Once again, the weather forecast was less than promising, so we were dreading a cold windy morning with temperatures feeling like 34°. We layered up as best we could (in almost all of our clothes)and set out about 7:48, still very much in the dark. We learned a lesson about walking in the dark when Sara began the morning with her foot in a cow patty. We like setting out from the cities in the dark, where there are streetlights and sidewalks. Leaving a small mountain village like Fillobal is different. We think we’ll wait for some morning light as we leave such towns in the future. But it wasn’t raining and it wasn’t as cold as we expected – and the full moon over the dark landscape was absolutely beautiful.
Brierley’s quote for today is from G. K. Chesterton: “Happiness is a mystery, like religion, and should never be rationalized.”
Our goal was to find first breakfast in Triacastela, only about 2 1/2 miles. Along the way we walked through another small, seemingly abandoned village where we saw a huge, ancient chestnut tree, reputedly the most photographed tree along the Camino. They say it is 800 years old.
After breakfasting in Triacastela, we found the waymark where our path strays from Brierley’s principal route. We’re detouring to visit the town of Samos where there is a huge ancient monastery. The day remained overcast and breezy, but we were so grateful that the rain held off. The route took us through some beautiful woodlands, up and around the mountains, meandering along wooded paths surrounded by ferns and chestnut trees. At one point, we even had chickens walking along with us. Since most pilgrims stick to the primary route, we usually had this all to ourselves.
Eventually, we found ourselves looking down upon the huge monastery of Samos and then making our descent into the town. We found our lodging first, and hen went out searching for lunch. It was bocadillo time again, since there was little else available at the one open bar we found – due to close at 2:00 on this Tuesday afternoon.
Later we took the monastery tour. Once again, we are amazed and impressed by these massive complexes full of religious art and symbols. And today, this huge complex is home to only eight monks and one novice. Sara enjoyed taking picture where they were allowed. In the monastery shop we spent big, buying a large piece of dark chocolate and a small bottle of “café” liquor to keep us warm for the evening, or on the road.
After the tour we went in search of dinner. Bar after bar was either closed or not offering dinner. We were urged to go further down the street to find the restaurant, which we did, only to learn that there would be no dinner, not even smaller menu items, until 8:30. OK, so back up in town we saw one small bar that seemed to be open. A small boy was playing with a dog in the doorway. We had to eat something, so Sara had a salad and Evan had a “ham and cheese pizza.” This was the sorriest excuse for a pizza that we had ever seen. But it was food, and we had enough to fill our stomachs. To ease the pain of a very unsatisfactory dinner, we found another place to buy an ice cream. That helped. Then back to our hotel, and hoping for good weather again tomorrow.
