U Go 2 Lugo

After the Castro, we headed to the old city of Lugo, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site primarily because the city walls are one of the finest examples of Roman walls still standing.

Lugo’s city walls have remained largely intact since those days, encircling the old city for a mile and a half or more.  

Aner was worried that, with the city festival occurring and the town of 100,000 people swelling to a million people, we would not be able to walk the walls, much less move around.  Since the religious festivals have turned into drunkfests, that was not a problem.  Few people were out, even though it was close to noon by the time we got there.  

The festival is the reason we stayed out in the country the night before, as Aner said the city is a madhouse till 3 am or so.  It seems the only people already up were in the church service asking for forgiveness of their previous night’s sins.

We walked into the city through one of the old gates, through the old streets to the big steps up to the city wall, which are about 15 feet high.  There is always something special about walking city walls.  I will never forget the first city walls I ever walked; York, England in 1984.  

Lugo is built on rolling hills, so the walls roll up and down.  At one point we popped down and looked at the cathedral, but with services going on, we were not supposed to go in.  Aner and Bea led us through some more of the city streets, pointing out the way the camino leads out of the city, before we headed back up to walk the walls.  

Any chance you have to walk city walls, whether it is Quebec in the New World or Lugo in the Old, do it.