[Gocamino] Via de la Plata

[Blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,
I am absolutely delighted that so many of you will be commencing your Camino 
in Salamanca.
You know, when I went through Salamanca I threw all timetables and plans in 
the air and I just had to stay there a few days. I kept surprising myself 
repeating the thought that no one should die without ever having been in Salamanca. 
 I still feel the same; and while I might be an impulsive  Latin-blooded 
person  given to gushes of enthusiasm, my sister in law Liz is a phlegmatic, 
cool-tempered, Anglo Saxon, and she wouldn't leave Salamanca without securing 
facilities to return there for two months to study Spanish!  My son, a rather 
cool-fish who is almost automatically weary of things and places that I like,  and 
his lovely levelheaded bride were equally besotted by the city... as, I'm 
sure, you will be.
And then.... gosh!, nearby there are those two other dazzling wonders: Merida 
and Zamora. 
I never have written  too much about them... they are too wonderful for 
words. But I will try.... a little, at least.
At any rate, the reports that I translated cover only that portion of the Via 
de la Plata that lies in Galicia.  There are two approaches to Santiago from 
the Via de la Plata, the rather traditional one that joins the French Camino 
in Astorga and the one, far more interesting, in my view, that goes through 
Ourense.... (and that also goes through places called "the land of bread".... 
"the land of wine"..... "the land of cheese"...., and up and down through 
beautiful valleys, mountains and rivers....endlessly). 
This is the route on the reports although, I notice, the reporter did not 
stop at the last breathtakingly beautiful little town (and albergue) just before 
getting to Santiago: Puente Ulla. The whole wonderland town is hidden under 
greenery and there isn't a single structure there with naturally flat floors.  
People's dining rooms are terraces roofed and walled by trees and greens, and 
the diners are serenaded by the gentle murmur of the  river flowing nearby.... 
While there I just kept thinking of Christmas, and it was August!). The little 
town is as close to Santiago as Labacolla, if not closer, and it is, of 
course,right by the bridge (Puente) Ulla..
I'll send the existing Via reports to those of you who asked for them, and, 
if you have questions about the Via before Galicia I might be able to give you 
some information.
And I'll send the reports on the other routes to those of you who've 
requested them as soon as I put them in order and numbered them.   So far......  the 
English Camino anyone?... that  is ready.
Warm regards,
Rosina