Sàrria has not been my favourite town. It is not beautiful nor is there much to see. The churches are not open until later and overall town just feels run down.
I tried to find a spot for dinner but everywhere looked shut. I am sure that come 8/9pm far more will look open but it is really hard to tell in the afternoon.
I met with George for a pre dinner drink and we saw a couple from the previous day so invited them to join us. They are a young brother and sister from Yorkshire. He is a primary school teacher but has just finished a contract and she is trying to decide what career is right for her. She has tried accounting, retail and most recently being a post woman. None have really felt right so she is hoping that the camino will help her with inspiration! They are a great couple. It is safe to say that Emma looks 15!!
We opted to wait and have dinner in the hotel, the menu was extensive so we could opt for something other than a Pilgrim menu which was great. George has a rest day here in Sàrria so I won’t see him until Santiago but I should see him the night before I head into Finisterre.
At breakfast this morning, I bumped into Morag and her husband Hugh. Morag walked the first two weeks with Dawn. The idea was that both their husbands would come out and all 4 of the would finish together. Dawn however left a few days ago after her knee injuries meant that she couldn’t walk. Morag and her husband decided to finish though and arrived last night. It is odd to see someone who you walked with for the first couple of weeks but then they have been back in Scotland for 2 weeks before coming back.
We started the day together which was fun. Navigating out of Sàrria was easier than I expected, it is often hard out of towns. From now on we need to collect 2 stamps per day to be eligible for the Compostela at the end. I have my two today, but must remember.
Today the weather was damp in the air but dry which was great. Probably because I have now bought myself a poncho!! Still fingers crossed that this logic holds, the forecast for the week is still for rain, but today was dry all day and the walking was lovely.
The scenery has changed again, it is now really green with lots of fields and rolling hills. Loads of farms and lot of cows. The paths today were through woodland and gravel tracks, with plenty of small villages for coffee. Overall there was 400m ascent and 460m decent so a good mixed day with a few steep sections and plenty of flat for the 24km today.
Today, I passed through the 100km mark, there is now less than 100km to go into Santiago, it really does not feel like I have walked this far, but clearly I have.
The route today was way busier with lots of large groups of pilgrims, some routes were packed with other forms of life too!! I chose to wait to be able to access the path, this is rural Galicia at its best, green and damp with a very strong smell of cow dung.
Portomarín is a town of about 2000 people and is much more attractive than Sàrria in my opinion. On entry into town we crossed a huge bridge over a reservoir. The steep stairs at the entrance of town is part of the original medieval bridge which was removed when the dam and reservoir were built.
The view from the hotel is stunning back over the reservoir. The main town is back up the top with a Romanesque fortress church which I am going to explore later.
