As Chris and I headed out of Sarria early this morning, we passed by the Igrexa de San Salvador, a 13th C church with beautiful hinges in the side door and a Romanesque tympanum over the main door. We left before dawn (photos from yesterday afternoon), and walked in the dark mist for about an hour until the rain began in earnest. We had a steady drizzle/light showers pretty much through noon, but the track wasn’t too muddy and it was never a downpour, so I managed not to melt in my big red rain gear.
When the weather is rather unpleasant, there aren’t nearly as many photos but we managed a few, for the special occasions of being run off the Camino by cows and sheep, and for the wonderful way mark of “100 k to Santiago”! When the rain would lessen and the skies would lighten, the distant mist hanging in the valleys and the deep greens of the hillsides were just beautiful. We walked through some wooded areas, with pine and elms and many chestnut trees. I didn’t know until somewhere on this journey that the beautiful shiny chestnut grows inside of an ugly, prickly green husk. (I know, city girl…)
We had some climbs again today, just up to 660m from 420m, but the descent into Portomarin (at 350m) was very steep. There’s a new-ish bridge over the Rio Mino, which is next to the ancient Roman bridge, still visible from the road and from above. The original bridge joined the southern district of San Pedro (with links to the Knights of Santiago) with the norther district of San Nicolas (headquarters of the Knights of Saint John). The river formed a major strategic boundary, and therefore was the site of turbulence in the region. Historic buildings and monuments were removed in 1962 when a dam was built across the river to create the Belesar reservoir. You can still see the remnants of the old village in the water.
I have 4 days and 90 km to travel to Santiago. We are all aware that our journey is coming to an end; some people we talk to are ready, and others are sad. I’m so grateful for the experience so far, and I look forward to the remaining 5 days, but I’m also looking forward to re-entering my life and perhaps bringing some of the Camino home with me.
Igrexa de San Salvador
Door hinges
Cow traffic 1
100 km to go!
The view, and the mist
The old and the new
The reservoir and the remains of the old village
A typical farming village
Some of this looks like Scotland!