Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
Steven Wright
Bagpipes are often associated with Scotland and Ireland but we often see them here in Galicia. The Celts were an iron age people predominantly of the British Isles, but they also settled in Spain and their influence remains strong in Galicia. One trademark of Celtic culture is…the bagpipes. We mentioned it in this post on a wedding we encountered on Day 55.
Today we came across a man and his daughter practicing on their bagpipes. In our rudimentary Spanish we talked to his wife who wanted to make it clear that these were Galician bagpipes, not Scottish. Last night we heard bagpipes playing outside our window and managed to catch the tail end of a parade with some amazing bagpipe music. Two short videos are available so you can enjoy the Galician version of bagpipe music.
By the way, I did mention that we had not encountered any pushbutton showers in albergues on the Camino del Norte. That streak was broken today. More proof that pilgrims were made to suffer.
Question and Answer Section
Scott B asked, ”Do you find that most of the Albergue owners are also Catholic?”
The answer is…I don’t know. Spain is overwhelmingly Catholic. But religion plays a lesser role in modern life. Some albergues in both France and Spain are specifically sponsored by Catholic institutions (such as a monastery or convent), but most are private or sponsored by the local government.
Our Walk Today
Another day where we were blessed with overcast skies instead of the threatened rain. Only had to don the rain jacket a few times. It was a long hike—21+ miles over an eight hour stretch; our longest hike on the Camino del Norte. Every day after this will be shorter.
Today we reached the 100 Kilometer mark. To earn a “compostela” or certificate you have to hike a minimum of 100 KM. On the main stretch of the camino this means a huge influx of pilgrims. Fortunately, not so much on this one. There are some pictures in Relive of the markers reaching the 100 KM mark but they are difficult to read.
Really liked the Bagpipe music and it does to me sound different than Scottish Bagpipes. Looked like the first part of today’s hike paralled a major highway, or is that my imagination?
The music is pretty cool. Not sure that I need an album, but, it is fun here. We do parallel highways on some days. In some cases we cross under or over one half a dozen times.
I think if you look up “oxymoron” in the dictionary it says: amazing bagpipe music.
I think bagpipes would be a great accessory to your utili-kilt!
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