Triacastela to Sarria

Day 39  Triacastela to Samos (11kms)

The alarm goes off at 6.45am, but we have no lights!  This is another power outage that “will not affect our stay at Casa David!”  We open the curtains to let  the street light shine in and shower in the dark. The lights eventually come at 7.30am just in time to guide us to breakfast.



San Cristobal



Misty rain is falling as we set out, necessitating pack covers and Elaine’s raincoat.  Callum, our itinerary organiser, has suggested a slightly longer, alternative route for today, but we decide not to follow it for a few reasons…it is not way-marked, the weather, and Elaine’s state of health – a nasty cough has joined the head cold. 

We follow the road for 2.5kms to San Cristobal do Real, sometimes on a senda, sometimes on the shoulder of the road.   Historically, this area has seen some Celtic influence, with a number of ruins still visible, and just before we leave the road, we notice what we think could be stone circles in a field.  This is slate country and many of the fences are simply slate slabs standing on edge. 

A farm track takes us through the village where we see a working watermill, and then join a lovely track along the river where we are sheltered by oak, chestnut and walnut trees. 

Elaine sheds her raincoat at the top of the climb to Vigo do Real, we descend steeply back to the river, then climb again to Renche, another village that time forgot…narrow pathways between stone houses which retain at least their original exterior, but often with fancy new doors!  Because we are walking along lanes and farm tracks, and happening upon villages as we go, not seeing a ‘town with shops’ for maybe a few days, we forget that the folk who live here are only a short car trip from life as we know it. 



Samos Monastery



The narrow river flats are under cultivation with vegetables or crops of corn, with occasional small herds of dairy cows, and widen as we pass through San Martino do Real then climb up to the main road above Samos from where we get a perfect view of the Benedictine Monastery before following a dirt track down the hill and into the village.  This is a lovely day’s walk…Callum’s special route must be good if it’s better than this.

Not much is happening in the village…it is Sunday!...and the weather is threatening.  It is just before midday, but we decide to seek out our accommodation in the hope that we can at least leave our packs there while we explore.  Our hotel is the last building in the town and our room is ready so we have our picnic lunch there.  By this time it is raining.  John takes the umbrella for a walk to buy a couple of things and check out options for dinner.  We spend a rainy afternoon blogging…with intentions of going to Vespers at the Monastery.  Elaine’s cold is beginning to look like the ‘flu so we opt out of that…and, there being no other options, we have dinner at the hotel.

Day 40 Samos to Sarria (14kms)

Water mill

Another 8.23am departure. It’s cold but there’s no frost, a surprise given that the sky is so clear.  Walking along the road for about 2kms, we see another operational water mill, and a very large, free-standing stone that says ‘114km to Santiago’…strange, because the ‘official’ way marker stones are saying more than that.  The distance travelled changes according to which route you are currently following.

           Leaving the main road, we climb away from the river through farmland before

           gradually dropping back onto corriedoiras which we follow for the majority of the

           morning.  Like yesterday, this is a delightful walk through oaks, chestnuts and

           the occasional walnut. 

Local people are out collecting chestnuts, checking on their cows, walking their

dogs.  We stay in regular contact with the river which is controlled by weirs to

direct water into channels for mills, irrigation, etc.  Colours are stunning, but

eventually we come out onto the main road leading to Sarria. 

We have lunch at picnic tables on the senda just outside the town near a farmyard with chooks, roosters and rabbits…all keen to share our lunch.  At the entry to the town we find the Information Office so we get Credentiale stamps, The traditional start to any town is the bridge over the river and we leave the Camino here to go in search of our accommodation.– Hotel Roma, a really nice 1* hotel.  Here we meet Anne, her husband Roger, Denise and her neighbour Serene, all from Healesville;  Anne’s sister Marie from Kilmore; and Denise’s sister Lyn from Glen Waverley.

We have a rest day tomorrow, so arrange to do our washing at the Albergue Municipale, go to the Farmacia for some cough medicine, and find a coffee shop which will be just fine for dinner as well.

Day 41 Rest Day  Sarria

Castle

After breakfast, we decide to check emails, and are delighted to find that Linda is ringing us on Skype.  Chat to her for 20 mins or so then check emails and update the diary.

We go for a walk to the Monastery and the Castle ruins, before going to the albergue to do the laundry where we have to wait until 1.00pm for it to open, and then stand in line with a large group of people, some of whom are challenged in some way and need assistance from carers.  When the door opens, the leader of the  group goes inside to negotiate the booking of 40 beds…not possible for several reasons… you can’t book beds in Albergues Municipales (public), the 40 people aren’t all present, and beds are reserved for those who have walked at least 20kms for the day…these people haven’t.  They are directed to an Albergue Privado up the street. The group is ‘Organisation Olympus’ and they travel with a big motorhome and a ‘sag wagon’ minibus.  We are not sure of their charter but will find out later.

We put our washing in the machine, go for a coffee and then return for drying.  The two young women who are personning the reception at the albergue are volunteers with an EU organisation – Mary from Estonia and Anna from Latvia.  Both speak very good English as well their native tongue, while Mary understands Finnish and Anna Russian.  They are learning Spanish, work both here and at the Information Centre, and at the end of their 3 month ‘contract,’ will return home to continue their education. 



Monastery Saria

 There are several large supermarkets here in Sarria.  In our experience, it is unusual to have so many within walking distance.  Larger places have minimarts in town and the big supermarkets are on the outskirts where people can park.  However, nothing matters if they have Mars bars!!   And no matter where you go to eat in Sarria, it is up a serious hill from our hotel!  Hence we manage to build up an appetite to make the climb worthwhile