Nogais, As

We left the lovely Albergue at Fonfria at about 7 after buying some of their delicious Santiago cake and fruit and yoghurt.
It was a beautiful morning,
Clear blue skies and fabulous views of the mountains. The way was gently down at first. Turning a corner we saw a pool of cloud sitting in the valley- like a soft white sea. I have never seen anything like it, and I have done quite a lot of walking in the mountains. At every turn of the path it looked different; it was as if we were walking along a coast road and could see islands in the sea. I’m very bad at describing this and I’m not sure the photos do it justice, but it was the most incredible sight.
After a while, as we began the descent to Triacastella, it felt like we were diving into the cloud. The view began to disappear and everything was misty and quite cold. My fingers went numb and by the time we reached Triacastella I was very ready for coffee and my jumper. Fortunately the sun came back pretty quickly and I was soon back to normal.
We then took the alternative route to Samos which follows the river all the way to the monastery town. The ‘normal’ route goes straight to Sarria - where many people start their Camino because it’s just over 100km from there to Santiago (and you have to walk at least 100km to get your Compostela).
By now it was getting warm and I stopped for a drink at the only bar on this 10km stretch.
We got into Samos by about 1 but couldn’t check into our room until 2, so sat and ate our lunch (yogurt and nuts) by the river. It looked very swimmable but I wasn’t feeling 100% so thought it was better not to go in this time.
The Albergue is good but does not have food, and apparently Tuesday is a rest day in Samos so nearly everywhere else was closed too. The only option for dinner was a bocadillo at the tiny bar - so that had to do. Very sad because there is a restaurant opposite which gets very good reviews - not for us tho. At 5.30 we went on the tour of the monastery. We were taken round by a Benedictine monk who, I think, would have been an interesting guide if I’d been able to speak a bit more Spanish. The limited amount I do have was very useful and I was able to understand some of what he was explaining and even answered some of his questions (he was very interactive). There are only eleven monks living there now - most of the place is just empty. The others in our group were mainly Italian and could understand a fair amount of Spanish but there was also a Spanish pilgrim who had stared walking in Rome. The monk was fascinated by this and asked lots of questions, including why he had walked from Rome and why he had walked so many caminos. The guy said he asked himself the same questions and said that when he finished one he always said that was the last - but so far it never has been! He wasn’t very old so I feel this one won’t be his last either but I don’t know what you do after walking from Rome (he started on 24th March).
We then had our sandwich and a drink before going to the mass at 7. It was a strangely perfunctory mass for me and although in a beautiful church, not as special for me as the one in O Cebreiro. Not sure anything will match that.
Hoping to feel much better tomorrow and to find some very good food in Sarria. One of our friends was there today and seems to have found a great veggie place!Read more