Sarria to Portomarin

Sarria is a frumpy little town. There's not much to distinguish it besides the fact that it is 100Km from Santiago, the minimum distance required to walk if one wants their Compostella from the church. So it is in Sarria that thousands of Spaniards deposit themselves in order to start their Camino. Suddenly the 4 Contemplatives are swimming through teenage church groups. Dozens of sluggish Spanish girls with sour pusses on their faces and Hello Kitty sneakers on their feet shuffling begrudgingly towards Santiago. An equal number of teenage boys traveling as an attached mass, like a singular organism, take up most of the path. We approach each one until there is some kind of wiggle room and then, "Perdon!" we rush to squeeze by them in a single pass. We have breathing room again. Fortunately this mass also sleeps en masse. They stay in gymnasiums and giant albergues and camping sites. We have though, as a precaution these last few nights, resorted to making reservations at private albergues ahead of time. These algergues are generally nicer, but they're also more expensive: 10€ instead of 5€! ($12 vs $7 a night) So the youngsters tend to avoid them.

So we spent last night in Portomarin, in a private albergue, overooking the river. Mary decided to plonk herself on the deck for the afternoon and drink some beers. Who could blame her? When we finally came down the mountain to the town, once again we were greeted with a climb hundreds of feet up from the river into the town. (please see blog title)

When we arrived, the locals were indulging in octopus. There were two plazas set up with picnic tables, and giant vats of boiling water bubbling over with tentacles and suckers.

Delightful. They grab these things with tongs, slap them on wooden cutting boards, and with big old steel scissors they start a-dicing. The chunks are then slathered in olive oil and garlic. Its kinda like calamari. But it is the only thing on the menu. So however delightful and culturally enriching the scene looks, unless you want to eat these babies, you ain´t sittin´ down. Don't misunderstand me; I did try the "pulpo" the night before in Sarria. It was very tasty (c'mon its drenched in olive oil and garlic!) but the texture of the suckers themselves was, shall we say, "difficult"? Reminiscent of runny eggs (which I've had a distinct aversion to since the age of 3) But unlike runny eggs, the gelatinous bits don't disappear as quickly during masceration. Nope, they tend to bounce around a bit in one's mouth as one chews the firmer flesh of the tentacle. Its all sounding terribly appealing isn't it?! Suffice to say, I wasn't doublin' down on the pulpo today.

Instead we walked up into the rest of the market, bought some incredible fresh fruit (for the morning) and explored the rest of the town. It took 15 minutes. The most interesting part of this town is the church.It was Romanesque, but because it was founded by the Knights of Santiago, it had a fortress look, almost like a Norman keep but with a rose window in the middle. It had actually been disassembled in 1962, block by block, and reasembled higher up on the hill when the government decided to create a reservoir down by the river. They then sunk the rest of the town.

Having seen the church, we headed back down to find Mary in vacation mode. We joined her for an early dinner and a little silliness. It seems that Marilyn, in an attempt

to kill some time in the Madrid airport, had purchased some eyeliner. Makeup?! I hadn't seen any of that since the first week of June! From the pictures above you can see that we were having difficulties applying it properly. ;) It was a wonderfully giddy evening.

chatted and laughed and watched the sun disappear behind the buildings, when we finally cooled off. The weather has been decidedly un-Galician. It has been overcast and misty in the morning, yes, but it has burned off in the afternoon to glorious azure skies framing green, rolling fields. We have had one rainstorm since mid-June. We really are lucky. Or maybe just blessed?!

Up and out early today, in the mist with the hoards of sleep-deprived teens. We took a shortcut and walked the road in order to avoid them for a bit. We lost them on the hills. We had another incredible day: dry air and sunny after noon. What did we do right?!

Can´t believe we only have two more nights and three more days of walking! Tomorrow is the World Cup final and we´re hoping to watch it with our Spanish family

Cecelia has been gearing up for it. Guillermo (14 yrs) Andrea, his cousin (24 yrs) and Guillermo´s dad Manu. They have been a welcome addition to our trails, especially since Manu has done the Camino 2 times before. He has been spot on for all his opinions and recommendations for the Way. We are all rooting for Spain and would love to watch them win with these three.

Off to dinner. Maybe some Galician soup this time or some green peppers. Who knows? There will be wine though! Its good for sleeping, so I´ve been told!