Worth the Wait

This year, my Birthday celebration needed to wait a couple of days. Jeff took yesterday off work and we spent the day doing things that make me happy. What a wonderful day.

Our first stop was to pick up earrings at the local jewelers. Jeff has a good relationship with José, whose family runs a lovely shop in town near the round about. He has all our important dates in his diary and reminds Jeff to pop in to look at gifts for me. 😉 I wonder who gave him those dates, a list of things I might like, and Jeff’s WhatsApp🤔

Getting Lost

A small bag with a small box in hand, we headed north up to Curtis toward A Coruña. A bit further on, nestled in the countryside lay something that is an unusual guilty pleasure of mine. A labyrinth. The Laberinto of Breogan. Opening earlier this year, it has quickly become a popular destination for families. Especially, in summer.

There were less than 50 other people there on a Friday, under mostly overcast skies. We paid the €5 admission fee, received our waypoint tracker, then entered with a ‘good luck’. The hedges forming the walls are cedar. The smell is heavenly as you walk the path.

One of my favorite parts reveals itself in the middle, where a labyrinth for children is begun growing. There are benches for parents to rest while their kids run through child height hedges, just for them.

We partnered up, organically, with a large Spanish family, to both locate all the markers on the sheet they give you at the beginning, and to find our way through. This included a lot of my broken español, their high school inglés, and even more. We all felt silly but were having a ball doing it.

If you are considering spending an hour at the Laberinto de Breogan in Vilarmayor in Coruña, I would recommend going on a weekday. They try to space out the groups who enter. To give you the best experience. A week day will provide the best experience without waiting. They will be open until late October. And, there are other things to see in the area filled with natural beauty and ancient history.

Next Stop

Since we were under a half hour from the seaside town of Sada, where there is a very large showroom for Sargadelos, we swung by to check out this famous Galician pottery in it’s entirety. Sargadelos is ceramics as art and function. Most homes in Galicia, and even further afield in Spain, have Sargadelos. They can take the shape of talismans, warding off bad luck, or encouraging good luck. Or ceramic statues or curios. And, finally, as ceramic serving pieces and tableware. All of which will be painted with Celtic symbols recognizable anywhere in the world.

I bought some coffee cups and saucers, and a few serving pieces. I would like to be able to host a dinner on my newly crafted table one of these days. This should ensure, when I am ready, I’ll be ready.

And Finally

We headed to Santiago for dinner with friends. There are people you meet in life who instantly warm your heart. People who you could spend an hour with, or days, and never tire of their company. Last night, my birthday dinner was no exception. And what did they bring me? A Sargadelos! He is a musician on the Way. Playing a hurdy-gurdy. It’s a hand cranked street organ. I’ve spent the past hour learning all about them online. And our guy is a Camino busker! The perfect gift from two wonderful musicians. 🙏

We said goodnight past midnight, and spent the night in a hotel in Santiago, awoken by singing outside our window on a perfect sunny morning. Finally, a coffee and a wander through antique market tables on the way to the car this head home. The perfect end to wonderful birthday.