9:00 AM – Muxía: Hotel La Cruz: sunrise from our
window across the bay toward Merexo (there was no beach at high tide).
We
ate breakfast in the bar of Hostal La
Cruz (4€ each): the same as on Sunday, but MT asked for more toast for
marmalade and the waitress brought Don more hot milk and ColaCao (hot chocolate).
During breakfast, we talked with an Irish couple. The lady, at least sixty-ish,
said she had gone into the sea in her “skivvies” when they first arrived. MT
gave them a towel another Irish lady had left on the beach, since they said
they knew her.
9:24 AM – Muxía: Hotel La Cruz: newspaper
article, from El Comarcal [The
Regional], April 2014, p. 4, about the owners, Manuela Pérez Varela and her
husband (with reflection in glass).
After
breakfast, MT went out to the breach in front of Hostal La Cruz to read on the
grassy slope above the rocks. Don took photos from our window and in front of
the hostal, then spent some time working with photos.
10:39 AM – Muxía: promenade and shoreline in
front of Hostal La Cruz (no beach at high tide)—look closely for MT sitting on
grassy slope (focal length 24 mm).
10:40 AM – Muxía: MT reading on grassy slope
above rocks on shoreline (telephoto, 156 mm).
10:40 AM – Muxía: MT reading on grassy slope
above rocks on shoreline (extreme telephoto, 360 mm).
11:35 AM – Muxía: view from in front of Hostal
La Cruz up the promenade toward Monte Corpiño (focal length 24 mm).
11:35 AM – Muxía: Monte Corpiño and Igrexa de
Santa María on right (telephoto, 133 mm).
Then
we went to the Tourist Office to ask
about the stone walls we had seen around Monte Corpiño. The lady in charge
there agreed that they were for huertas
(gardens). We also asked her for a map of Vigo to help us find a hotel; she
printed out a map from the Internet that showed hotels but not the bus station.
While there, we met a Frenchman who had done one of the scripture readings at
the vespers in Rabanal del Camino. He had walked from Paris and was trying to
find a way to go back by boat.
After
looking for sangria at several bars on Rúa da Marina, we stopped at 1:25 at Café-Bar Wimpe, where the enterprising
waiter offered us tinto de verano—a
red wine cooler with lemon-flavored agua
gaseosa [sparkling water] (1.50€ each). The waiter also brought us and
other customers small bowls of guiso [stew]
(stewed pork with potatoes in tomato sauce) at no charge.
12:42 PM – Muxía: sign for 15€ pilgrim menu
outside bar near bus stop – Spanish version.
12:42 PM – Muxía: sign for pilgrim menu
outside bar near bus stop – English version on other side (“Pork secret” is the
literal translation of “Secreto de cerdo”).
1:19 PM – Muxía: Café-Bar Wimpe exterior – MT
at table at left side of terraza.
1:26 PM – Muxía: Café-Bar Wimpe – our bowls of guiso with bread and our tinto de verano drinks.
After
“lunch” we went out to a tienda near
A de Loló to buy 2 yogurts for Don and an apple and an orange for a dinner
snack.
We
sat in the marina area for a while before returning to Hostal La Cruz for our backpacks. We said good-bye to the owners;
the lady said we were “especial.” (Earlier, when MT asked for a stopper for the
sink so we could wash clothes, she had volunteered to wash them for us and hang
them on the terraza; she didn’t charge for this.)
We
went to the bus stop by Bar O’Coral
to catch the 2:30 bus to Santiago. It was late arriving at the bus stop. The
bus trip, operated by Hermanos Ferrin, S.L. (HEFESL), took about 2 hours. It
went through some of the same places that Don had passed through on his walk to
Muxía, and he was able to point out some familiar things to MT.
3:20 PM – On bus between Muxía and Santiago:
cemetery with a whole row of Celtic crosses.
The
bus was also late in arriving in Santiago.
So we had to rush to catch the 5 pm bus to Vigo. The Monobus (operated by
Castromil) cost 8€ each and took about 1.5 hours.
We
arrived at the bus station in Vigo
(pop 300,840) around 6:45. We made much needed baño stops and got a map of Vigo
and directions to our hotel from the information counter in the bus station.
From 6:58 to 7:30, we walked to Hotel Vigo Plaza; as we turned from Gran Vía
onto Rúa Progreso, a fifty/sixty-ish man recognized us as pilgrims and asked if
we needed help. He had done 3 pilgrimages (Camino Frances from St. Jean Pied de
Port, the Portuguese route, and one from Sevilla) and planned to do the
Portuguese route that fall. He walked with us until we could see the hotel.
We
checked into Hotel Vigo Plaza and
got a double room for 40€, including breakfast. (www.booking.com had listed
economy double room with breakfast for 41€ and double with breakfast for 43€.)
Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 4:09 PM – Vigo: Hotel Vigo Plaza – exterior.
7:42 PM – Vigo: Hotel Vigo Plaza – our room
(no. 102).
7:42 PM – Vigo: Hotel Vigo Plaza – our room
(no. 102).
The
friendly young man at the reception desk recommended a pizzeria across the
street or a bar down the street for dinner (a better restaurant was closed on
Monday). The bar had an 8.50€ menu, but not until 9:30; so we went to the pizzeria,
Café Bar El Bandoneón (a bandoneón is a small accordion for tango), which had a
sign offering a large artisan pizza for 6.50€. We ordered one with jamon york [York ham], peppers,
mushrooms, and onions. When we asked for a salad, he said he didn’t normally
have one but could make one for us; he made a very nice one. Rather than 2
glasses, he brought us a 10€ bottle of Rioja wine (with tempranillo grapes).
The total bill was 21€ for all that; so the salad must have been 2.50€. With
the wine, he brought us nice little sandwiches, so the wine wouldn’t bother our
stomachs. He also gave MT a homemade coffee liqueur.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 4:08 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón – across
Rúa Progreso from Hotel Vigo Plaza.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 4:09 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón (still
closed at this hour) – on corner at left, where Calle López de Neira split off
to left from Rúa Progreso (downhill and turning right under Rúa Progreso); we
later had to take that lower street on our walk to the port and back.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 4:09 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón – sign
by door for large artisan pizza for 6.50€.
MT 7:55 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón – Don
with short tables.
MT 8:17 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón Don and
waiter/owner.
MT 8:21 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón – MT
and Don with wine, pizza, and salad, the pizza was so large the waiter had to
pull up an extra table for our salad.
8:21 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón our salad
and pizza.
MT 8:22 PM - Vigo: Café Bar El Bandoneón – our
pizza.
When
we were planning the trip, Don found the postal codes for all larger towns and
cities on the Camino route so MT could check for WeightWatchers meetings online; the only place that had any was
Vigo, where we found addresses and meeting times for 2 places. After dinner, we
got directions at the hotel for the WeightWatchers meeting place on Gran Vía,
112 and walked back to Gran Via (we had been there on our way to the hotel) and
found that the numbers started at the corner where it intersected with Rúa
Progreso.
No comments:
Post a Comment