Sarria to Portomarin – 23.4km, 5.25 hours, Pension Caminante, 60€

Most of my worries about today’s walk were just that: worries. Sarria is the closest town on the Camino that is outside the 100km minimum distance from Santiago that is also big enough to have the necessary services. You have to walk the last 100km to Santiago to get a Compostela / certificate of completion. A lot of pilgrims start there, including many in organized tour groups. In the past, I have been upset by the sheer numbers of people on the trail, the noise, the way the new pilgrims act, etc.

This time though, I was prepared. Nothing bothered me. Well, almost nothing.

Who the hell do those @&*+%ing bicyclists think they are?!?! There are some trails on the Camino that just aren’t suitable for cyclists. The trails are too thin, too steep, too crowded, etc. and they are dangerous for walking and riding pilgrims alike. The authorities clearly mark which portions of the trails that cyclists must avoid and they have their own marked trail, often on a quiet road. Why, oh why, do they feel the need to ignore the signs and race by between walking pilgrims? Why do they think that ringing a bell or shouting behind you means that we have to get off the trail so they can pass? I found one spot today where barbed wire was placed across the trail, I assume by someone who was even angrier than me so I am not alone. I did move the barbed wire off the trail but I had to think about it for a while before I did.

Other than those couple of buggers, we did have a LOT of people on the trail and also a lot of people that had a completely different attitude compared to the others who have walked for 650km or more already. Lots of “hola’s” and “buen Camino’s” were ignored. More than the usual number of people didn’t clear their table when they left a bar, a higher percentage of pilgrims were talking very loudly on the trail, a high number of selfies on the trail (one of which I photo-bombed), etc. I may have noticed these things but they really didn’t bother me. I was cool as a cucumber. Unless I heard an approaching cyclist. When we get to Santiago, I might just have a really interesting story to tell the priest in the confessional.

How was the trail itself? It was lovely, I think. I’m only not sure because we were in fog for the majority of the day. What we could see was nice though. It was a very hilly day with some very steep climbs or descents but none lasted very long after the climb out of Sarria itself. The trail had a good mix of earthen trails, gravel tracks and quiet tarmac roads. Once again, Melanie was sailing through the ascents and flat bits but the descents were done slowly in order to keep the knees and back pain manageable. She has only been taking vitamin C these past few days and her vitamin I and P (Ibuprofen and paracetamol) days are well behind her. Rehab and a failed drug test were great motivators for her.

There was a very interesting descent down the final section to the bridge that leads to Portomarin. This stone “staircase” has likely been used for thousands of years but we had forgotten all about it until it was too late. The Camino now offers an alternative trail along a road that is the same length but bypasses the challenging descent, but we chose the original route to stay authentic. This natural stone stairway may be fine for a twenty-something kid but with our knees, ankles, hips, and backs, that all have a combined age of 1,608 years, it was murder. The big drops from one level to the next were the worst but sometimes, we only had small toe holds to rely on. That said, we are both sitting comfortably in the pension’s terrace at the moment, watching our clothes dry so we survived.

Peace y’all. Goodnight George & Leo. Don’t let the bedbugs bite. They’re a bloody nuisance.