It was raining lightly as we left in the dark this morning, so we stopped for first breakfast at the bar, where they again had little to offer. So it was tea for Sara and coffee-con-leche for Evan and a shared chocolate croissant. The rain had stopped and the sky was beginning to lighten up as we hit the road.
We’re excited about this stage, since our destination, Sarria, marks a special point on the Camino. We’re approaching the end. After Sarria, there are only about 100 kilometers left to Santiago. Many pilgrims begin in Sarria because you must complete at least 100km in order to earn the “Compostella,” the document provided to verify that you have actually walked the Camino de Santiago.
Although the first part of today’s walk followed along a major highway, we later turned off onto wooded paths. The sky threatened rain all day, but the most we felt were occasional sprinkles. We met Astrid, from Germany, along the way and walked with her for quite some time. Our path, 10 km beyond Samos, would lead us back to the primary route. Before that, however, we found a lovely stopping point for second breakfast, a small farmhouse with lovely and inviting decorations, where a woman served pilgrims for a “donativo.” There Astrid introduced us to two young women from Italy who she had met on the Camino. They offered advice as to where we should spend time on our next visit to Italy.
We walked with Astrid on the rest of our short walk into Sarria. We arrived about noon, found our hotel, and then cmbed up through town to check out Sarria and find some lunch.
Then we made our way back down the hill to our hotel, the Alphonzo IX, which was a fine luxury hotel at quite a reasonable price. The rains were coming, so we were glad to be back in a warm, cozy place. So we stayed in the hotel for the resy of the day. The WIFI was weak in our room, but down in the bar/cafe it was strong, so we worked there until dinner time, 8:00. We met another couple from America, Jeanie & David from Ohio. After a lovely dinner, at about 9:40, we returned to our room for a good night’s sleep — Again worrying about rain in the morning.
