Day 27: Triacastela to Sarria.

I wake to the smell of breakfast downstairs in the hotel lobby. It’s 6:30am, and I start my day, packing my gear and checking my book for the trail elevations. There is a small climb today but the walk is a short 18 KMs to Sarria. I decide to take my time, slow down, as Sarria represents about the last 100kms to Santiago, or 4 days left. I go down for breakfast and I see Rob who was also taking it slow. He is walking past Sarria about another 5km to a town called Barbadello.

Sarria also marks another popular starting place for the Camino. It’s popular with tour groups who offer a Camino program for people to walk 5kms a day then pick them up and take them to the next town, the tours include accommodations, meals, etc., all very well planned out. The population of walkers will likely double or triple as a result and the Camino becomes crowded. Some pilgrims who have started previously, like in St. Jean Pied de Port, Pamplona or Burgos know that Sarria starts more of the party crowd and isn’t a positive and so they move past Sarria to avoid the crowds and noise. For me, I’ll be stopping in Sarria because it’s a good time to welcome new people.

In any event Rob and I depart Triacastela separately knowing we’ll likely run into each other again before the end of the day being on the same track. The day is cloudy and it sprinkles rain on and off. The trail is isolated from the main roads most of the day and again walk through numerous hamlets and dairy farms. I run into a Canadian couple that Jimmy and I met in León, Gord and Michelle. We catch up on our experiences since León and have a good laugh about some minor Camino misfortunes. They are walking to Sarria too.

As I enter the outskirts of Sarria it’s just 12:00pm. I felt strong today and realized my conditioning has hit a point where walking 18kms isn’t that difficult, which makes me feel pretty good. I see a restaurant, it’s open, but no one is there, so I move on and I see Rob coming down the road. We join up and walk into Sarria and find a place for lunch. After lunch, Rob says goodbye as he still has another 5kms to walk. As Rob leaves, Carrey walks by and says hello. Thee days in a row! He asks if the food was any good and I tell him it was delicious, but I was hungry so they could have put anything in front of me and I would have eaten it. That gets Carrey laughing because he recalled telling me the same thing when we first met. I invite Carrey to sit and eat, and i have another beer while he eats his lunch.

Carrey asks if I want the picture he took of me in Triacastela and he sends it to me via WhatsApp. We talk a little more about the Camino experience. Carrey is also moving out of Sarria so we say goodbye and hope to run into him again down the road.

Later in the day, I find a restaurant to eat dinner. As I sit at my table enjoying the now sunny weather, two couples are talking at the table next to me. Both had just arrived in Sarria to start their Camino’s with both separately arriving from Texas. They discuss their trip to Sarria, with one describing taking three planes, two buses and a taxi just to get to Sarria. I guess I laughed as I heard them discuss their plans for the next 6 days to Santiago. The older couple leaves the restaurant and I watch as they walk away, and wonder how far they will make it. I hope they know what is coming.

The other couple, a bit younger and fitter, stay and finish eating. A few seconds later, the guy says to me “hey you”. I turn, he’s smiling and asks how long I’ve been on the Camino. I tell him today was day 27. He introduces himself as Andy and his wife Heather. He says, “I saw you kind of laughing when we were talking to the other couple, you must think we are the rookies.” I said, “no, I was laughing at their description and experience just getting here, it just made me think of a few crazy days on the Camino and how it equates to life.”

Andy and Heather are from Houston and they are on vacation. They are hikers back in Texas and wanted to do the Camino but time was limited so they chose to do the last 100kms. Andy asks if I think they are pathetic for starting in Sarria, and I tell him everyone’s Camino is different. We all start in different places for many reasons, maybe it’s time, or maybe because some have less burdens to carry. Andy gets it, and asks about my experience starting from France. I’m honest, and tell them it’s my third time, and as much as I liked it, I will not do it again. It was brutal going over the Pyrenees, beautiful yes, but I wouldn’t do it again. They tell me they are walking to Portomarin tomorrow, which is about 23-24kms. They head off, Andy says, “Scott I hope we see you tomorrow” and I respond, “Buen Camino, Andy may our paths cross again.” I’ve met several people like this in the last 27 days, and I know the Camino has a plan for me and them. As the case with Rob and Carrey, we see each other all the time, but with others, sometimes you don’t see the person again. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Please enjoy the pictures of the day:

Departing Triacastela, an old building greets.

A river and waterfall down off the trail

Cows in the pasture

More cows and their babies in the pasture

A small hamlet

A pond with the pilgrim shell

Foggy and misty trails

An old church and graveyard

A painted rock with words of wisdom

An old inhabitant

An old chapel

The city of Sarria

Old town Sarria