Lugo, the Galician Atlantic Coast, and Leon

Sunday, May 10

Happy Mother's Day to all who have acted as mothers in our lives, and in the lives of our children!

Despite a weather forecast that had indicated warm and sunny weather for northern Spain today, we awoke to a dense and chilly blanket of fog in Santiago this morning.  We'd planned to head straight to the Glacian (northwestern Spain's Atlantic) coast, but decided to detour inland to wait out the fog instead.

We stopped in Lugo, whose main attraction is the Roman Wall that completely encircles the old town.  We walked the entire circumference, stopping only to visit the cathedral, where Sunday Mass was being videotaped for later TV broadcast..

Inland, the skies began to turn blue, so we headed to the coast, where things were not quite so bright, but there were still sights to be seen -- and jaws to drop!  We drove along a series of beaches where, though it was chilly and skies were gray, there were lots of families out enjoying Sunday outings.  We stopped at Cathedral Beach to walk the headlands, rock formations, flowers, and crashing waves below.

Tom's great find, and today's real highlight, was the Beach of Silence, which we reached via a very narrow, one way (except for a few who didn't get that message) road, high on a cliff.  After parking the car, we switchbacked enough of the way down to the beach to have fabulous views of rocks, promontories, and moving water.  It was spectacular, and even on a day when skies were gray, there was a hint of turquoise in the water below us.  What a treat -- and it wasn't on any map or any guide book we've been using.

Our destination tonight was Leon, so we headed south from the coast, skirting the Picos de Europa, the mountains sometimes called the Spanish Alps.  (We'll spend some time in the mountains later this week.)  The lush green hills, with views of some snowy patches on faraway peaks, tiny red-roofed villages below, and wildflowers underfoot made us think Sound of Music!

Our two-bedroom apartment in Leon is on the block connecting the Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral -- prime real estate!  We walked around both squares and found that the cathedral precincts were starting to see a lot of early-evening action.  A platform was set up and musicians, singers, and priests were assembling for some sort of prayer service honoring the missions.  Before that began, we found an evening Mass in one of the cathedral's chapels.  Latin would have been easier for us to understand than Spanish, but some things are universal, and we had no problem finding our place.

For one reason or another, we've found ourselves adapting to the late dinner hours in Spain, even when we're eating "at home". It may be the fact that it stays light so late, or perhaps we're just enjoying longer happy hours!

We did return to the cathedral square after dark, though the church was so brightly lit, it was hard to tell the sun had set.

This was a fine day -- towns, coastal beauty, mountain scenery, and a fine new apartment.