Cuntis
03/18/2010
Today we stayed in a small village named Cuntis with a teacher from the school in Caldas de Reis. Her name was Ana and she teaches linguistics at the University in Vigo two days a week and at the Colegio (K-12 school). We met her during our short visit in the morning to the school. But she had a class lined up for us to speak to when we went back early in the afternoon. During her break she took us about 10 minutes by car to her home where she had a guest suite built into where I think the garage must have been before.
We were very grateful. There is no albergue in Cuntis and the one in Caldas de Reis is closed for remodeling. It started to rain in the afternoon and then began to rain in buckets.
Ana explained everything and introduced us to the dog "Guide" spoken "Guidi". He was a puppy with long legs and a happiness to see people.
Then, she gave us the key and left. Wow ! We have lucked out again!
We did our laundry and showered in the abudant hot water.
We went to the local library and wrote email to you all. There was an ancient petroglyph from the local Castrolandin. It is so old, over 3000 years old, right here in the library.
Ana and Albert are away because their 3 yr. old son named Anton has been in the hospital having his appendix out. So they are staying in Vigo near the hospital.
03/19/2010
We are still at Cuntis for two reasons. No one's home. And it's raining buckets! There are anciant (3000 yrs. BC) Celtic ruins very near here called "Castrolandin" that Eric would love to go see, but really the wind is soooo strong and the rain relentless. The Celts were hear before Santiago was a city. So, we are eatting, looking at maps and trying to decide if we should try the "anciant path" which is said to be a shorter route, but unmarked.
Today we text messaged Fermin, our fellow pilgrim from Briallos. He and his friend Hobby arrived in Santiage just 4 hrs. before we messaged him. His feet had blisters when we parted in Briallos. We offered him some mole skin, but he said no. Now he texted us and said that his feet are "destroyed". Guys, they've got to be macho! They did the Santiago from Tui, Spain, just a little more than required, in 4 or 5 days. They were really pushing it. Bet they didn't find any four leaf clovers or pick up any Mica.
I got an idea. What if I write a series of stories for the kids we've met and make 10 mistakes in eachone. They can read and find the mistakes. The stories could be about our Camino. I can call them "A Pilgrims Path to Learning English". The answers would be listed at the end. Maybe I could sell them to English classes all over.
Also, I like the idea of visiting classes in all kinds of places and telling them about our home and our family. It uplifts and pushes the envelope for them. They know more about the US and it's ordinary people, instead of just what they hear in the news or see in movies.
Can you loose weight in your ear lobes? I think that before I started this walk my ear rings fit tighter.
03/20/ 2010
Still in Cuntis. It's just us and the doggy here. toward the evening it stopped raining enough for us to go to town and get some groceries.
We toured the local cathedral called "The Cathedral of the Patron".
It's unusual because the virgin who is the patron was saved from the civil war damage, however nothing is known about her. No one knows her name or her deeds that led to her Sainthood. The local people continue to pray to her for their spiritual needs, but know nothing about her. In addition, she is a more lively and happy image than we have seen in any of the churches of all sizes we have visited. I like her. She's got spirit, no pun intended.
The statue of the "Pelegrino" or Pilgrim was special to us of course. He is always depicted with the shell, which is the symbol of the pilgrim as well as a little dog. This is a really nice one, so I thought I'd remember this one.
I also got a charm with a little ball in it that tinkles. The Shop keeper said that it was an "Angel Call". It's really pretty. We came home and Ana and her husband and son were home! They were just getting ready to go for a walk. We had quick introductions all around and then we went into our little suite and baked some potatoes and onions. They weren't as good as at Romarigaes. Why is that do you suppose?
When Ana and her husband Alberto and her son Anton came back, they asked us up to dinner with them.
I took the opportunity to get to know Anton a little and played with him in the family room. He didn't know what to think of me and definitely didn't want me to rearrange his toys. He had them in just the right place and that's the way he liked it. So, being who I am, I kept asking what I could play with. I finally got permission to play with a little Lego character. He loves Peter Pan and acted out battles between Peter and Capitan Hook.
We had fried eggs and french frys. If you'll notice, at the far end of the kitchen in the picture, there is an ancient stone sink. It is low enough that with the help of a little stool, Anton can reach it. He takes his dish from the table and washes it after every meal. How did they do that? I tried to teach my kids to do that for years. Pretty cool if you ask me!
Then we talked to them until 1:00 AM. We had to remember that Ana hadn't been in on any of the classes where we told about ourselves. So, she and her family didn't know anything about us. We told them everything! They were so interesting and lovely people. We had a very good time.
03/21/2010
Guess what? It's sunny today. Today they asked us up for breakfast. They don't have to feed us, we have our own food. But they insist. So we go up.
Then we all walked to Castrolandin.
We explored the whole ruin of stacked rock houses made in circles and covered (long ago) with thached roofs.
There was only one that was rectangle. It was made by the Romans.
There were several pools where the inhabitants collected water.
There were some unique flowers that Eric has not seen anywhere else.
There were also some petroglyphs that were older than the ruins. Very interesting. It was eerie. I could feel the people who had built the circles and lived there. We had a great time.
When we all came back they fixed us a big meal. In Spain, the big meal is in the middle of the day.
Afterward, they mixed orange serbert with champagne in stemware for desert. Their Aunt came over to check on Anton. Her name was Ella, pronounced Aya. It simply means "her".
We talked to her and we took pictures posed by a big stone avery in their back year. Anton has his own camera and loves taking pictures. So we also posed for him. His pictures were pretty good, even for a 3 yr. old.
Anton is smart. His Aunt brought him a puzzle with English pictures that you match up with letters and pictures and he caught on right away when I taught him how to use it.
I got invited into his room, and I understand it is a privilege. We played cards, pictures with the English names. If he could say it in English he won the card. If I could say it in Spanish, I got the card. Boy, he thought it was sooooo funny when I couldn't say the Spanish name.
It was fun to play with him. We also liked Ana and Albert very much. Albert is an architect. Here's some advice for unmarried girls. Marry an architect and you will always live in a creative house. Their house was so nifty. Every little thing was handy and well thought out. It was fun to stay there. We talked with them late into the night again. But now since the sun's come again, we will be moving on in the morning.
Off to Padron!
We toured the local cathedral called "The Cathedral of the Patron".
It's unusual because the virgin who is the patron was saved from the civil war damage, however nothing is known about her. No one knows her name or her deeds that led to her Sainthood. The local people continue to pray to her for their spiritual needs, but know nothing about her. In addition, she is a more lively and happy image than we have seen in any of the churches of all sizes we have visited. I like her. She's got spirit, no pun intended.
The statue of the "Pelegrino" or Pilgrim was special to us of course. He is always depicted with the shell, which is the symbol of the pilgrim as well as a little dog. This is a really nice one, so I thought I'd remember this one.
I also got a charm with a little ball in it that tinkles. The Shop keeper said that it was an "Angel Call". It's really pretty. We came home and Ana and her husband and son were home! They were just getting ready to go for a walk. We had quick introductions all around and then we went into our little suite and baked some potatoes and onions. They weren't as good as at Romarigaes. Why is that do you suppose?
When Ana and her husband Alberto and her son Anton came back, they asked us up to dinner with them.
I took the opportunity to get to know Anton a little and played with him in the family room. He didn't know what to think of me and definitely didn't want me to rearrange his toys. He had them in just the right place and that's the way he liked it. So, being who I am, I kept asking what I could play with. I finally got permission to play with a little Lego character. He loves Peter Pan and acted out battles between Peter and Capitan Hook.
We had fried eggs and french frys. If you'll notice, at the far end of the kitchen in the picture, there is an ancient stone sink. It is low enough that with the help of a little stool, Anton can reach it. He takes his dish from the table and washes it after every meal. How did they do that? I tried to teach my kids to do that for years. Pretty cool if you ask me!
Then we talked to them until 1:00 AM. We had to remember that Ana hadn't been in on any of the classes where we told about ourselves. So, she and her family didn't know anything about us. We told them everything! They were so interesting and lovely people. We had a very good time.
03/21/2010
Guess what? It's sunny today. Today they asked us up for breakfast. They don't have to feed us, we have our own food. But they insist. So we go up.
Then we all walked to Castrolandin.
We explored the whole ruin of stacked rock houses made in circles and covered (long ago) with thached roofs.
There was only one that was rectangle. It was made by the Romans.
There were several pools where the inhabitants collected water.
There were some unique flowers that Eric has not seen anywhere else.
There were also some petroglyphs that were older than the ruins. Very interesting. It was eerie. I could feel the people who had built the circles and lived there. We had a great time.
When we all came back they fixed us a big meal. In Spain, the big meal is in the middle of the day.
Afterward, they mixed orange serbert with champagne in stemware for desert. Their Aunt came over to check on Anton. Her name was Ella, pronounced Aya. It simply means "her".
We talked to her and we took pictures posed by a big stone avery in their back year. Anton has his own camera and loves taking pictures. So we also posed for him. His pictures were pretty good, even for a 3 yr. old.
Anton is smart. His Aunt brought him a puzzle with English pictures that you match up with letters and pictures and he caught on right away when I taught him how to use it.
I got invited into his room, and I understand it is a privilege. We played cards, pictures with the English names. If he could say it in English he won the card. If I could say it in Spanish, I got the card. Boy, he thought it was sooooo funny when I couldn't say the Spanish name.
It was fun to play with him. We also liked Ana and Albert very much. Albert is an architect. Here's some advice for unmarried girls. Marry an architect and you will always live in a creative house. Their house was so nifty. Every little thing was handy and well thought out. It was fun to stay there. We talked with them late into the night again. But now since the sun's come again, we will be moving on in the morning.
Off to Padron!
No comments:
Post a Comment