Monday 12 October: Sarria to Portomarin (22km /13.5 mi)
Day 1… back on the Camino and I’m pretty chuffed to be walking with Beth! We’ve had fabulous weather, perhaps a bit toooo hot, peaking at 27C/81F this afternoon. The scenery has been more stunning than I remembered with some really tricky sections underfoot (also long forgotten!). We’ve met some really lovely people, and found muscles we didn’t realise we had! … and encountered Basil Fawlty’s Spanish sister!
Beth arrived yesterday and spent the day in Sarria. She’s going to contribute her own section to the blog… it’s all hers and I take no responsibility for the content!
Beth with Gorge at Casa Solance (our hotel) in SarriaIn the garden Gorge stringing Beth’s pilgrim scallop shellWe’re off! First steps on our Camino!Iglesia de Santiago de Barbadelo, a 12th-century Romanesque church located in Barbadelo.Galician bagpiper busking on the pathMorning teaA milestoneA bolshy robin Slippery, steep rocks we had to scramble down (steeper than they look here… very rude)The Liberty Bell as you approach Portomarín. The name refers to “freedom as an intrinsic value of the Jacobean route, as the pilgrims, in addition to a spiritual journey, also travel in search of freedom.”Bridge into Portomarin Remnants of the old Portomarin village. In the 1960s the Miño River was dammed to create the Belesar reservoir, putting the old village of Portomarín under water. The most historic buildings of the town were moved brick by brick and reconstructed in the new town, including its castle-style main church.Up the stairs into the “new” townStairs from the sideCheck out her face… a tired and grumpy girl after 22+ hot, humid kilometresHappier with a refreshing aleProof 😁Another kilometre out to our hotel … we could have gotten a lift, but failed to read the fine print 🫤… not ALL my faultOur cottageDinner with Maryanne and Mike from San Francisco. Photo taken by Charity from Novato (just north of SanFran)
