Sarria

Day 37 - The much anticipated rain started early morning. It was light so I set out fairly early. Somewhere along the way my Aussie friends caught up with me and I raced along with them and made it to Sarria in about 5.5 hours - a distance of about 13 miles, initially a climb and then a decent. Some parts of the walk were very reminiscent of the areas around Devanya in Uttrakhand. There was a very cute artists studio in the middle of nowhere that looked like the old stone buildings in Devanya.
Did I mention that the number of pilgrims has increased by at least five fold. There are now hoards of loud people looking fresh and clean-clothed. People that started the Camino a few towns before Sarria. Gone is the peace and quiet we old timers are used to. There are lines at all the cafes. Luckily, since the lot of us that started at the beginning have gotten fitter over the days and miles - we can race past them. And if we start early, we can be ahead of the crowds.
As we approached Sarria the rain picked up and we dashed into a coffee shop to warm up a bit. I then ran a few errands and stopped for a bite. As happens on the Camino - sometimes you keep running into the same people. This German guy Carsten, to whom I had once remarked that I see him at least once a day, walked in just as I was finishing a huge hamburger and was on my second beer. So I chatted with him at this warm friendly bar while waiting for my friend Ginny who had organized the apartment we are sharing tonight.
Given the hoards, it’s getting harder to find places to stay, so we sat down this evening and planned and booked shared facilities till Santiago - Hurrah!Baca selengkapnya