‘The heat was hot [well derr America 🙄], the ground was dry and the air was full of sound.’ That pretty much describes the walk from Sarria to Portomarin..
Despite the challenges, it felt good to join the herd, and especially satisfying to arrive. I had a salad with fruit and Albariño at an Elvis-themed restaurant overlooking the lake.
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The overriding impression is ‘people on the move’ - school students (lots of them), single people of all ages, couples, walkers with day packs - and cyclists (aka MAMILs - middle aged men in Lycra, they are almost always males - I may/may not do a separate post about this peculiar peregrino sub genre).
Back to morning in Sarria, I found the way beneath my feet.
and pondered about peregrino friends travelling between destinations on fast and regular trains to and from the Camino. People on the move . . .
and awe inspiring oak trees
This is a horreo - an iconic Galician (and Asturian) farm store designed to keep food away from peregrinos and other rodents.
Thankfully there was a bar not too far away.
And a little further on, the key milestone for the herd.
Olden day Galicians had an ingenious way of climbing over their farm walls.
It was hot. I was ready to stop. I dropped in to a place we had stayed years ago.
It was completo - fully booked. So onward to Portomarin.
The town used to be down there to the right until President Franco decided to dam the river, flood the place and move the town up stairs to the hill top. It was hot at the top. Even Elvis’s wooden heart began to melt.
That is where I had dinner.
It had been a long hot day - ‘well a bless my soul, what’s a wrong with me’
After paying homage to the King, I wandered back to the Las Vegas Hilton
And slept with over 20 complete strangers!
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Ah, Sarria. Where the tranquility ends and the herd race begins.
ReplyDeleteI remember it well. Thinking of you dear Mike xx From Sue and Chris xx