Road to Sarria
Last night was a little tough. The hotel was comfortable and clean enough, but the mattress was like a thick old sponge. What it lacked in back support it gave back double in retaining body heat. Not a great night’s sleep for either myself or Spence. Breakfast was decent, and we even managed to grab some takeaway fruit. We were both on the trail shortly after 8 a.m.
It was not quite 50 degrees out when we started. The trail followed the road out of town and quickly picked up a path into a wooded area. There was an option to stay along the roads, but that was not appealing to either of us.
We seemed to be at the bottom of a hill as the water came down over waterfalls and emptied into the valley. Then the descent began in earnest. The surface went from semi paved, to cobbled, to sand, to rocks, and then to mud. All of it was fairly easily navigated, but it wasn't long before we had warmed up enough to start shedding cold-weather clothing.
Maybe the most interesting part of the day was the variety of terrain, trees, and other foliage we saw in a span of less than 11 miles.
A donation-only rest stop along the way was run by some very friendly hippie types.
Spence managed to spot some baby storks in the nest as he made his way along the trail. These stork chicks are fine. But on the Spanish TV station they had a different nest under observation that people could watch in real time as the hatchlings grew. In that video, an eagle came and attacked the nest and took the chicks away. It was shocking to see. The TV station decided that one exposure was not enough, and they showed it five more times in slow motion. Once again, the chicks in this video are thankfully just fine.
Today you could smell the cattle before you could see them. Both the aroma and the number of cows was plentiful. Descending into the city limits, the manure smell faded quickly. Unfortunately, the Camino ran right along the collection line for all the dumpsters. So, the natural smell of the farm was replaced by the unnatural smell of decaying trash.
As I hit the city limits I saw dozens of blue shirts gathered in the park. It appeared to be a high school group doing the Camino.
This city is a popular point along the trail where people jump on to hike the minimum number of miles to qualify for a certificate of completion. There were also a number of buses coming and going, depositing new pilgrims in the city.
The walk took me over another narrow bridge that only allowed cars to travel in one direction at a time. The deeper I walked into the city on the way to the hotel, the more nondescript the sights became. It was just a group of stores, restaurants, and banks. One block was like another. It did not feel like the other small towns we had passed through on the way. Things were getting civilized, and homogenized.
It will be interesting tomorrow morning to see how many people pack the trail. It is generally pretty easy to pick out the newbies: Really shiny equipment, shoes with full tread, very white skin, or sunburned skin after the first day.
Before dinner I actually got to catch one of my favorite shows on the TV. The Big Bang Theory airs nightly here along with many other American sitcoms. Of course I can't follow all the dialogue in Spanish, but it doesn't matter. I've watched the show enough times to know every plot line and almost every line of dialogue regardless of the language spoken.
Off to bed again, to rest for the standard routine in the morning: 7 a.m. wake up, bags in the lobby by 8 a.m., grab some breakfast and get on the trail well before 9 a.m.. We have 14 miles projected for tomorrow, with some hills that will work our calves and quads.
