In the days of Charlemagne of Aachen and Alfonso II the Chaste of Asturias, when Theodemir was bishop of Iria Flavia, around the year 813, a series of wonders took place on Mount Libredón, and the hermit Pelagius of Solovio discovered the tomb of the Apostle. The first Way is considered to be the one travelled by the Asturian kings, standard-bearers of the struggles of the “Reconquista” and guardians of the relics and traditions of Christendom.
It is also known as the Cantabrian Route or the High Way, and it was the one used in the early days of the pilgrimage, starting with the monarchs of the Asturian court themselves. As the Reconquista advanced southwards and Cluny organised what we call the French Way, the rough terrain and the twists and turns of the coast made it less advisable. Today it is coming back into favour. It sets out from the Basque Country and, through the coastal and fishing towns of Cantabria and Asturias, enters Galicia, where you can choose between visiting the walled city of the Sacrament (Lugo) by way of Meira, or following the coast of A Mariña, through Ribadeo.
GALICIA. The branch to the city of Lugo, though less travelled, still offers interesting landscapes in the Terra de Miranda, with narrow, deep valleys that open onto the middle course of the Eo, and in the wide Terra Chá, a great upland where large herds of cattle graze. There is also the chance to see the source of the Miño, the Cistercian monastery of Santa María de Meira, the remarkably complete hill fort of Viladonga, with its museum, and the distinctive traditional architecture that combines granite, wood and slate roofs.
Lugo, the Roman Lucus Augusti, once capital of one of the districts into which Galicia was divided, keeps many traces of that time, above all its walls. Their more than two kilometres will surprise pilgrims, who should then make their way to the Gothic cathedral, whose Neoclassical front will remind them of Pamplona's. The old town, with its squares and streets, is a very pleasant place for a glass of wine and some tapas. The city is known for its good food, based on traditional Galician dishes.
The second option, through the Masma valley, also offers fine views and remarkable monuments, such as the former Romanesque cathedral of San Martiño de Mondoñedo, linked to the early see of Britonia and to its founding saint, Rosendo. In Vilanova de Lourenzá rises the monumental front of the monastery, the work of Casas Novoa; inside are the marble early Christian tomb of Osorio Gutiérrez (popularly known as the Conde Santo, the Holy Count), an imported piece unique in Galicia, and an impressive Baroque reliquary. To round it off there is Mondoñedo, a cathedral city where time seems to have stood still among the magical mists of the valley and the sound of the streams that run through the town, once used to drive mills. Its highlights are the cathedral and several Baroque buildings, such as the convents of Alcántara and of the Conceptionists, the Seminary, the Bishop's Palace and the Sanctuary of Os Remedios; its traditional tortas (cakes) are famous all over the country. From 17 to 19 October it holds As San Lucas, large traditional livestock fairs whose origins go back to the Middle Ages.
Back in the Terra Chá, with its green meadows, hills and gentle rivers, we pass through Vilalba, with the octagonal tower of the Andrade family, and then Baamonde, whose Romanesque-Gothic church of Santiago has beside it an old chestnut tree carved into a chapel to the Virgin. All that remains is to enjoy the huge Cistercian monastery of Sobrado dos Monxes and the charming three-nave Romanesque church of Santa María de Mezonzo, before joining the French Way at Arzúa.
Picture of the Northern Way of St James...
