Sarria to Portomarín

I got up a bit later this morning and left the albergue just after 8am, and walked through the town back on the route of the Camino, keeping my eyes out for a bar serving breakfast.

The larger numbers of peregrinos on the road was immediately apparent. Once I’d had a breakfast of tostada con mantequilla y mermelada, coffee and a zumo de naranja, I rejoined the steady stream leaving Sarria behind.

It reminded me of my first day on the Camino. Excited knots of pilgrims gathered at every distance marker and sign, taking photos of one another. But, although there were a lot more pilgrims travelling and many in groups of half a dozen or more, there were plentiful gaps between in which one could walk in silence and solitude.

It said that the countryside through which we were passing today is some of Galicia’s best and most typical. It struck me that Galicia shares many similarities with Brittany, including the landscape of the interior.

The weather was also rather different from yesterday. It was cool but the sun eventually shone between the scattered clouds.

On today’s stretch there were many bars and cafes offering sustenance to the passing pilgrims, as well many opportunities to get a sello in our passports - we now need to get at least 2 a day in the last 100 km. There was often a queue or huddle at each of these establishments.

I walked on passing many pilgrims who were going more slowly, but there were always more on the road. I chatted briefly to a couple from northern Mexico, and some Americans, who had started this morning in Sarria. Later I was caught up by a large group of Spanish teenagers, I guess ranging from about 12-15. One group of boys wished me a loud Buen Camino and one boy asked if there was anything I needed, saying (in accented but excellent English) he was here to help! My path crossed with this group a few times and in a later conversation, I learnt that they were from Madrid.

I paused at a quieter bar for a second breakfast of a slice of tortilla and more coffee, and stamped their sello in my credencial.

A bit later, I walked for a while with a couple from Connecticut, who started at St Jean. Whilst we were talking, we reached the 100km (from Santiago) marker post in the village of A Peña and so we took photos of each other.

After a series of uphill sections, the path began to descend towards today’s destination of Portomarín, on the far side of the Belesar reservoir, which flooded the valley between two halves of medieval Portomarín in the 1960s. The town first came into sight when it was about 5km away.

There were three alternative routes leading to a modern bridge across the reservoir. I’d seen pictures of the steep and difficult, rocky path of the current main Camino, and so took one of the alternatives, which also had the advantage of being much quieter.

Soon we arrived at the end of the long bridge. As we crossed the bridge, the entrance to Portomarín also came into view: there is a flight of 20 or so stone steps which lead up to a reconstruction of a single arched span of the medieval old bridge, and a gatehouse. The town is set into the hillside and so, once up the steps, the town centre was even further uphill.

Like yesterday, I headed to the Xunta de Galicia albergue, which is run by the Galician regional government (known as the Xunta). However, this time there was no room at the inn.

As I was contemplating my options, a couple of Spanish guys from my albergue last night, and who had followed me into the Xunta, came over and said that we could go to the tourist information office to register for the overflow albergue - which turned out to be in a building opposite the Xunta, and which I guessed was probably the former Xunta albergue building. We walked over to the tourist office and duly registered. The overflow would be opened at 5pm and so there was time to grab a drink and a late lunch (it was a little before 4 at this stage).

At 5pm the doors opened and the throng of waiting pilgrims surged forward. There was a vague system at least at the start, whereby our names were called out, but then this seemed to be abandoned and we were admitted one by one, we paid our €10 and were handed a disposable paper sheet and pillowcase.Leia mais