Lugo day 2 (Saturday, October 4th)

When we hit the streets at 8:00 this morning, people were still partying from last night, and the festival has only just begun.  The city workers were hosing down the streets and picking up all the garbage, making it look like any other morning.

The guy in the tourist office told us that they do not do flamenco or bull fighting in Galicia as they are Mediterranean  activities, and Galicians are an Atlantic people, more like the Irish!

After our morning coffee at Canela bakery we walked a piece of the Camino de Santiago in reverse, back towards Burgos.  Walking the trail in reverse is a little challenging as the shell symbols used to mark the trail are only designed to help you going west, and are difficult to find when heading east.  Consequently we missed a turn and ended up at a highway, with no idea where to go.  A farmer beckoned us over and got his wife to try and help us.  She spoke no English and we spoke no Galician, so it was getting frustrating.  She understood that we were walking El Camino, and eventually realized that we were walking it "reverse", and pointed us to a dirt track opposite, which would take to the Camino.  With charade type instructions they told us to look for pillars with "conche" on them, so we knew that they understood us. After many smiles and gracias we were back on our way and found the trail without any difficulty.

Marlene and Marty with a Camino marker

We had to be back in town by 11 am for the animal parade, and as nothing in Spain seems to be on time, we were early at 11:15.  The parade included 4 bulls and cows, 4 dogs, 1 pig, 2 chickens, 2 donkeys and 2 tractors.  Not exactly the Macy's Christmas parade, but a lot of fun watching the locals.

The Animal Parade

At 1:15 pm we watched a performance by a local amateur singing group, Batital, which was excellent. They sang popular old Spanish tunes, such as Molly Malone (the opening number).  They sang in English, French, Italian and Spanish / Galician.  The lead female singer had a very powerful voice, and was a great entertainer.  

Batitel

At 6:30 pm we watched a performance by Banda Filharmonica de Lugo, which was a large group singing Galician songs.  The accompaniment included bag pipes, so perhaps they really are Celtic.  This group was also very good.

Banda Filharmonica de Lugo

After the second show it was dark and got very cold, so we stopped in at a small bar / cafe for a drink to warm up.  Three teas and one beer was 4.30 euros, and they gave us free appetizers and peanuts in the shell - great value!

As we wandered home, through narrow streets filled with revellers, we stopped and watched the band Galilea in Praza Maior for a half hour or so, and danced in the street like the locals.

Street Decorations on a quiet street

We went to sleep to the sounds of a pan flute, amplified and playing through a sound system a block from the hotel.

Thankfully we had brought ear plugs with us, and were able to block out most of the party sounds.

Galicia seems to be a happening sort of place.