Triacastela to Sarria and beyond

After the problem with not getting breakfast yesterday, we bought milk and bread, and eat before we left the albergue.  It was just before 7am when we set out, and the weather was cool and slightly misty.   There was a choice to make, go via San Xil or visit the monastery in Samos.  We chose San Xil, and the climb, which is shorter, but hillier, but we took our time and it was really pleasant.  We walkedpast a little chapel and then followed the path up through woods and farmland.  It was like walking through middle-earth.  Again the scenery was beautiful.  We were really enjoying the walk, it was not too hot, and there was still some mist around, and before we knew it, we had covered the almost 10 km to Furela, where there was a small cafe/bar, called Casa do Franco.  It was packed!

We stopped for second breakfast, colacao for the boys, coffee for me and some tortilla espanola for all of us, and was we took oUr drinks out, we saw Mark and Michelle sitting there ,so we joined them. With the scenery and the second breakfast ,we joked that we really were turning into hobbits.  The toilet was another interesting experience.  The toilet roll dispenser was outside the stalls, so you had to get it before you went in, and the lights were on an automatic timer, which was also outside the stall.  That was quite an adventure in itself!

However, soon it was time to move on, and we strapped on the backpacks and started walking again. Gradually, the mist evaporated, and thanks to a little disagreement between Jonathan and me, we made good time to Sarria.  It's amazing how fast I can walk with a backpack on when I am annoyed.  We arrived in Sarria by lunchtime, and stopped in the. Church to get our credentails stamped.  Then we walked up and found somewhere for lunch.  The first place we stopped at was weird, there was no one behind the bar to serve us and I felt uncomfortable waiting, so we went a little further up the road, and found somewhere else.  We ordered our sandwiches and looked at the guide book.  There were several albergues in town, but it was still early and the next village was only 4km further on.  We decided to continue, as there was a municipal albergue with a kitchen, according to the book.

We finished lunch and set off again.  We walked out of Sarria, past the convent, over the footbridge, alongside the rail track,  under the motorway, and into the wood, and then up a steep incline.  Fortunately the trees meant that it was very shaded, but it was strenuous, nonetheless. We climbed for about 2km, and gradually the incline lessened, and then we came out into open farmland.  It had become hot, and we were glad that we could see  buildings not too far away.  Barbadelo is a strange village, there are 4 albergues, a shop for pilgrim things, a church, and a restaurant, but no shop for food stuff.  The municipal albergue is cheap, and there were 3 beds left, which we took, but no where to shop for the things we needed for dinner, and although there was a kitchen, there were no kitchen internships at all, so even if we had been a le to buy food, we would not have been able to cook.  The Hospitalera recommended the restaurant  the hill, and really we had no other choice.

We followed our usual routine of showering, washing clothes and resting, and then we waited for the priest to arrive to open the church.  We visited the church, which is from the 12the century, and then went up the hill to eat.  The food was wonderful, lentil soup or a mixed salad, and then the bus had home,add met alls, and I had a beef stew.  Dessert was a chocolate mousse cake, or a special cheesecake, and plenty of wine and water to drink, all for 10 euros each.  With full bellies we walked back down the hill and had an early night.

The mist in the valley, the walk through "middle earth" and Jonathan's sleeping companion!