May 22nd-Sarria to Portomarin

I awoke to the sound of rain hammering aginst the window, I rolled over and pulled the sleeping bag over my head, There was no need for a long day so another 45 minutes in bed would not be a problem, It seems that the other 2 guys in the room had the same idea and in the end i washed, packed and left and they were still asleep, It was pretty miserable out and the signs were somewhat lacking, I quickly grabbed a coffee and cake so i could take yet another tablet, My ankle was sore and the left knee was a little swollen after all the hill climbing, As always the blisters needed to be bedded, I do not actually mind walking in the rain, I passed through Sarria and there was quite a lot of pilgrims just leaving, I decided to stay on the outskirts as all the newby's would be noisy and excited, I have been there and done that and just wanted rest, It was uphill from the start, My legs protested, The last few days have been long and hard and its the first time my legs really were not in the mood for climbing, Sarria looked a very nice place but the camera stayed in the dry so no pics of it, The heavy rain thankfully did not last long and it was then either dry or light drizzle, It was a lovely walk through countryside and tiny hamlets, Very old and quaint, The whole journey has been in different terrains and this reminded me of England with stone walls and Foxgloves, I met with a Swiss couple who i have met before and we slowly made our way to Portomarin, The woman has been suffering with a painful hip and has been taking aspirin, I gave her some of my Santiago candy and hoped that would help her, Portomarin is built on a reservoir, The old town now underwater, The took the old church to pieces and relocated in the new town, There is a very different feel to Portomarin to any other Spanish town i have been through, Firstly there is money here, Lots BMW's etc, The place is spotless and has a riviera feel to it, The Aubergue i am in has a lovely bar above with views over the lake as does my bed, It was quite a short day for me today, I could have gone on but there was no need, My body needs the rest and the place looks great so why push it?

 Modern day pilgrim sign with mouth as water spout

 Lots of shell fencing around Sarria

 Foxgloves line the route here

 I believe these are old grain stores

 A sign that this is a very wet and damp area

 The 100km marker, Probably the most photographed of all the markers

 And starting to become something of a shrine

 Water running down the side of the Camino

Pilgrims have a habit of leaving rocks and stones on everything

 More above ground graves

 Another shrine

 This must be very old

 This piece of woodland caught my eye

Lots of old stone built hamlets to walk through

 First view of the reservoir

 Steep stairway into the town

 Steep from any angle-just what you need after a long walk

Sums the day up nicely

 Room with a view

 Nice beer kegs

 The Church that was moved and rebuilt

 The main street down to my digs

The church was shut when i went but will open soon so come back for more images, I went to the church but i have to say that there was very little in there so i did not bother with any images,

Sarria as i have said is where the largest percentage of people start, Its around 110km from Santiago and you have to walk 100km to get your composteller or certificate, If you start from Sarria you have to get 2 stamps on your pilgrims passport everyday to qualify, The stamp or sello can be given at churches, bars or where you stay, As i started at St Jean i only need 1 sello each day, Today i watched a mini bus pull up and a group get out at a bar to get their sello, I also watched 2 Asian women get out of a Mercedes Taxi, put their backpacks etc on, Go into the bar, Get their sello and come out and drive off, Pilgrims? i think not, Its easy to judge especially when you have walked so far and put so much effort in yourself, At the end of the day the only person that they are fooling are themselves, I had 3 personal conditions when i started this journey, I wanted to walk every single step of the way (no buses or taxis) i wanted to carry my backpack every step (some taxi the backpack on) and i wanted to walk the Napoleon route across the Pyrenees, So far i have done all three

Dave