100 Kilometers to Go!

It has been a two day rat race toward the finish line, and I find that I have to force myself to slow down and walk at a reasonable pace when I find myself getting caught up in the rush.  We left Triacastela yesterday morning at a ridiculously late hour.  We knew we had the shortest walk of our entire trip ahead of us, so we took our time getting on the road and didn't begin walking until 8:30.  Since most people were on the road well before we rolled out of the hostel, the pilgrim traffic was light for the first few hours. We walked along some gorgeous natural track that took us back up above the clouds for a while, and we enjoyed our time in the sunshine in the heavens - feeling like we were flying above it all and wondering whether the people in the valleys even knew that the sun was shining.  We were surrounded by green countryside, farms, stone walls, and farm animals of every shape and size as well as their herding dogs and shepherds.

  

We eventually descended through the mist and discovered that the sun wasn't shining down below.  It was a creepy, damp cloud forest that greeted us. By the time we stopped for breakfast at a tiny trail side barn/cafe the sun was trying hard to shine through the clouds, creating a humid warmish/coolish wet roadside break.  

From breakfast, we had a quick two hour downhill trot into the city of Sarria.  The trail followed the road for the last few miles, and the sun shone hard.  I walked for a while with a marathon runner from Slovakia who had spent a total of ten days planning his trip to walk a portion of the Camino -  he just hopped on a plane and showed up.  I thought about our two year dream and just laughed. There are so many different stories on the Way. 

Once we made it to the old quarter of Sarria, we were greeted by the usual 10,000 step climb up to the main street which seemed to climb back into the clouds.  We were fortunate to find a bed quickly in an inexpensive hostel despite our late start.  We went to a local restaurant for a meal of macaroni, eggs, and cabbage soup (Foster!) and then managed to find a "real" supermarket, so we could supplement our diet with junk food, and all Vermont pilgrims were quite content to settle in for the afternoon. 

This morning began a bit earlier.  The hostel was noisy, so it was easy to get up and out before 7:00 and get the first hill climbs under our belts before we even realized that we were walking.  The descent from Sarria was steep and cruel, and then we started climbing again.  The scenery was everything that I imagine Ireland would be - small hamlets with farms, stone walls, and many more animals than people.

It was beautiful, and I'm pretty sure the Pied Piper was leading the way.  All of the the obedient pilgrims just followed one another up and over hills and through the countryside.  I'm not sure that I had to look for a trail marker all day.  We paused for a breakfast break a couple of hours into our morning with dozens of other walkers.  When we took off again, it felt like the beginning of a marathon - bobbing and weaving until we found a group moving at just the right pace.  Eventually we settled in again and soon passed the coveted 100 km post - marking 100 km to the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.  We paused for a photo and then quickly rejoined the race so as not to lose our place in line.  It's hard to even remember the solitude of the earlier stages of the Camino.

Our goal for the day was to reach the town of Portomarin and the Belesar Reservoir that it overlooks.  As soon as we saw the reservoir, we got excited.  It has been nearly a month since we have glimpsed anything resembling a lake.  The closest we got was a dammed river a week ago.  Most rivers have been nothing more than a dry trickle.  Lakes have been non-existent.  So, it felt a little odd to cross a huge bridge overlooking kayaks and sailboats as we entered town.  We climbed the requisite steps to give ourselves one last cardiovascular workout before settling on an expensive, but clean-looking hostel.  It feels like a hospital ward with 130 beds in one room, partitioned into groups of 40 with curtains in between. I am guessing we will have snoring stories to tell tomorrow.

Once we got settled, a dip in the reservoir was a necessity.  Brianna and Nolan were game. It was cool and refreshing without being bone-chilling.  A large group of Italian girls swam and squealed nearby.  We splashed and floated, oblivious to anything being amiss, until Brianna spotted the water snake.  Apparently the Italian squealing was about the snakes (a drawback of not speaking enough languages).  We did our own squealing, and Brianna and I decided we'd had enough swimming.  Nolan?  Well, he's Nolan.  Whatever.  Why waste a perfectly good reservoir just because there are slimy serpents sharing it with you?  He continued to jump off the rocks and swim around until we forced him to leave. 

That will probably be the last of the cooling dips we find on the way to Santiago.  With four days to go, we have our eyes on the prize - a Sunday finish in Santiago with clean beds, warm food, and good friends waiting.