Start: Baamonde
End: Baamonde
Distance: 0 miles (0kilometers) and O feet (0 meters) of ascent.
Quote: “Food may be essential as fuel for the body, but good food is fuel for the soul.”
– Malcolm Forbes
Musings: Rest was the mission for today. We hope to reach Compostela de Santiago by Friday, June 9. So after our rest today, we should have only 5 more days to walk. Baamonde, the little town where we’re staying, is not much more than a spot on the road. There’s a hotel and albergue, a couple of small grocery stores, and approximately 3 cafes surrounding its one main intersection, but we managed to find some surprises too. First, we found the Ingrexa de Santiago de Baamonde (Church of Santiago of Baamonde) about two blocks from our hotel. The foundation of the church dates back to the 9th Century, and it has long been an attraction for pilgrims along the Way. In its courtyard stands a chestnut tree that is estimated to be about 700 years old. In 1971, some folks had the brilliant notion that they should cut the tree down. A local artist, the sculptor Víctor Corral, carved an altar with an image of the Virgen del Rosario, patron saint of Baamonde, in the hollow of the tree’s trunk. As a result, the tree was pardoned and consecrated as a chapel. Whew! Can you imagine anyone thinking that cutting down a 700-year-old tree might be a good idea? Pictures of the church and (still standing) tree are below.
Second, we discovered a marvelous local restaurant—Casa de Labrego. If you’re ever in this area if Spain, it’s worth a stop. The restaurant is in a picturesque old stone structure and wasn’t far from the church. After exploring the church, we stopped by the restaurant to see if we needed reservations for dinner. The door was locked but a side window was open. So I stuck my head inside and said, “Hola!” A surprised gentleman rounded the corner, and I asked, “Necesito una reserva para una mesa para dos personas para la cena?” He uttered an emphatic, “Si!” So I asked if we could eat at 6pm. I should have known that was impossible because absolutely no one eats anything at 6pm in Spain. He said that the restaurant closed by 4pm on Sundays, so we made a reservation for 3:30pm. When we returned, the place was packed with locals. There might have been one other pilgrim there (I’m not sure), but we definitely would not have had a table without that earlier reservation. The restaurant is known for its authentic Galician food so we basically put ourselves into the hands of the waiter. He recommended we start with the Galician soup, which he explained was not on the menu but they had been serving for many years. Apparently, the menus are not updated that frequently. Anyway, he recommended that we follow the soup up with a lobster rice dish. That all sounded great to us, and indeed it was. We’ve been wondering where all the vegetables that are in all the beautiful vegetable gardens all over northern Spain are because few of those vegetables seem to be on any restaurant menus here. Well, I can happily report that all of the missing vegetables were in the traditional Galician soup that we were served, and it’s flavors were subtle and delicious. But the crowning glory of the meal was the lobster rice dish. Most Americans would call this dish paella. I’m not sure why the restaurant did not call it paella except that true paella hails from Valencia, and—well—this is a traditional Galician food restaurant. But paella by any other name . . . . Anyway, the Galician lobster rice dish was amazing, and pictures are below.
We will be back to walking tomorrow. Thoughts and prayers please for our shoes, which are beginning to fray, and our socks, which have growing holes. They need to keep it together, along with our hips and knees, for five more days!
Until tomorrow, here are the photos from today:
The entrance to the chapel inside the tree.
It was really hard to capture the essence of the chapel inside with a camera but I tried to photograph some if the carvings there.
This carving was on the outside of the tree.
Photo credit goes to Carol here!
Photo credit goes to Carol!!
Casa de Labrego
Carol taking a picture of me taking a picture of lobster paella!
Lobster paella!!
The tree carvings were so cool! It is amazing to me that the tree survived all of that carving. I have never had paella but your Galician Lobster Rice looks tasty. Wishing you a great remaing week of the Camino Capers.❤️