Today we said goodbye to Mike and headed to Portomarin
Bit of a chill in the air this morning as we set off, the forecast was for something much hotter as the day progressed.
King Alfonso IX – considered by many to be the creator of the modern Camino way – founded the royal villa of Vilanova de Sarria at the end of the 12th century , a strategic point on his itinerary to Compostela. He also died in Sarria in 1230, a victim of a serious ailment, during a pilgrimage to Santiago again to thank the Apostle for the reconquest of Mérida. Sarria is also a major starting point the the Camino Frances as, being 114km from Santiago, it is the last place you can start and still receive the Compostela.
Crossing the Rio Pequeno via a pretty bridge, we walked alongside, and then crossed, the railway line. There are four trains a day that go through Sarria, 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. Starting up a steepish hill (what else would there be first thing after breakfast) on a wooded path we started to see evidence of Sarria being the start point for so many pilgrims. In the first 30 minutes alone we passed over 100 other pilgrims (and over 300 by the end of the day), this was more like a commercial charity walk than anything we had seen on the Camino so far.
It was very pleasant walking after we had passed the majority of early starters. As usual the scenery was lovely to look at and although we didn’t walk through any towns, there were a few nestling in dips in the hills. All this time the sun was rising and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen, making it pretty warm. We were in t-shirts and shorts, and sweltering, many other walkers still had hats, jumpers or coats and full length trousers, I will never understand how they don’t collapse from heat exhaustion.
A small church and cemetery, a few nice splashes of colour and more nice views as we walked along and arrived at the “most photographed spot”, the 100km to go marker. Why people have the need to graffiti everything is beyond me.
Starting our descent we could see Portomarin in the distance and as we got closer the descent got steeper, not good for our knees, and we came to the Vella Bridge across the Rio Miño. The reservoir of Belesar, on the Rio Miño, necessitated the moving of Portomarin to a higher altitude and flooded the old village. Major buildings, such as the churches of St. John and St. Nicholas, were dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone. At the end of a tough day walking, there is a long staircase to navigate before getting into the town itself.
After checking in, we had a stroll round town and a spot of lunch, before retiring out of the heat for a bit of rest and recuperation.
Tomorrow we head to Palas de Rei.