Orense Cathedral.
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Orense is a city that merits an attentive full morning visit. The early fog clears up slowly and people take to the street seeking the warmth of the autumn sun.
The Cathedral, dating back to the twelfth century, has a portal, called the door of Paradise, which bears the handy work of disciples of Maestro Mateo.
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The Roman Bridge..
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Orense is well know for its hot springs that surge, at a high temperature, from the fount of das Burgas; there are public thermal baths at the edge of the Mino river, as well as many thermal private facilities. Walking about the old section of Orense is a delight: cobbled streets, arcaded stone squares and Roman and Baroque churches.
Leaving the city one crosses one of the most beautiful, and better preserved, Roman bridges in Spain; it was built in the first century and renovated in the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Roman Bridge contrasts vividly with the modern one, not far away, built to safeguard the Mino River. Surely the Roman Bridge will outlast the modern innovative structure of the new one.
...and the modern bridge
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After crossing the Roman Bridge a pilgrim must, unfortunately, follow the highway from Vigo to Quintela for a good while which includes a steep road called “Costina de Canedo” that was built over an ancient Roman one. It is sad to contemplate that underneath the asphalt lies a piece of our history now lost, perhaps forever.
Costiña de Canedo
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This particular stage of the way ends in Cea, a town famous for its black bread, where one find one of the better restored albergues in Galicia which includes an horreo (grain drying structure built on stilts). It was the birthday of one of the two female pilgrims that were at the Orense albergue, and they were celebrating it in Cea. The Cea environs belonged to the Monastic authorities of Oseira from the XII century until the disenfranchisement of the property rights of religious orders.
Beautiful Orense landscape
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Oseira Monastery
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The Oseira Monastery lies ten kms. From Cea. It is an impressively beautiful Cistersian complex in the heart of a gorgeous valley. The original twelfth century Roman church remains, although the rest of the monastery bears the scars of abandonment, fires and other disasters that have necessitated extensive repairs. The monastery has three cloisters; the church front shows Renaissance influence and the forint of the monastery proper is baroque. The guided visits commence on the hour, and the one that this writer attended was conducted by a monk that informed that at the present time only thirteen monks inhabit the immense building; he also mentioned that he has been at the monastery for thirty years. At the end of the tour there is a small shop where the monks sell souvenirs, cheese, honey and liquor made by themselves and where the pilgrim’s credential may be stamped.
Panoramic view of the Oseira Monastery
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Beautiful bridge
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After Oseira the Way, now in Pontevedra province, traverses areas scarcely inhabited, and very beautiful, until reaching Castro-Dozon. Special attention must be paid to the road since the signs to Santiago are scarce and pilgrims may easily become lost. There is no public albergue in Castro-Dozon, but unless a pilgrim wants to walk the almost 50 kms. from Cea to the public albergue in Modelo, private albergues must be sought, of which there are some inexpensive ones in the area.
Going on, the route crosses Silleda and 4 kms. Later, in the middle of nowhere, there is a complex with a hotel, swimming pool, cabins and camping facilities. The local woman that opened it, Otilia, informed that pilgrims sleep in the cabins as a rule, but that they did not have hot water at the time. Feeling sorry, perhaps, for the bedraggled appearance of someone who had just walked almost 50 kms. She opened the main building. A room with a bathtub afforded the means of relaxing tired legs. Unfortunately, the nearest grocery store was 2 kms. Away, which meant that a choice between eating and resting was resolved in favor of the latter.
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Symphony of fall hues
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The last stage before Santiago crosses strikingly beautiful landscapes, particularly in the fall, and goes near Pazo de Oca, one of the most important sites in Galicia.
The province of Coruna is entered crossing the Ulla River in Ponte-Ulla over its historic bridge. Nearing Santiago the Way goes around Pico Sacro Mountain, related in history to the transportation of St. James’ body since the oxen that were used to transport the Apostle’s body to Libredon grazed on its slopes.
Horses fountain
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On the outskirts of Compostela one crosses the Sar Colegiata and enters the historic center of the city through the Mazarelos door, the only one remaining of the old city wall’s entrances. The street leads to University Square around which the Philology and History School buildings are located.
Caldereria Street, named after the occupation of its inhabitants in the distant past, leads to the Platerias square besides the Santiago Cathedral with its famous Horses Fountain. The steps ascending to the church cannot be gone up “two at a time” (an ancient joke referring to the presumed exhausted state of arriving pilgrims) since the total number of the steps is not even, but odd. The Cathedral’s Platerias door is the only Romanic door perduring from the twelfth century.
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¡¡Ultreia!!
Carlos
Santiago, November 6, 2003
