Distant Lands

I got a bit of a flashback today.  We are going along a ridge and I remember the one we followed down across the English Midlands.  That is about as far as it goes but it is clear that the AC-564 has had a decent amount of money spent on it.  We are entering As Pontes de Garcia Rodriguez, which is a municipality of some 11000 people - although they are not in a single place.  The settlement we are entering is San Martino de Goente, which numbers 117 people, 50 down since the turn of the century.  The municipality is twinned with Arroyo Naranjo [Cuba], Lesneven [Brittany] and Carmarthen [Wales].




We haven’t done famous sons for a while so let us mention Ignacio Echeverría Miralles de Imperial. He was carrying his skateboard through Borough Market when he saw a man attacking a police officer, who was on the ground and then a French woman. He intervened, the woman escaped but Ignacio was killed by a second terrorist.  The incident was part of the 2017 London Bridge attack.  During the attack A Romanian baker hit one of the attackers over the head with a crate before giving shelter to 20 people inside a bakery inside Borough Market. One man fought the three attackers with his fists in the Black and Blue steakhouse, shouting "Fuck you, I'm Millwall", giving members of the public who were in the restaurant the opportunity to run away.  The three terrorists and eight people. Including Ignacio, were killed.  Thus we are bound together. It appears, as he was a member of a Right-wing Catholic group, there is a campaign to beatify him for his bravery; not so the man who was keen on Millwall.


Oh well. The Casa Diaz gives us a chance for a drink and a moment to reflect.  The average 4.2 stars comes from 499 reviews. Manoel has high standards.  He said ‘Excellent quality/price ratio on the menu of the day, it's a shame that most of the desserts are not homemade, otherwise I would give it a 5. Very spacious place with many tables, there is usually a place without a reservation.’




Let us pilgrim on.  Saint Martin’s is one of those splendid staircases spot welded to the outside so you can reach the bells. The only wordy review is clearly of a nearby market - so I will include it for the pure joy of the thing. ‘Honey and cheese fair, it was great, they distributed Celtic pork hamburgers, Celtic pork and cheese dumplings, and eume curd with blueberries, walnuts and honey, very good atmosphere.’


Let us progress.  We end the day near an isolated chapel.  The Capilla de San Roque do Val was not always here. Joao i informative here. The ‘Chapel and cross moved in 1982 from its location in Seoane to its current location (in front of the Camposanto de Goente). The transfer was motivated by Endesa's lignite mining exploitation.’ Ramon says ‘Nice place to eat a picnic’, so, lets.



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