Today was Mike’s last day with us as we walked from Triacastela to Sarria.
For once not too cold and not too hot as we left town this morning. We had another choice of route today, northwards with a steep starting climb and great views or southwards via the largest monastery in the region.
Triacastela is the first town on the Camino de Frances in Galicia and is overwhelmed by the large influx of pilgrims during the busiest times of the year, when there are more pilgrims than neighbors (population c800). Several kings and members of the nobility had a relationship with Triacastela, with the greatest benefactor being King Alfonso IX (1188-1230), of whom it is said even spent some time there.
Of course we took the scenic route which did indeed involve a bit of a steep hill out of town and straight after breakfast. The sun was warming its way through the clouds as we headed uphill along a nicely forested path that wound though green fields (think cows grazing rather than crops). We passed the house of an English artist who had retired to here and subsisted by selling paintings to pilgrims. Unfortunately (or thankfully) he was nowhere in sight as we passed.
We crested the hill at San Xil, and began the inevitable descent. It was fairly flat for quite a while as we enjoyed the views. The sun was now out fully, and though still quite early, was very warm, so we also enjoyed the cover of the path through the trees.
Partway down now, we passed through Samos, nothing much to see except for the ubiquitous church. The bright green of the fields contrasted nicely with the blue of the sky as we passed a couple of herds of cows, including some fairly recently born calves.
We finished off descending down to Sarria (c500m in total), still enjoying the views (when out of the trees), past a small field of daisies and a Stork that seemed to be feeding it’s young (we hadn’t seen any for a few days so were wondering if they didn’t come this far west – now we know). Walking into Sarria, through the “new” town, we crossed the Rio Sarria and the had to walk up a long flight of stairs into the “old” town where our hotel was situated.
After some lunch we had a quick walk around town – the old town is not very large – and a quick peek into the old pilgrims prison (now a cultural centre). The costumes/masks are used in parades here (I haven’t found out what for) but they do look like a local version of “it’s a knockout”!
Of course no day is complete without an ice cream. We also explored a couple of churches, Iglesia de San Salvador – a beautiful Romanesque/Gothic 13th Century Church, and Iglesia Santa Marińa de Sarria – dated from 1885 and is located in the Plaza de Juan María López, who paid for the construction costs.
Tomorrow we head for Portomarin and only 5 more days of walking.