Experience Camino: part 4 – smelly day, but halfway there!

The first 2 days in a different region, the region of Galicia. Unpredictable weather? Checked. Beautiful nature? Checked. Let’s walk!

DAY 7

O Cebreiro – Triacastela

20,8 km (walked 20,97 km)

4:47:06

Waking up in the room with another 89 people was bizarre. People were changing clothes on the spot, and packing, and bathrooms were full, too. Putting the shoes on looked like a group ritual. The only thing spoiling our excitement from a new day was a show happening outside, which we could see from the place where we were getting ready. Lightning, one after another…

Walking at the top of the mountains during the storm

We started discussing if we were going out and starting our walk, as we were at the highest point of the mountains and in the woods. Other pilgrims were concerned as well, but we decided. We are going. The storm looked like it was still very far away, the thunders we heard were not very loud. We will walk fast and hopefully reach the villages below the mountains as soon as possible. 

Forest illuminated by lightning

We started walking before sunrise, leaving the village behind and walking through the forest next to the road with the headlamps on. Occasionally, we saw the lightning helping us see all around. At that moment, we would be happier without the help. We kept going. 

We came to the spot with a tall statue of a pilgrim, looking like walking against the strong wind. The statue was well positioned, we could feel the wind at that spot, and we probably looked very similar. 

The rain

It looked like the storm was not coming towards us. There was less and less lightning, but it was windy and colder. I was taking pictures of the statue when my friend started pulling her raincoat out of her backpack. “It is going to rain soon,” she said. “No, it is going away, the rain won’t come here,” I replied. She put the raincoat on. We continued walking. 

Within a minute, I could feel the first drops of rain on my hands and face. And I kept walking, still not concerned at all. 

She took the lead, stopped me, and started pulling my raincoat from the backpack, covering my backpack with its rain protection as well. It started pouring within a few seconds. I was lucky she was there, otherwise, all my things including me would be soaking wet. Her grin saying “I told you” was hilarious. 

Why don’t people carry raincoats on Camino?

We kept walking, in the rain and wind and cold. But we were protected and warm, ready for the unpredictable weather of Galicia. Can’t say this about all the pilgrims. We were passing a couple, who were standing below the tree, waiting for the worst part of the rain to stop. This could last for quite a long. It didn’t, the rain stopped after a couple of minutes and we stopped in the restaurant to dry our raincoats and refuel. And kept walking down the mountains.

The most smelly part of Camino

This is the note in my notebook – the most smelly day. Cows were not only on the fields around the path we were walking but also behind the fences of the houses along the route. Walking through the small villages, we met locals moving their herds of cows from one point to another. Cows were leaving huge piles of their poop in the middle of the roads. Nobody was cleaning after them, it will clean itself during the next rain. It got mixed with the wet road, so we were jumping through that smelly mud like in the game Crash Bandicoot. Literally. 

Less food, less water

We could see the difference between these two regions almost immediately. In the region León y Castilla, through which we were walking for the first 6 days, we passed many villages with plenty of bars, restaurants and water fountains for pilgrims. In Galicia, the villages were smaller and there was nothing for pilgrims in many of them. Not even a shop to buy snacks. It was a bit uncomfortable, so we needed to manage the water and snacks we had more carefully.

Grandma offering pancakes

On the other hand, we encountered something, we hadn’t seen anywhere before. At the end of one of the villages, there was a large family house with a farm. An old, small, grey-haired lady was standing in front of it with freshly made pancakes on the plate in her hand. Speaking only Spanish, she was offering them to passing pilgrims. We asked for 2 of them, she put the powdered sugar all over them. My friend gave her 1 euro. No, she wants 2 euros. Happy to pay for them, they were still warm from the pan.

Halfway there

We stopped to take a picture with the stone marker saying that there are less than 150 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela. 149,482 kilometers more to walk!

Coming to the destination of the day

The day was fine, not that hot anymore. We reached our albergue, a beautiful old multi-story house. We were the first ones that day. Dropped our luggage in the rooms and decided to wash our clothes in the washing machine that day. It was halfway and we felt that our clothes should be properly washed at least once, not only hand washed. The owner of the albergue was happy to help.

Food is another level

We left to find a place to eat. The restaurant on the main road with a large nice patio looked great, many pilgrims were eating there. We ordered a couple of meals to share and started eating when it started raining again. At first, it looked like just a couple of drops, so we kept eating. Priorities. After a while, we moved to the table covered by the roof and watched how it started pouring again. First day in Galicia. Well, what to do?

Afternoon rest

After the meal, we returned to the Albergue and hung our clothes on the lines smartly placed under the roof of the patio. I was exhausted, especially after the previous day’s hike, so I took a nap. I passed my phone to my friend, so she could send herself the pictures from the last days.

Woke up, still dizzy and hungry again. My phone locked itself while I was sleeping so my friend didn’t send herself pictures. Instead of that, she made a couple of selfies and saved them to my gallery – you don’t need to unlock the phone to take the pictures. Smart girl.

When being nice goes wrong

I went to check our clothes and met the owner. “I put your clothes in the dryer, another pilgrim was going to dry his clothes, but he didn’t have enough of them to make the dryer full and I thought you would like to add yours there as well.” I froze. 2 sports T-shirts I had there were precious to me – one from my friend with a personalized design printed on it, another one from my half marathon I finished earlier that year. Neither was supposed to go to the dryer, as it could destroy all the prints on it. I told him to stop the dryer and take our clothes out of it immediately.

This would not happen anywhere else. People are amazing on Camino, trying to help and accommodate all the needs, even when we don’t ask them to. It was thoughtful, he was trying to help us. The T-shirts survived. But we never put them to wash in albergue again.

Brain not braining anymore

It was the most difficult afternoon for me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. But I was hungry again, we went to the store to buy some groceries. Salads in cans, snacks and noodles for myself and a couple of beers. 

I was excited to have those unhealthy noodles, the ones you pour the boiling water into the cup and have ready in a couple of minutes. I went to the kitchen and didn’t find the kettle to boil the water. Poured the water into the mug and placed it in the microwave to heat it. Then poured warm, not boiling water, into the cup with noodles. And I was waiting for the miracles. Not the result I wanted, the noodles didn’t become soft. I threw it into the bin and went back to my friend, to finish the beer. 

My brain didn’t process, that there was a pot and a stove. Pour the water into the pot, let it boil, and pour it into the cup of noodles. These simple commands were out of reach that day. 

We went to sleep early.

Accommodation

Albergue Aitzenea

Great location, not on the main road but very close to it. Thanks to that, we could sit in front of the entrance, enjoying the calm place without pilgrims walking up and down. It was an old house, the entry room had a massive wooden table and a couple of old things that looked like relics. Travel books, too.

Restaurants and bars

• Albergue del Puerto near Padornelo – middle of nowhere, on the top of the hill, was the first bar/restaurant we encountered that day. It is small with just a couple of tables outside. The food was good, coffee as well, nice place to enjoy the break.
• Mesón Betularia in Viduedo – we stopped just for a drink here. The location is great, at the beginning of the village, next to the road, with a terrace. We met many of our friends there.
• Parrillada Xacobeo Restaurante in Triacastela – the restaurant we had lunch in after coming to albergue. Great food!

DAY 8

Triacastela – Sarria

18,4 km (we walked 18 km)

4:02:47

Easy day. Finally. 

Wolves and bears

We started walking in a pitch dark, the sunrise was still far. The first part of the walk was through the woods. We were told, that there were wolves and bears in those woods. So we kept talking and making noise, just in case. There weren’t many pilgrims walking at that hour.

Encounters on the way

All of a sudden, we heard familiar voices. The couple from Hungary. We greeted each other like old friends like we had known each other for years. It was great to see them. We walked together a bit, we took pictures of the places, pictures together. Later, they joined us for breakfast at such a beautiful place. 

Breakfast in paradise

On the hill, there was a little house, in the middle of nowhere. It was right after sunrise, the place was empty, the chocolate bun was still soft and warm, and coffee had never tasted so great. With that view, with friends, we enjoyed the last calm breakfast of Camino.

We knew, that Sarria was the town, where the last part of the Camino started and hundreds of people began their walk from there. Why? You can read about the reasons in my previous article.

Tourists

The day was great. 4 hours walk felt like nothing. We came to Sarria before noon.

The first thing we saw when entering the town were donkeys. Donkeys! They were guided by the people all dressed in the same t-shirts with the symbols of Camino. Some people had them to carry their belongings, some people were riding them. This was the Camino for the tourists – agencies organizing it for the groups. We didn’t like it.

Pilgrims family

We didn’t even go to the albergue, we knew that it would not be ready anyway. Landed in the bar and ordered beer and tapas with jamón iberico instead – the second-best thing you can eat during Camino. The first is tortilla de patata, of course. 

Guess who appeared there 20 minutes later? Our friends from Hungary. And then one more man, they were so happy to see. They said that they were walking together on their very first days on Camino about 2 weeks ago, but haven’t seen him since then. It was so lovely. He was saying hi to many pilgrims passing by.

We waved at John, the guy we met the second day. He kept going, tired from the heat but still with his huge smile. He didn’t want to stay in Sarria, so he walked a bit longer to the next town.

Chill afternoon

We went to a supermarket, bought a lot of food and just chilled all afternoon. Ate a lot, called to our families, wrote diaries, sorted photos. And slept. Not sure what to expect in the next couple of days.

Accommodation

Albergue Obradoiro

A large room with many bunk beds, separated by the sheets hanging from the ceiling so it added a bit of privacy. Small terrace with picnic tables to relax. Shared well-equipped kitchen. Souvenir shop at the entrance. And the joke with the map, saying that the Canary Islands belong to Portugal. Sure.

Restaurants and bars

• Bar casa do franco between villages Forteancuda and Furela – middle of nowhere, with a beautiful view and good service. Fresh breakfast. Unique decorations – flower pots were “dressed” in clothes, and the flowers were placed in shoes and boots, it looked amazing in the middle of that field.
• Restaurante O Tapas in Sarria – tapas and tap beer, what else do you need?

Something extra for today

What to eat and drink during Camino Francés

Food

• Tortilla de patata – a Spanish omelet made from potatoes, eggs, and milk. There can be other ingredients added, for example, onion, ham, or cheese. The best one is with onion, it is great for any part of the day. Always freshly made in the morning, so the breakfast choice is easy! 
• Jamón ibérico – Spanish ham, which will take your heart and soul. It is very thin, it usually doesn’t have a lot of fat in it.
• Galician pulpo – Galician style octopus is very unique and it tastes the best in Galicia. Obviously. Octopus tentacles are cooked and cut into small pieces and sprinkled with spices.  Served with potatoes or bread.
• Bread and pastry – the bread in Spain is so delicious! And the pastry, especially the chocolate buns are perfect with the morning coffee.

Drinks

• Aquarius – drink, which was saving us every single day. We started with small cans and ended up buying large bottles of it. It is a non-alcoholic, non-fizzy, and sweet – orange or lemon flavor. Like a sports drink, it gives you sugar and minerals, which you lose when sweating. Perfect.
• Vino de Verano – red wine with orange or lemon and ice. Perfect for the summertime.
• Any sugary drinks – let’s not play the game “zero sugar” drinks during Camino. You will need a lot of sugar to keep walking, you will be exhausted and maybe you won’t have enough snacks with you. Sugary drinks will be handy. Trust me.

What’s next?

People. People everywhere. The less crowded part of Camino is over, and now the touristy part starts. And families. And groups with the music playing out loud. Well, what to do? Let’s walk it.

The sunrises and sunset are still beautiful, the villages are picturesque and the excitement grows with every kilometer being closer to Santiago. Read all about it in the next part of our Camino!