Sarria to Portomarin

Sarria is 100km away from the finish line, Santiago. As such, it receives a constant inundation of tourists who come to solely walk the last 100km of the Camino, as that is the minimum needed to receive their certificate of completion.

I was warned many times that from Sarria onwards would be a zoo, that every albergue would be overflowing, that I would practically walk the last 100km in a queue. Unfortunately, this was far more accurate than I'd hoped.

I started early, walking about an hour in the dark, and yet the string of fresh pilgrims stretched on and on. I stepped on the gas in hopes of passing them all and having solitude once more at the front of the pack. The pack simply never ended. I was left sweaty and tired from walking at max capax for hours, only to get nowhere. Still surrounded by people talking loudly, playing music, getting in the way. Where did the peace and stillness of the previous days go? 😭 It left me feeling like I should've appreciated the last couple of days even more - knowing that such an abrupt change was lurking around the corner.

I tried pep talking myself along the way, reminding myself that all these people are happy, excited, and are just here to enjoy the same things as me. I just needed to adjust, a little mindset shift so that I could treat the last few days as simply a new and different experience; no use mourning what I had gotten used to.

I've made a friend since Sarria (technically, at the Samos monastery, so I have Manuel to thank AGAIN for that), who felt similarly down trodden about the change and suggested that me and him, and two of his other trail pals, go out for a nice dinner that night to try and turn the mood around. What followed was not only by FAR the best meal I've had on the Camino but one of the best meals in general, in recent history. Fresh local seafood, bread, local beef, local wine, and the most incredible silken vanilla cheesecake. It was astoundingly generous of him, footing the bill for himself and 3 others, but it definitely turned the day around, and will live on as one of my fondest memories I think.Read more