Day 28 (Oct 13): O Cebreri to Tricastela, 21 km, 644 km
A very welcome 13 mile day after the toughest day on the Camino.
The sun was not quite up as we started but soon we had some lovely views later in the day.
And we found a nice place for coffee after a couple of hours of walking..
And, after 5 hours or so of hiking we came into Tricastela (the three castles no longer exist) passing an amazing chestnut tree.
Day 29 (Oct 14): Tricastela to Sarria , 24 km, 668 km
Another easy day. We have been using the FarOut app to navigate so far and today was the first time it let us down. The most popular Camino route from Tricastela to Sarria is not shown in FarOut so today we just followed the signs and the other pilgrims.
We waited for sunrise since we will be navigating the old fashioned way…. by signs!
And unlike most of our starts, we had a very misty, drizzly morning. But is was warm (50’s) so we never used our rain coats.
And the trail was wonderful, packed earth through farmlands and trees.
But this is definitely cow country..
And, after four hours or so of hiking our home for the night came into view..
The toughest part of navigating the Camino is in the bigger towns as there are lots of competing signs.
And we are definitely getting closer to Santiago… as the sign shows. 652 Km from where we started (St Jean Pied de Port) and 114 to Santiago.
Day 30 (Oct 15): Sarria to Portomarin, 22.5 km, 690 km
To receive the “Compostela” or pilgrim certificate you have to:
- Make the pilgrimage for religious or spiritual reasons, or at least an attitude of search.
- Do the last 100 km on foot or horseback, or the last 200 km by bicycle. It is understood that the pilgrimage starts at one point and from there you come to visit the Tomb of St. James.
- Collect the stamps on the “Credencial del Peregrino” from the places you pass through to certify that you have been there.
As Sarria is the last town before the 100Km mark, we have been joined by many, many people doing just the last 100 Km.
And we saw vans dropping off folks just before the official 100Km marker.
But we had a gorgeous sunrise as we walked out of Sarria so who cares about the newbies!
And even though overcast we had some lovely views.
After 14 miles or so we arrived at the Rio Mino and Portomarin.
Tomorrow we plan on an earlier start to try to miss the new hikers (who don’t even know that you are supposed to say “Buen Camino!” when passing!).
We are (finally!) nearing the end…. only four more days and (roughly) 90 km to go.
Our Adventures 