“Houston, we have a problem …… traffic jam on the Camino! We always heard that after Sarria (where all the new pilgrims start) the Camino would get a little crowded. That certainly proved to be true today! And, at the risk of sounding like snobby ‘ real’ pilgrims that have done over 700km, we all can tell the ‘newbies’, from the veterans. There clothes look different (actually clean) and they walk a little more crisply (not enough time for blisters).
We had a 13.5 mile walk from Sarria to Portomarín that had a few steep inclines, some absolutely gorgeous tree-lined paths, and a good bit of descent down into Portomarín – the last 1/4 of a mile being as treacherous as anything I have ever done.
Fortunately, most of our group took the much more manageable ‘alternate route’ into the city.
The city of Portomarín is very unique and different from any we have seen on the Camino. While it has a bridge that dates back to the tenth century, the town was essentially re-built in the 1960s. In 1956 a dam was constructed that created a reservoir in the exact spot of the ancient town. Before flooding they rebuilt the most important and historic structures, block by block, at the new / present city site. Everything else in the town has been erected in the last 50 years!
Tomorrow we head to Palas de Rei. – with only 57 more miles to Santiago! Buen Camino