Day 8 - Big Yellow Ball

What is that big yellow ball in the sky? It has been so long since I have seen the sun, I forgot what it looked like. The day began at 6:30 when I had my alarm go off so that I could start to get ready.  Packing up has become a ritual and I can almost do it on auto pilot.  My pack is definitely a comfortable weight now as I've discarded a few items.  It was still a little damp even though I left it smuggled up to the radiator with the heat full blast.  A quick look at the sky and my heart sang for joy.  Blue Sky!  Maybe, just maybe, we will get by without getting rained on.  With everything packed I headed downstairs for the breakfast that was included with the room.  For the first time since we started, I actually beat Jim & Brenda downstairs.  I must be getting the hang of repacking after all!

Breakfast was some freshly squeezed orange juice,  four small pieces of toast with two slices of ham and cheese, Coffee con letche, and a yogurt.  That hit the spot enough to get out there and start walking.  It was exciting looking at the sky and

knowing that at least for a while - we were not going to get wet.  The photo to the right is the view down the street from the place that we stayed for the night.  Beautiful two bedroom suite with a shared bathroom (very large).  These places are great as you don't have to share a room with 30 or 40 other people.

Today there would be a choice of routes to Sarria.  The southern most route takes you about 6.4 Km's further than the northern route, and by a very old and large Monastery called Samos. Although it would have been interesting to see - none of us felt that it was worth the extra 6.4 KM's.  So, we headed out on the Northern route.  Had a bit of a climb rather early; there is nothing like a trek up the hill to get the blood flowing. shortly after getting

going, a couple came up near us, and as is the custom on the Camino, when someone passes you you both tell each other "Buen Camino".  When we heard them talk, we asked where they were from.  As it turns out, Carry and Sylvia were from Campbell River in BC.  I walked with them for about half of the day - a little ahead of Brenda and Jim.  Carry and I had the same backpack (Orange  Osprey Atmos) and the same hiking boots.  That was a little freaky.  They are a fantastic couple and we chatted about all kinds of subjects.  This is what happens all along the Camino.  I stopped at a small place to get a snack before continuing on; Carry and Sylvia continued walking.  As I walked down the steps on the outside I saw Shirley and Lady Sarah.

 Shirley laughed and gave me a big hug.  I also then saw Dave (Shirley's  husband) and Sir Anthony (Lady Sarah's  husband).  We all found a table together out in the sunshine and had a snack.  Lady Sarah found a new puppy roaming around and held him for a while.  He sure was a cute thing.  After eating and chatting, we all got up to grab our packs and start walking.  I walked a ways with Shirley and then also walked with Dave separately (Dave was always ahead of Shirley.  If you recall a few posts ago I met Shirley while she was frantically looking for Dave).  We chatted about a lot of subjects - and he eventually realized that he needed to stop and wait for his three traveling mates to catch up (especially his wife).  Great people and very glad I get the chance to run into them more than once.

The countryside is stunning.  With all the rain everything is green and growing well.  Occasionally we come across some cattle in the field.  I'm surprised at how many

people stop at watch the cows.  I guess being from Alberta - when I walk by the cattle fields I see one thing - steak.  Oh well - if they want to stop and watch cows eat grass - I guess they can do that.  After all, it's their Camino too.  The picture to the left is the spot where we stopped for the snack.  You will find places like this all the way long the Camino.  You also need to collect two stamps per day on the route.  This is what you will use when you get to Santiago to demonstrate that you have actually walked through these places.  Everyone has a stamp and they are very happy to stamp your Camino passport.  I have counted that I should have just enough spaces left (maybe a couple of extras) for

when I get to Santiago.  I have three for a few places early on - but that's just because I was an eager beaver.

Also ran into Brian and Ann again as well as Manuel and "The Tomato" (German girl with red hair who I never got to ask her name).  Life is a lot like the Camino - where you fade in and out of people's lives.

At the End of the day, I walked the last 5 Km's or so with a couple of older gents from Australia.  They were both retired and one of them (Joe) had walked the Camino 3 times.  The other gent, Ian, was on his first go around.  Nice gents.

I arrived before Brenda and Jim and decided to book us into a hotel.  There are a lot of people streaming into Sarria.  This is the closes point that you can start from and still get a Compostela in Santiago.  We watched a buss load of new Pilgrims get off the bus and go into the hotel.  The trail is going to get a lot busier.  We also expect that accommodations will get a little hard to come by as we go forward.  We are about 115 Km's from Santiago and expect to arrive there on Monday next week.  That will put us exactly on the schedule I had written up before hand.  Brenda a Jim are amazing folks and have kept up that pace.  So that means we will likely finish together, unlike what I noted a few days into the trek.  I'm glad that we will stay together.

Alarm set for 6:30 tomorrow so that we can get on the trail by 8:00 AM.  It will be interesting with all these new people.

Buen Camino

Curt