Pista de Magia

“Trail Magic” is a notion I've most heard associated with the Appalachian Trail, but I've also heard it in reference to things happening when backpacking and hiking in general. It refers to unexpected nice occurrences, or special actions by people you meet along the way. Marty and I experienced the Spanish version of trail magic (Pista de Magia) this afternoon in Ourense, before we've even started on our trail.

We were exploring Ourense, getting our heads around the walk starting tomorrow. I was on the lookout for a place for dinner, hoping to find a restaurant called “a Taberna”, which I'd found on Tripadvisor. I thought we'd check it out, and maybe we'd make reservations later on.

After a couple of wrong turns, we found it, down a cobblestone street. It was closed as I expected in the middle of the afternoon. But the door was ajar, so we went inside.

Down the hallway was a gentlemen who looked like the chef/owner, so I approached him and asked (in English) if we could make reservations for dinner. Turns out, he didn't understand English at all. But through the magic of Google Translate (isn't technology grand?), I was able to communicate what we wanted. But by this time he was on the phone, asking his wife to join him, as we found out. When he put down the phone, he added us to his reservation book for 9:00, when they open for dinner.(!)

When we moved to leave, he motioned for us to stay. Not sure for what, until he put a couple of wine glasses on the counter and brought out a bottle of good Spanish red. Then he went over to the ham hanging one the wall, cut some slices, got some bread, and put a couple of plates of ham and bread (pan y jamon) in front of us. By this time his wife, who spoke English, had joined us. The bread and ham, she explained, was to help the wine, “so it doesn't have to travel so far” to the stomach.

We spent the next half hour enjoying our lunch, and talking with the owners (mostly the wife) about her visits to the United States. And, of course, when Marty offered to pay, they would have none of it.

What a great introduction to the people of Spain this was. And what a great meal My sense so far is that this is very typical of the people in this region. We're really looking forward to dinner tonight.

… Several hours later... Yes, dinner was outstanding. Great service in a little old building, and excellent local food. I know I'll cause some jealousy when I describe our meal, but I'll just say, it was Marty's fault.

We had a very good local red wine, some Portuguese mineral water from a spring not far away, and a salad of four different goat cheeses, with greens and peppers. We had another appetizer of salmon in a yogurt sauce.The main course was sea bass, baked in a salt crust. Pat and I first had this in France, and it's a favorite. We've made it for Christmas. The salt keeps flavor and moistness in. Part of the presentation is the cracking of the crust and peeling away the salt and skin, leaving moist chunks of fish behind. It came with fresh vegetables. We didnt have room for dessert, but when I asked about single malt scotches, our waitress brought out a selection of four and apologized. But the selection ranged from a 12 year old MacAllan to a 16 year old Llagavullin. Would that most restaurants had a selection like that. The Llagavullin was a great ending to a meal.

I don't want to sound crass by talking about money, but lest anyone think these pilgrims are getting carried away, the total bill was $70 each, and they would not accept a tip even when we tried to force the issue.

This pilgrim thing has some potential.