Day 29, Tricastela to Sarria, Oct 27


We choose to take a longer route via a river and past a Benedictine monastery. And extra 6 k but more scenic and less steep. At some point I find myself far ahead and when on a steep part of the trail I stop to check behind to see if I see Mats or Linda. Once spotted I continue on but at one point, past a tiny village with 4 chicken crossing signs and a lot of feathers within 500 ft on a very narrow road, I keep looking but not seeing anyone. I pull out my phone and open it at the exact time that Linda phones me wondering where I am. Mats is up on a road i crossed five minites ago, looking for me when Linda remembered she could phone me. It's unusual for me to be in the lead. Once gathered together again, we continue on. 

There are very few people on this trail, most have gone the shorter route but this is a pretty hike despite some charred areas shoeing where a fire had recently been through.

Yesterday at one of our rests at a bar café, Brian had told us about his new found now gone girlfriend. She lived with her partner of ten years, but two years ago she discovered he had been having an affair. For the last two years she couldn't sleep. She had two weeks off and decided to spend them on the Camino hoping to get do tired she would be able to sleep the night through. Somehow she meet Brian. ’She would crawl into my bed at night and put her back against mine for comfort and finally could sleep. I would like to meet her partner and ask the bastard his he could treat her that way!'

Unexpectedly, we find we have crossed into another valley and can look down and see an old Benedictine monastery at Samos, one of the oldest and largest monasteries in Spain.

Linda pulled ahead after the monastery. I know she likes to walk with her imagination and my clicking of my hiking poles probably interferes with that. Everyone walks their own Camino.
Coming into Sarria we ran into Melissa and Martin. What Melissa loses in speed she makes up with distance. This was to be their last day of walking together as Martin needed to be back at work.
' I am going to walk with Melissa a little ways out of town and then say goodbye as it is our last day together. Then I am going to come back and stay at the monastery.'
And off they went. They have been good company for short periods of time in the last week. I will miss them.

Time on trail: 8hrs
Weather: morning fog which burned off then perfect sunshine.
Distance travelled: 26k
Distance to go: 133.8k
Food: café con leche, apple, banana, empanadas, calamari, chicken stew and chips, ice cream
Lesson learned:
Feeling:
Aches and pains: tired but moving albeit slower today.


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