España Day 6: Buen Camino

Time does fly. Here we’re a week into our Spanish trip and day three trekking the El Camino Pilgrimage Trail and it seems like we just arrived. Where as the first two days had us going up and over some mountains, here the land changes and is gently rolling in nature, the walking in comparison an easy stroll. Our trek today starts right outside our Hotel door (convenient) and takes us from the town of Sarria, a most gorgeous place, to Portomarín . This might mean a trek of some twenty to twenty five clicks – not that anyone’s keeping score.

A fine breakfast behind us – they sure have some fine eats in this part of the world – can you say Iberico Ham? That’s stuff is so incredible and we’d all sell our souls for just one more slice. It’s that good. Sorry got derailed there – boots are laced up, water bottles filled, a briefing by our guide and it’s time to go. Cross the Sarria River and the day’s adventure’s begun. This is a long post so grab a coffee.

1) Murals paying homage to the Peregrino (Pilgrim/Peregrino – same thing). The fellow on the right wears traditional garb – gone in 2015 – rest in peace.

2) You’re eyes are never without something to look at. All those pretty colours!

3) Here’s the Church of Santa Mariña. In any old parts of any village or town the lanes are narrow as seen here. And they go in every direction and getting lost would be quite easy. But the El Camino route is well marked.

1) And we’re off!

4) A sorta-view point looking out over town. Sarria goes back some thousand years and is home to about 13 000 people.

2) Things seen along “The Way”.

5) On the grounds of the Monasterio (Monastery) de La Magdalena at the edge of Sarria. You can crash here for the night if you’re walking the trail. As with all buildings connected to the church, the it shows some amazing architeture.

6) Inside the chapel, a most welcoming and peacefull refuge. In front, one of our group sits in quiet comtemplation. Depending on how busy the trail is, you might share the place with many other Pilgrims or you might have it all to yourself. And Connie lit a candle here and said a prayer for loved ones. She did it at every church…and we passed a lot of them.

7) There’s nothing simple or understated in these Spainish Churches. All that detail, the amount of work that went into it, the sheer beatuty of it all. How can one not be amazed?

8) For a time the El Camino parallels a railway line. About now would be a nice time for a train to show. But no, seems the railway’s not cooperating. Presumably that’s a km marker for the line.

9) Crossing over the tracks. Yes, they are wider. Here in North America it 1,435mm (4ft 8 1/2in) but in this country many lines are 1,668 mm (or 5ft 5 21⁄32in). It’s called Iberian Gauge after the peninsula which Spain is a part of. The highway runs high above and it’s noisy up there. Our experienced guides told us to be watchful for panhandlers along this section of trail whose MO is collecting donations for some (non-existent) charity. I guess they can be quite aggressive and in your face. We saw them but they didn’t bother us – we must not look the easy target. This was the only day we had a “be on guard” warning like this.

10) Some times it’s wooded groves and other times fields and pastures. And it was all beautiful. Here it’s just the two of us on the trail. Chris & Connie and our little corner of Spain.

11) Casa de Carmen ahead in a “Alburgue” or Hostel, where Pilgrims can spend the night. Most every little town or village has budget-oriented accommodations like this. We felt so spoiled given the posh places we’d been staying at.

12) The trail here shares a country lane so expect tractors from time to time. And the occasional car. The trees seen have such thick trunks! Just behind the photographer’s position, a coffee stop in the village of Vilei. Every town has a cafe or bar and we’d see our share of them. There’s no rush on the El Camino. Take it easy and soak it up. Put up your feet, sip some java, and relax.

13) And every town has a souvenir shop.

14) Nothing remarkable here at all, just some old fellow tending garden.

15) Another village, another coffee. And the stuff’s strong here – buzzzzzzzz. Packs all lined up nicely. The shell is a trail essential.

16) Every Peregrino carries a passport and at every place you stop you stamp it – every church, store, cafe, whatever, has a unique one identifying it. A well filled passport is needed if you want your Compostela (certificate of completion) at the end of the journey. And they check it to make sure you didn’t cheat. When you get home these become treasured mementos of a most amazing time. I look at ours and smile.

17) The shade is welcome on a hot day. Here we’re meandering though a wooded glade.

18) Connie and her four leaf clovers…she’s got such a knack finding them. It’s a ragged looking one but perhaps no less giving of luck. We’d sure need that later. And now Connie’s free and clear of the evil big-C, so perhaps, in a little way it helped. That and all the prayers and good vibes from people the world over. Never knew we had so many friends…

19) Graffiti is common along the trail. Most of it, however, is words of encouragement, or prayers or snippets of wisdom and not the usual tags

20) Trucking in rural Spain ain’t too easy. Here a mixer inches along a hair’s clearance on each side. Now that’s a tight squeeze!

21) This here is an Hórreo, a granary. These are unique to the area (these provinces that make up the region of Galicia) and we’d seen hundreds of them in the coming days. And we took lots of photos – please begrudge us our new Hórreo obsession. Some of these go back hundreds of years or more and some are quite recent. All have a similar overall look, but can vary in little details and the materials from which they’re made. Religious decorations are seen on most.

22) Old stone walls and more shade. It got pretty hot this day, the sun beating down mercilessly, so sections like this were some welcome relief from the heat.

23) The beauty of it all.

24) Tiny church!

25) The going’s easy and at times we’d be lost in a daydream, life’s problems just slipping away. Here, a random scene from some section of the El Camino.

3) Santa Mariña Church.

26) Food by donation. And we looked and the cash box was full. Guess the honour system works along the El Camino. But then for most Pilgrims it’s a spiritual outing (and not just church spiritual) and that’s usually when most folks are at their best behaviour. We grabbed a banana and dropped some coins.

27) A stroll in the woods.

28) Another quaint village, another cafe/bar. One after another. Estrella Galacia is the local brew and it’s pretty darn good – refreshing on a hot day.

29) And there for our salvation, a church. Every village/town has one.

30) Just an old tractor parked in the shade. Old metal spotting in Spain. It’s ingrained into us.

31) Sides are slatted allowing for air flow which keeps the grain or vegtables inside dry and cool. Lip below keeps critters out. This is a street.

4) Looking out over town.

32) This is a ribbing of sorts to those who begin their El Camino trek in Sarria. You need to put at least a hundred clicks under your belt to get your Compostela and Sarria just happens to be about that distance from the final destination Santiago, and so is a popular starting point. And by Jesus, this uninformed person means Saint James.

Full disclosure. We did the best of the El Camino, and so while we started some couple hundred kilometres out, we’d walk only about a hundred and twenty five of them, so not much more than the minimum. But kid yourself not, no matter the length travelled, one hundred clicks, the full eight hundred-ish or something in between, it’s hard work and requires physical sacrifice and resolve.

33) Most of the fences in the region were of stone and I suspect many are quite old.

34) On some random boulder.

35) Expect to see an endless parade of memorials. Some are small and easily missed, others not so much. Here, a well adorned cross. Note the barbed wire crowns on the left.

36) Another Hórreo…and look for it. Roses grown in abundance along here and they smelled wonderful.

37-38) No Peregrino is complete without an El Camino Shell. The true meaning of it is perhaps lost to time. Was it a drinking vessel as was said or was it simply a souvenir from the trip? Even in the old days, you wanted to bring home something to remind of it. No matter anyway. Some are decorated with the Cross of Saint James, others with sayings or with flag motifs. At this stop, near every county is covered. On the El Camino, you’re not just from one place, you’re of the world and we’re all one. Naive thinking perhaps, but we need a little nice in our world.

39) A most interesting fence.

40) For the last couple clicks we’re along a country lane. No traffic at all except for a tractor or two and the procession of happy Pilgrims.

41-42) Dropping down into Portomarín, our end point for the day. But first we’ll have to cross a large man made reservoir. Shouldn’t the stop sign say something like Alto or Pare?

43) Up these stairs, a left and a cold one’s waiting. Some of the group has arrived before us, others are not far behind. This day we all kept pretty close together. Then it’s a trip to the quint little farming village we’ll call home for the night.

44) Normally it’s dive hotels for us and that’s perfectly fine. This trip we’re spoiled. Here, our room at Casa Róan in the community of Sestelo – Lugar Sestelo 4, 27215 Monterroso according to Google. I hope we got it right.

45) The view from here.

46) Hanging around. How it was done back in the day here and as we’ll find out, is still done a lot in Spain. We saw many clothes lines in use. And the sheets smell so wonderful.

47) The hotel staff told us this Hórreo was pretty ancient. These can be made of stone, wood, brick or some combo thereof but all keep a similar form.

48) Our happy group, as it would every night, would gather and socialize over dinner and here’s where it’d happen this night.

49) The hotel buildings date back to the 18th Century and were once part of a farm. Here’s a place to cook dinner as it would be centuries ago.

50) The village is a cluster of some eight or ten farm houses. And our hotel. It’s such charming little dot on the map. And in front of every house, one of these granaries. We can’t get enough of them – hope you don’t mind.

51) One the air, a sweet perfume.

52) Your author rarely appears in photos and then it’s most always it’s at a distance or with the face somehow obscured. A self conscience thing I suppose.

53) The little details.

54) It was dead calm and total silence. No breeze, no noise, no traffic. Just still. And that sky!

5) Monasterio de La Magdalena.

55) And now we’re blown away. The light, the colours, the history, the adventure. Hórreo’s are an amazing photo subject. We’re hanging with people we love and care about doing something epic. And that is the stuff of memories.

6) And here we’re in the chapel.

56) The hotel sends down a bottle. And Connie and I sit there, alone, no one else about. I think I heard a dog bark, the only noise. We chit chat, and take a sip, but mostly just look out over the countryside and say nothing. Here’s, this evening, in this little village in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the globe, just the two of us, all the world’s problems washed away and this our little slice paradise. We’re home. This moment may not seem like much but we’ll remember it forever.

57) Restless at some un-Godly hour, this courtyard view, high ISOs, handheld in the near darkness. Then it’s sleep again. Tomorrow, the adventure continues…and it’ll be freakin’ amazing!

“Buen Camino.” Just two simple words you’ll probably hear time and again while trekking the El Camino de Santiago in Spain. It’s a greeting from fellow Pilgrims, strangers on the street and locals that pass, meaning “Good Way” in reference to the “Way of Saint James”, one of the El Camino Trail’s many monikers. It’s a simple blessing for you to have a safe journey, an enjoyable one and perhaps one of enlightenment. Find that inner you, the person you wished you’d always be and take in the wonderment that is the experience…and become better for it.

More Spain and the El Camino…
Off The Beaten Path en España – touching down in Spain.
España Day 1 – Wandering Madrid – getting to know the city.
España Day 2 – Toledo Cathedral – the most impressive yet.
España Day 3 – Hello Astorga – the last stop before the El Camino.
España Day 4 – Scruffy Peregrino – feet in motion.
España Day 5: Up & Over – lovin’ Spain.
España Day 7: Lost & Loving It – don’t want it to end.
España Day 8: Walking the Cows – things seen and passed.
España Day 9-10: Santiago! – a chapter closed.
España Day 10: Evening in O Pindo – Peregrinos no more.
España Day 11: Porto de Quilmas – a “lazy” day.
España Day 12: Cabo Finisterre/Fisterra – the end of the world.
España Day 13: A Taste of Portugal – one final day.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: June, 2018.
Location: Galicia Region Spain.
Article references and thanks: Paul & Paul Walks in Spain, Katrina & Grant LaRocque.

7) So many beautiful churches…

8) Hoping for a train to show…

9) High above, the busy highway.

10) The peaceful countryside.

11) Casa de Carmen ahead is an “Albergue”.

12) Expect to share the trail with tractors – thick tree!

13) Peregrino Bob and Peppa.

14) Old man gardening.

15) Scenes from a coffee stop.

16) At each stop a passport stamp.

17) Welcome shade under a canopy of trees.

18) That good luck will come in handy later…

19) Graffiti words of wisdom.

20) Tight squeeze!

21) The first “Hórreo”.

22) A most pleasant day of walking.

23) Rolling countryside.

24) Tiny and so charming.

25) Rural Spain has us dreaming.

26) The honour system.

27) Patterns of light.

28) If we stopped at every one, we’d be pretty drunk.

29) There to save us, a church in every village.

30) Tractor in the shade.

31) You’ll be seeing a lot of these.

32) Directed at those who do the 100km minimum.

33) Stone fences everywhere.

34) This rock carving.

35) One of many memorials passed.

36) Look for the witch.

37) Every Peregrino needs a shell.

38) On the El Camino, we’re all one.

39) Caminohenge.

40) Strolling along some country back road.

41) Across the waters, Portomarín.

42) A man made lake.

43) Up the stairs and we’re done walking for the day.

44) So this is how the other side lives?

45) At Casa Róan Sestelo Spain.

46) How Mom used to do it.

47) Some of these are hundreds of years old.

48) Later we’ll all gather for dinner here.

49) So many ancient things.

50) Exploring the village.

51) The smell was intoxicating.

52) Your author and nothing but peace and quiet.

53) Just wandering about.

54) The still and calm.

55) These are unique to this part of Spain.

56) Bliss meter reading 100%.

57) Wee-hours in the courtyard.