I are currently in one location this time and stay together.  The friend said that is a convenient and nodded and smiled like it was a good idea.  From the main guy I got the impression he was not too impressed as though I was not walk-in the Camino "properly"... fast forward to later in this blog!  I will leave you with that thought for a moment.....

The most beautiful lifting of the clouds as the warmth of the sun evaporated them away from the valley 

Squashed and dead procession

 The peace was a little more broken today as it was back to the working week, so the view of the amazing viaduct being built over the valley was filled with lorries and workmen busying themselves with the enormous engineering works.  You could see the two tunnels entering the opposite side of the valley today and the silence gave way to the rumble of lorries carrying sand and gravel.  Once around the mountain and away from the works it grew quieter again and the cuckoo accompanied us all the way into Laza.

A very long and very much alive procession!

There were many, many processionary pine caterpillars out today.  Many squashed or that had died because the lead caterpillar had been crushed, some going in circles (which I had read about but never seen!) and others in very, very long lines which unnerved me.  I wonder how many of the other pilgrims are aware of them.  There were so many I was glad I did not have the dogs as their hairs were all over the road.  In fact, they were in such abundance that M and I took our shoes off outside the hotel room door when we got back and left them near it rather than risk bringing hairs into the room and on which we might step in bare feet!

In case anyone is looking for a rests top in Laza - donations for staying here.  Looks good.

At the bottom of the mountain and on the last little off road bit of track before entering Laza there was another sign showing the equestrian route and the hiker's route.


I entered Laza with heavy legs from all the downhill.  Muscles were tight and the heat was rising, but it was still very pleasant.  I was glad that it was the end of the day's walk and M directed me in and waved from a vantage point where he had found a nice cafe for a cafe con leche.

There were more ads for places to stay on route and I thought that there would be an ayuntamiento for a sello but as with so many in this region it was no longer in use.  Fortunately the bar provided a very nice one and was not far from the Albergue which actually looked very cool and inviting.


As Michael joined me for the last few metres to the cafe, there ahead was the disapproving Frenchman... well, he may not have been of course but anyway... there he was, with his friend - getting into a TAXI!  Backpacks were being loaded into the boot and and yet they had given me the impression that they had walked every step since Seville on the Via de la Plata!

I am not one to judge and walking sections of the route is fine - I haven't been against skipping long road sections or busy highways... but this made me laugh.  After their insinuations, it was hilarious to see them getting into the Taxi and I wish that I had been closer to say "hello" with a knowing look!  I am sure that they were skipping the next "hard climb" (and it was to be a very hard climb and not glossed over by the guide book)... and then starting from the downhill to Ourense!  Or maybe they were then starting again from Ourense and just walking the final 100km.  Maybe it was a language thing, but maybe not.... maybe the way I am walking it had led them to wish they had thought of it!  Regardless - it let to M and I joking that they couldn't be trusted!

Laza is known for the Fiestas held just before Lent.  It is known as El Entroido and those who take part are known as peliqueiros - because they are men dressed in colourful costumes with hoods made of animal skins.  They create mayhem and toss around coloured water and often flour.  They "threaten" with long sticks like the old tax-collectors of the counts of Monterei in past times.  The idea is to "escape" and have fun - it looks from the pictures a bit like SongKran!  I can't say I would be keen to visit during this festival.

http://www.carnavalexhibit.org/laza.php

The full article and photos can be found in the link above... the photos are really nice as they show the costumes.

Entering Laza - turn left at the building in the left of the
photo - you can just see the shell marker on the wall
of the cream building.

The first recorded inhabitants of the region of Galicia, in the northwest corner of Spain, were Celts, but over centuries other groups, including the Romans and Visigoths, took turns controlling the area. During the Middle Ages, Galicia was under the crown of Castile and it became part of the kingdom of Spain in the late 15th century. A rugged mountain range isolates Galicia from the rest of the country and even today many residents carry on a rural lifestyle with roots in the distant past. The region is often viewed as "poor and backward" by other Spaniards, but Galicians take great pride in their cultural heritage and their way of life. Their Carnival, known regionally as entroido (beginning or entrance), includes some medieval festival traditions, though it is still a vibrant part of village life today. The small community of Laza boasts about 900 inhabitants and entroido is one of the focal points around which the townspeople organize their lives. The Carnival play is acted out through music, dance, and feasting. Ritualized aggression involves participants whipping spectators and throwing ash, flour, water, and dirt filled with ants on one another. Makeshift floats express social and political commentary as does the public reading of a testament that provides comical, satirical, and exaggerated statements about the actions of the townspeople during the past year. 
Clang, clang, clang. Peliqueiros prance in the streets on Sunday morning and the distinctive sound of the large bells hanging from their waists tells everyone that the entroido has begun. These masqueraders, authority figures in Laza's Carnival, carry whips to hit bystanders as a reminder that it is time to play. The exact origin of their elaborate costume and mask is unknown. However, some locals say the peliqueiros' outfit and mannerisms derive from 16th-century tax collectors who carried whips and wore masks with grimacing smiles to intimidate the townspeople.

The lovely albergue in the old part of town, just down from
the really nice cafe and HUGE sello!

Monday is the "dirty" and "wild" day of Laza's Carnival. The farrapada (ragging) in the main plaza begins with one muddy rag thrown at an unsuspecting victim and quickly escalates into an all-out mud war lasting more than two hours. In the meantime a few young men go into the countryside to dig up anthills and collect the ant-filled dirt, which they shovel into sacks and carry back to town. They douse the ants with vinegar to wake them up and then run into the plaza flinging dirt and ants into the air, into peoples' faces, or right down their backs and into their clothes.
he morena, or cow masquerader, appears briefly during the ant-throwing episode. This character acts like a mad cow loose in the square, butting people, lifting women's skirts, and adding to the sense of chaos. Its carved wooden mask is attached to one end of a long pole that the masker manipulates with aggressive gestures as he makes his way through the crowd.

At dusk on Tuesday afternoon people gather in the main plaza for one of the last events of Laza's Carnival. The testamento do burro (testament of the donkey), presents a satirical and mocking recounting of scandalous events that occurred in Laza during the past year. Prepared and read by the testamenteiro, it is a rhymed verse written in the Galician form of Spanish. Using a fictional framework, the reader verbally "distributes" body parts of the donkey to the townspeople he is talking about. For example, a man who lost his pig from the back of his truck on the way to market received the eyes of the donkey so that he might keep better track of his animals.

What appears to be the old courthouse or police station..
some kind of government building anyway

We sat down for a lovely coffee and here I got my credential stamped.  It is the most enormous sello and took up two of my precious spaces!  I was trying to keep with one credential to the end but I will definitely need to contact the Confraternity again to see if I can get a new one sent to the UK.

After a welcome rest, I set off to walk out of the town but with a break from my backpack.  The old town is amazing and very different from some of the other Spanish towns we have passed through.  Lots of stone balconies and almost every house has goats under the living area.  Some are let out to graze in communal areas, but many have the doors open to let in the air and have a barred gate across.  The old ladies take them hay and they seem to be given things to climb on in these under-house barns.  It feels very ancient, like when everyone used to live over their livestock - and which of course provides warmth to the house above in winter!

The big old courthouse or government building of sorts was beautiful.  You could imagine officials coming out onto the balcony.  I assumed it was some sort of court house or police station because there were tiny little slits of windows in the lower level - which were presumably holding cells.

With my Audrey Hepburn glasses

I checked out the route to SouteloVerde, where I would start in two days.  The following day had been planned as a day off and one that would be most welcome visiting the volcanic pools (thermal springs) in Ourense to soak the aching muscles!  The climb would be a last big push and quite a steep ascent over a short distance, but this would be the last one before heading down hill to the flatter valley and Ourense.

Another accommodation option for Laza