Day 28 – Triacastela to Sarria 

As I don’t want this amazing experience to end am taking the last week very slowly. I estimate I will be in Santiago next Friday and am pleased to say that the majority of the wonderful people I have walked with over the last 4.5 weeks will be there also for a wonderful celebration of a fantastic achievement.

Even though I had a room with only 4 people in it, including me, I had 2 horrendous snorers.  Broken sleep but still up and ready by 7.30

I had met Oswin and Kian last night as they were walking through town but they were going on to the next town and staying in a vegetarian albergue. I don’t think they were very happy about it as they love their meet and sausage!

I said I would swing by in the morning and pick them up and we could walk together and eat meat all day.   They are so lovely the two of them and they make me laugh with there continual search for food.  Hollow legs!!!

I swung into A Balsa at 8 this morning and picked them up and we headed up another huge mountain.  I have become quite ok with walking up mountains it is coming down the other side that kills me.  Don’t know how I would cope without walking poles.

It was very cold this morning. 7 degrees and really didn’t take my jacket off all day.  Beautiful walk this morning and again that gorgeous ethereal mist below the mountains that made it look like a lake and islands 

Passing through a lot of little hamlets on the way to Sarria today and believe me the aroma from the cows as you walk through these hamlets and also through the countryside is almost overwhelming.  Very rural!!!

I love that from the way you walk into a town with tiny streets, everyone drives their massive tractors down these streets and as we walk in the cows have been before us so you have to be very careful where you walk and to keep your mouth closed as the flies are incredible. 

Here was one of the culprits 

It was only 20kms to Sarria today so we were here by 11.30 and rather than go on we wanted to find an albergue and stay and savour our last week.

Sarria is 114kms from Santiago and this is where a lot of pilgrims start from in order to get their Compostella. You have to have walked 100kms to get it so this little town of 13,500 people is busting with albergue’s and hotels and is a little more expensive than the towns we have come through. I think it may be that way from now on but we will see.  

In every town at 6pm there is always a pilgrims mass with a pilgrims blessing at the end.  I went to one in one of the towns.  It was totally in Spanish so just copied what everyone else was doing.  No idea what was going on but I am very good at blending in!!!

Found a little albergue so the boys and I did our washing and went for a wander around town. Met up with Pierre and had our pilgrims lunch and am now about to go and explore the tiny town of Sarria.  

Been there done that.  Walked the town and now sitting in a bar on the street having a cold cerveza. 

Sarria has Celtic origins and was a major medieval centre for pilgrims 

I have spent the afternoon in the bar with Gil, Pierre and Kristina and now we are eating Italian in Spain 

The vino Tinto is gone and I can hear my bed calling

Buenos Noches