Day 13 – Lugo to Ferreira

16.7mi/26.87km from Lugo to Ferreira

With a weeklong rain forecast, David and I dreaded leaving our comfortable Lugo hotel for the dusty (muddy?) trail. We had a steep descent out of the city, westward into the valley that we could see from the city walls yesterday. A highlight of the early day was the Roman bridge across the Rio Minho. It was built nearly 2000 years ago, but has been repaired a few times since then.

Unlike some of our long days, this one actually had a few good stops. We stopped at a nice bar just outside of Lugo for breakfast/coffee, but then the rest of the day wasn’t terribly memorable, as we traversed along one road, or side paths just off of it, for pretty much the entire day.

By the early afternoon, we were looking for another stop. We came upon a very nicely built self-service/vending machine area for peregrinos, but moved forward thinking that there was an open bar nearby. Nope, it was closed. Typical Primitivo, everything closed. So unfortunately, we had to walk backwards a bit. David and I have a rule. If you go backwards on a Camino, you get a strike. You get only three strikes, then you get sent all the way back to the beginning and have to do it all again. That was strike one for us.

After a restful stop, we trudged onward until about mile 16, when we reached the Albergue Ponte Ferreira. This was the last of several albergues in Ferreira, and we went there purposely because our gude app said that it was open at this time of year and that the Dutch owners made delicious vegetarian meals daily for pilgrims. Then we saw a sign on their door saying that they were closed for just these days that we happened to be there… Dutchbags!

So, we had to walk backwards more than a quarter-mile to an albergue we had passed previously. Two strikes! Luckily, the place we ended up at was great: it was a beautifully converted farmhouse, where we had a warm and restful sleep. And right next-door was a restaurant that made Spanish tortillas from scratch. We had one with lots of vegetables, and fell asleep satisfied. Tomorrow we go to Melide and join the Camino Francès, where we’re likely to see a lot more (new) faces, but also a whole lot more (open) places. We’re ready to rename the Camino Primitivo the “Camino Cerrado.” Everything closed!