Monday, May 9, 2016
Lucky Lugo
I just reached Lugo, through this portal in the massive Roman walls built in the 3rd Century. They're still intact. If it wasn't raining, I could walk around the top, a 2 kilometer circuit. But Lugo was still abandoned in the 8th Century, despite its world class walls. Not to worry -- at least for the long view -- the Catholic Church refounded the city in the 10th Century. It was, and is, an unbeatable anchor for the Camino Primitivo. Indeed, today Lugo is about all there is in central Galicia. It's a bustling, prosperous city with a fine cathedral and great restaurants (I'm in one now). The countryside around it is beautiful but hollowed out, with few young people and those remaining are desperate to leave.