Day 29 – Sarria to Portmarin

Very strange day today.  As I said yesterday Galicia is very mountainous and there is a lot of cloud in the valleys. Well today, as Sarria is in the valley I woke up to thick fog in the town.  

Sarria is also the town where a lot of people join the Way to walk the last 100kms so it was very busy on the way today.  A little sad as the comraderie is lost a little because a lot of Spanish people come to walk the last 100kms in 5 days and they are in such big groups and so busy talking to each other that the Hola and Buen Camino is lost and they don’t welcome you to chat while they walk which has been such a huge thing whilst walking from France.  

Funnily enough in the wonderful guide book it says ‘for seasoned pilgrims beware of signs of irritation at the intrusion of new pilgrims’.  

In my new headspace I thought about it for 2 seconds and forgot about it and just enjoyed the very beautiful countryside I am walking through today.  

The majority of today’s walk was through woodland paths and gravel tracks but so weird because we were walking in thick fog which was the clouds.  So you could say my head was totally in the clouds today!!

The weird thing was that it was cold and damp and then suddenly we were above the cloud and the sun was shining and it was warm and hot

This part of the walk is walking through a lot of little hamlets which consist of cowsheds and farmers

But no bar or cafes for breakfast.  We had to walk for approximately 2.5 hours this morning before we got to Morgade to have a big cafe con leche, Zumo de naranjo and no tortilla this morning so it was tuna empanada.  So crowded with new pilgrims but did see a few familiar faces.  

As I have walked the Camino I have seen on every pilgrims menu, pork, and as I have crossed Spain I have seen cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, horses but no pigs and I have discovered pig is a delicacy and on every menu but I have not seen a pig.  Well today was the day

Then we came down the mountain and we were back in the clouds.  

As my Camino sadly comes to an end I am very pleased to note that other than my first night in Orisson I have not booked anywhere. I have seen so many pilgrims get into their albergue and the first thing they do is ring ahead to book a bed for the next night.  That is modern technology for you with mobile phones.  I am really pleased that I don’t have global roaming on my phone as other than photos and doing my blog I have not used my phone for anything else, oh just important emails but nothing else and what a liberating feeling it is.  

I have walked into towns and decided that was enough and always found s bed.  Even now with all the extra pilgrims for the last 100kms I am still sble to find a bed.  

Came down the big hill and there was Portmarin in the valley still shrouded in cloud

Amazing bridge we had to walk over to get to the town 

And these were the stairs we had to walk up to get into town.   Stairs at the end of the day are always hard

Of course the town was still shrouded in cloud but got to the top of the stairs and sat down for a while with a vino Tinto and then made our way into town to find an albergue.  I have been walking for the last couple of days with Oswin and Kian.  They are 2 of the loveliest guys and we have had a few laughs and great chats as we cross Spain. 

While we were sitting at the top of the stairs which was about 1.30pm the sun came through and burnt the rest of the cloud off and now it is sunny and hot as per usual

When we walked into town it was market day and the streets were lined with market stalls.  How I wish I had a bigger bag!!

Now sitting at my albergue with a cold cerveza in hand and sweltering in the heat.  Time for a wander around town. 

Ran into Anna and Leonard from Sweden today and Pierre and Gil and so many pilgrims I have walked with over the last 4.5 weeks. 

Had to see the church which is the centre of every town.  This church however has been rebuilt as the original town was flooded.  

In the town square is the pilgrim pointing towards Santiago as we aren’t far away

So another day finishes in another beautiful part of Spain.  We are all out for dinner tonight and bed ready to climb another mountain tomorrow as we get closer to Santiago. Less than 100kms now

Adios Amigos