Thursday 29 Sept
Today there was no entry in my diary: I must have been too exhausted to write anything! Fortunately, I can refer to the trip notes on the itinerary supplied by Fresco:
The day of the difficult decision! What to do? The Camino de Santiago has 2 paths to reach Sarria. Do we take the path through San Xil and enjoy the beautiful views atop the ridge, or visit the ancient monastery of Samos along the river valley? Traditionally, pilgrims would have to choose one or the other. We, however, get to do both! By day we take in the scenery from above and in the evening we'll hop in the van to visit one of Spain's oldest monasteries and listen to the singing of the evening payers, vespers. Walking: 19 kms.
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| Image from Galician tourism brochure |
Friday 30 Sept
We had the option of a drop-off at the 3 km mark, which avoided a steepish climb out of Sarria. As it was going to be a 23 km day, I thought it a wise move. Everyone else was determined to walk every step of the way - or maybe they thought they might get lost away from the group.
We are staying tonight in a beautifully converted rectory which is literally right on the Camino. The restoration is worthy of Grand Designs, using the original stonework with lots of new wood and glass. Nancy and I have been fortunate enough to get one of the best rooms, with a sitting area and a spa bath.
Autumn in Galicia is wonderful: though the hot sunny weather is not the norm. Blackberries abound on all the lanes; walnuts and acorns fall on our heads as we walk along. All the books on the Camino complain of miserable rainy and windy conditions in this part of Spain, but for us it has been too hot if anything. The only thing that keeps us going is the long gourmet picnic provided every day by Ria and Jason, which includes wine, beer and luscious salads.
Because of my 3 km drop-off, I saw many more "real pilgrims" today, since they always make a much earlier start than we do. This was quite interesting, as the same faces kept popping up. We passed the significant 100km mark, which is the minimum you need to obtain the Compostela in Santiago. There was quite a traffic jam there, as people got others to take their photos.
The last stretch down into Portomarin was very steep and hard on the knees. One person in our group even tried walking backwards for a bit. At the bottom we crossed a dam wall on the road bridge into town. The dam had been drained temporarily so that work could be done on it. We could clearly see Roman remains as well as the site of the original town of Portomarin. Some buildings had been moved in the 1950's to a higher position, including the Romanesque Church (stone by numbered stone). For us, the last straw was a really steep set of steps into town. We had a welcome G and T at the first bar we came across!
Saturday 1 October
Another hot day! We started off with a lecture from Jason about Romanesque churches. He showed us the main entrance to the reconstructed church from below the dam; the right hand step is worn because it leads to Heaven, as opposed to the "sinister" side leading to Hell.
There was a long walk up out of Portomarin, mostly along the road but partly in shady pinewoods. I was longing for a coffee which was not scheduled till 12.00 o'clock. Then Jason offered the option of a "short" detour to see an Iron Age Hill Fort (Castromaior). I decided that the day's 19 km walk on the Camino was enough, and I had seen plenty of these hill forts in England anyway. I proceeded alone for the next 3 or 4 kms to a nice shady spot at the 77 km mark, where Ria was waiting patiently with lunch, and warding off passing pilgrims who wanted a free taste!
After lunch it was another hot 7 kms walk right to our hotel at Lestedo. A group of 4 Spanish people arrived, hoping for a bed and were disappointed to discover that we had booked the place out; they had to call a taxi to take them to the next town. We went out for dinner at a nearby Parillada for an excellent BBQ of ribs and sausages, preceded by many different roasted veggies (eggplants, courgettes, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried lettuce hearts and grilled cheese). It was hard to find room for dessert, but we succumbed to peaches in red wine!
Sunday 2 October
We were able to walk straight out of our hotel onto the Camino, with no bus transfer needed. Breakfast was at 8.00 am so we were able to make an early start as the sun was coming up over the hills. Walking in the first light of day in the cool of the morning was lovely. However, my blisters began to play up as the day got hotter. We heard it was 30 degrees!
I was almost the last on the track, as most people hurried on to Melide where there was a Sunday market and the lure of special octopus restaurants (pulperia). Long queues had formed outside these as we entered the town. I had already eaten an early lunch at Casa de Somoza (half a tortilla and salad) which Dan and Terry had been unable to finish. I polished it off in no time! There was such a thing as a free lunch after all.
I was pretty hot when I reached Melide at 2.30 pm and collapsed outside Bar Chaplin for a beer and a flan, before going to a rather sleazy Internet cafe to send an email home. A short drive in the bus took us to our historic Pazo, which had a vine covered courtyard with small black grapes, plus the luxury of a swimming pool. The water was cold, once you had taken the plunge, it felt good!
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