Monastery at Samos then Samos to Sarria - 15 k

Corrections: John read part of the blog -- in O Cebreiro we had gone 24 k, 6 k to go on the descent. I bonked at 1 k up -- no wonder it seemed so long -- we had 5 k to go! Apparently the guidebooks all call this the most arduous stage because it is over 30 k. The early stages in the Pyrenees are much shorter.

Saturday, October 10

Samos:

We were up early and after our usual breakfast in the bar -- brioche or pan tostado (toasted bread) and coffee (this time we also got yogurt). At breakfast we met a young couple from Mallorca -- a policeman and a ballerina. Then we were off to the monastery at Samos. This Benedictine monastery from the middle ages was once very powerful and influential -- there is also a small church dating from about the 8th century -- and a huge monastery complex which has a modern pilgrim refugio --dormitory style with bunk beds -- all for only a few euros each -- bring your own sleeping bag.


To my delight, Padre Augustin, an eldery monk, was still there as the porter and he remembered John and me. I had acted as a translator for him when he took us and some other pilgrims (German and Danish) on an impromptu tour -- English was the common language. This time we were on tour with a lovely young local woman -- and just as we were about to start two other pilgrims walked in. -- a young American student from California, Tim, studying at the American University in Cairo and Sam, an Australian just out of architecture school. Our guide speaks only Spanish -- Tim is very good with languages -- so between us both we feel we can translate for John and Sam.


The monastery grounds are lovely and have the largest cloister -- covered rectangular walkway and gardens -- in Spain. Two novices are here now and about 15 monks -- in the middle ages there would have 80 or 90 monks and over 200 other persons to help with taking care of the monastery, the fields, and to oversee all the villages and other churches that were under the monastery´s care.


Out of Samos, John was ahead of me as usual -- espeically down or uphill. I am faster on the flat trails though. As I rounded a corner he was talking to a fellow pilgrim. In a few moments, the pilgrim´s wife caught up behind me. And here is one of the most serendipitous things abou the Camino -- the people you meet.


Alberto and Carmen are a couple in their 30s from Valencia. They are doing the Camino together as a kind of celebration and affirmation of their relationship - and they are getting married next year at a Redemptorist monastery in Burgos, Spain. They are absolutely delightful. Alberto and John walk at the same pace and talk about rock and mountain climbing experiences and owning small businesses. Alberto speaks marvelous English as does Carmen. And Carmen matches her pace to mine and we speak Spanish. She is a wonderful help as I try to improve my pronuncation and vocabulary, and it is very fun to hear about her life in Spain, and her work. Carmen used to live in Mallorca and worked in community involvement. She now is in charge of the administration of Alberto´s business -- pool maintenance for the municipality, schools, and private and public clubs.


Once in Sarria, a fairly large city, we have trouble finding a hotel room. There is a huge festival for San Froilan in a nearby city, and the overflow has taken over the hotels. Luckily, Alberto has a cell phone and he manages to find us rooms in a Pensione -- a small hotel with rooms with private bath and some without. We run into other pilgrims we have seen on the camino and stop to chat with Justino and Fernando. People on the camino don´t talk right away about what they do for ¨trabajo¨ - work. As we talk about the city, I find out they are from Mallorca and are police officers.


They explain that there are many different jurisdictions of police -- they are municipal- but they both have law degrees. The worst crimes in Mallorca revolve around tourists -- drinking, fights, pickpockets, etc. But there are an incredible number of tourists to deal with from so many countries. I tell them about the Justice Center and the Alaska Justice Forum publication -- and they ask if it is online. So soon we will have readers in Mallorca!


That night we eat a pilgrim´s dinner with Carmen and Alberto in a great nearby restaurant and it´s early to bed.

(As I post this in Arca -- one day out from Santiago -- the Italian guy in the next internet booth is playing some kind of internet game. All the waiters in this cafe seem to be Italian and they are constantly leaning over me to see his screen and cheering him on. I am not sure how coherenet this post will be.)

O Cebreiro to Triacastela to Samos 32 k

Friday, October 9

Very damp in O Cebreiro -- none of our laundry -- socks and microfiber t-shirts did not dry. We got up and used our headlamps to walk over for breakfast across the cobblestones from our little inn.

Lots of activity and headlamps about -- pan tostada with jam, and coffee -- then off to Triacastela at 8:40 am. We ran into Sole and Leos again -- Sole works at a kind of marine park in Barcelona- the poor dolphins have only a small pool and so do seals. The whole thing is terribly depressing, but she works with the tourists-visitors -- and it is a job. Not an easy thing to get int Barcelona these days -- all the Spaniards we hve talked to say how unreal the movie, Vicky, Christine, Barcelona was -- even though they love Woody Allen. Leos has worked in management in business, but is unemployed due to the economic crisis. They are walking the Camino for spiritual reasons and doing it as inexpensively as possible.

We made the ascent to Alto Roc -- the highest point -- where there is statue of a pilgrim holding onto his hat in the wind. It´s still misty out about 11 am -- and stop for a bocadillo -- a sandwich on great artisan bread with an omelete.

Now we are going through villages again. As we enter one village, a tiny old woman stops us with a dish full of crepes for 2 euro each. We each take one and she neatly folds it over and sprinkles surgar on it. Delicious! Then we stop further on at Casa Lucas for coffee and to get a sello on our passport.

We come to San Juan Hospital and stop at the church. There are tons of churches named after St. John the Baptist -- San Juan. His feast day on June 24 is quite a big deal.

En route to Triacastela we pass a man selling palos -- pilgrim staffs -- I nearly buy one but realize I have only one large euro bill. He was very sweet and gave me and John both apples and wishes us Buen Camino. The chestnut tree groves continue.

Around lunch we dropped down into Triacastela and stopped for lunch -- a tortilla española with potatoes and eggs. We picked the same cafe we had eaten at last year -- only this time there were fewer pilgrims than in May, the awning was not down because it was not hot.

Instead of spending the night in Triscastela, we decided to head onto Samos -- a longer day, but Samos was where we had spent 3 delightful days at a wonderful little hotel last year.

The walk to Samos seemed much longer than last year -- it was 11 - 15 k depending on which guidebook you read. we arrived late -- 6:30 p.m. and to our disappointment, our favorite hotel was `complete` -- full. Many hotels were full and we ended up at a rather shabby Hostal -- hot hostel. A hostal is like a hotel, but some rooms share a bath. The highlight of the evening was going to Cafe Resco where we had eaten every night last year. The owner remembered us, welcomed us back to her ´casa´´ and fixed us our ´usual´ -- omelet with mushrooms, grilled vegetables, mixed salad, flan for me, and wine.

There are special pilgrims` meals that cost 8 - 10 euros. There are 3 courses and many choices. The cost is so reasonable.

Next day we were off to Sarria -- a big city, but before then we had to visit again the monastery at Samos and see Padre Augustin.

El Camino Frances

We will be walking on part of the Camino Frances -- the route that actually starts in France and goes over the mountains. Normally it takes about a month to go from Frances to Santiago. In medieval times, pilgrims might start in Paris or in Arles. Both Arles and Avignon were required stops on the pilgrimage.

However, we are walking an abbreviated portion of that route and starting in Astorga, Spain. The web link to the usual stages of the walk will show you the different towns -- scroll down a bit. At a point before Triacastela we are taking a detour to Samos - which is still part of the Camino route, but not visited as often as it was. John and I stayed in Samos last year for several days and loved the old monastery with Padre Augustin, the porter, who gave us a tour. Two German pilgrims and a Dane joined us, but spoke no Spanish - so Padre Augustin had me translate into English (the lingua franca of today) for them from Spanish.

The American Pilgrims on the Camino have a nice overview of the routes.

It's exciting to think that St. Francis of Assisi and Jan van Eyck made this pilgrimage hundreds of years ago.

Buenas noches -- we leave early tomorrow morning for our flight.