26 days ago when I started walking the Camino with Donna and Eladio, we were full of excitement and anticipation. We couldn’t wait to get started and when we did, we took photos of everything. It took us 9 hours to walk what should have been 6. A lot of pilgrims start their Camino journeys here in Sarria because it is only a 7 day time commitment and because it’s the last place you can start and receive the official certificate at the end, the Compostela.
It was fun to have Jeff and Roddy start their Camino pilgrimage in Sarria. We could see the sa me excitement and anticipation in them that we had just 26 days ago. We took lots of photos departing Sarria and had a great day taking our time along today’s beautiful 13 mile trek. It really was a gorgeous first day for them through stunning green forests, across bubbling creeks and in delicious cafes for refreshments.
We noticed there were lots of other new pilgrims as well, full of the same excitement and wonder, but we noticed something else new to us today, tourist pilgrims. They aren’t hotel or albergue pilgrims, they are tourists whose guides have brought them to the Camino on large motor coaches, drop them off at one spot and pick them up about a 2 to 3 hour walk down the path. They crowd the pathways and don’t offer the same Camino etiquette as pilgrims. We found the tourists to be a little distracting from the experience and nature of the Camino, but were glad they had all disappeared within a few hours as their motor coaches picked them back up to continue their tours of Spain.
A little further into our day we noticed we had crossed the final 100 kilometer mark, which meant we had walked 642km and the final countdown to Santiago de Compostela has begun.
Approaching Portomarin was a beautiful sight, as the city sits on the side of a large lake/river. The original historic village was originally much lower, on the banks of the river. In the 1960’s a damn was built on the river to provide a reservoir of water. This meant the entire town would be submerged, so several historic buildings had to be relocated uphill and the city was completely rebuilt. One of the buildings moved was their historic, Romanesque church from the 12th century. They had to remove and rebuild the ancient church rock by rock, window tile by window tile. They also reassembled part of the ancient bridge from the river. We walked that bridge up and into the new city, past the church where it now stands, and into our lovely hotel for the night. With the walking day done, we were all experienced pilgrims, resting up for tomorrow.
Rick's Camino de Santiago 