Day 28
Sarria lies just outside the minimum border for an official Camino. Therefore, crowds of pilgrims use this town for their starting point. Crowds. Pensioners. Small families. Buses of students on holiday trips- moving in packs and all talking loudly at once. All aiming for Santiago via the same trail we’ve been following for weeks. The trails are now packed and we had to scurry by folks to keep the pace we’re used to. It was a shock to the system at first after having great distances between us and other pilgrims for quite some time. And, sometimes one has to be reminded it’s important to share graciously. This was one of those times. My friends and I had to check ourselves from giving preferential greetings (and vibes) to the pilgrims we’ve known for weeks. That’s how cliches gets started and reinforced. Never a good idea but certainly not on the Camino. Other than being generally slower, the newcomers are easy to spot. Pale skin, clean – somewhat impractical – clothes, and chipper dispositions – fresh to an exciting new expedition. The new influx of participants also means the dynamics change at the bars and restaurants along the way. Longer queues. Slower service. And there’s now a chance of a line at the ladies room….unless the men’s room is open and no men in the queue. Not ideal but still a better option than the woods. ….Marginally.
Along the walk today I noticed some peculiar little buildings appearing in farm courtyards. I was perplexed at their intended use. Fancy outhouses? Crypts for family member ashes/urns? Bee houses? Meat smokehouses? I asked and found out they’re for storing grain/corn. Their designs vary somewhat but the principle is the same.
I had additional carrots left in my pack and found three new friends who were happy to take them off my hands.
About 2 pm we made it to the river port of Portomarin. After suitable negotiations and various proposed plans between us, we opted to stay in town at a place which had two double rooms open (one for the girls / one for the guys). They did remind me a lot of the sparse rooms one finds at a monastery – but they were clean, reasonable, and filled the need just fine. We found TVs in town at which we could watch the World Cup and eat fabulous authentic Italian pizza.
This week’s totals (according to my phone):
Flights Climbed: 131
Steps: 257,122
Miles: 105.4
Great week.
More later…