Sarria to Palas de Rei

Leaving Sarria at 8:30 in the morning

Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures. – Lovelle Drachman

January 30, 2025

Sarria to Portomarin

Again I am writing this in the morning before leaving. It is 7:20. I just went to the restaurant that opens at 7, but again no one there. The rains are just ending and sunrise is in 1:20, so still very dark out. My plan is to start walking by 8:15. By then it is light enough that I won’t need a headlamp. I had grabbed my leftover bread from my meal yesterday and I had some cheese as well, so that will be breakfast. I have a few cashews and a bit of chocolate to carry with me. Maybe there will be a café open up ahead, who knows.

I have been asked what I am carrying in my pack. I will include a photo below. Basically, I have two sets of clothes – 2 pants, 2 t shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 underwear, and 3 pair of socks. I hike in the same clothes every day and have the second set dry for when I arrive. On top of that I have two warm layers and a puffy jacket. I have not used these to hike in. I would only take one warm layer next time. The second one was a last minute add. I have worn my rain jacket every day. It is my outer layer. I do not have another jacket. I also have rain pants. Obviously great in the rain, but they also add warmth. I have only used them in the rain. I did bring long johns as a last minute add. I have slept in them, but haven’t really needed them. If I am moving, my body creates a lot of heat, so most people would probably appreciate the added warmth. I have a visor which I have worn every day. I have a warm hat and gloves. The hat I have used a few times. The hood on my rain jacket has kept me warm while hiking. The gloves really needed to be waterproof. That was a mistake on my part. When it was cold and dry my hands were fine in my pockets. The wet and wind has been the problem. I questioned this before leaving and made a wrong choice. I have an umbrella, which is great, but the winds have rendered it useless quite often. I would certainly bring it next time. I also bought trekking poles in St Jean. I don’t normally use poles on this terrain and would skip the poles next time. I have carried them most of the time.

For packing I put everything in nylon bags, then put them in a garbage bag in my pack. I do not use an exterior pack cover. Even with this crazy weather my gear has always been dry at the end of the day. I carry 2 water bottles, a 1 liter and a ½ liter. Both are just reused bottles, not purchased hiking bottles. There is less water in the winter but it still has not been a problem. I typically just fill the big bottle to hike and use the small bottle around town and in my room. In the photo below my sleeping bag is still inside the garbage bag, in my pack. The blue nylon bag is for my clothes. The white plastic bag is for my computer (for work and doing this journal). The nylon mesh bag has all my personal stuff, soap, cords, chargers, razor, clippers, sewing kit, band aids, passport, extra money, …)

OK, today was a very pretty hike. I love Galicia, the region I am in now. Everyone says how crowded the Frances is. Today I left at 8:30 and walked the 14 miles to Portomarin and did not see a single Pilgrim. Unreal. There was one café open, so I stopped expecting to see someone there. And no one showed up while I was there. There is someone coming to where I am staying though. When I checked in there was a large suitcase in the lobby. You can still ship bags ahead from Sarria to Santiago in January.

The rain showers came twice during the day. Both times a light rain and no wind to speak of, and the temperatures were in the low 40s. Tomorrow may reach 50, and it is possible it won’t rain for the next two days.

I am on the edge of town, but there is a restaurant and a grocery store both fairly close. The grocery store is closed from 2pm to 4pm. That is still typical in the smaller towns. In the bigger towns the chain grocery stores stay open all afternoon. More and more restaurants serve food all afternoon as well. That makes it nice for us non Spanish people. Otherwise you have to wait till 7:30 or later to eat. I have been eating from the grocery stores most of the time. I bet only one day in 4 have I eaten at a sit down restaurant. The availability and timing just has not been working out right. I prefer the restaurant meals. I don’t think I have had 2 “real” meals in the same day yet. Even the open café today did not have a kitchen open. I had a snack and a Cola Cao. This morning at the restaurant at the hotel, it was open when I walked out, so I did get a fresh orange juice and a hot croissant there. I am planning to see if I can get a real dinner this afternoon here in Portomarin.

I ended up going to a café that we went to last May. I think they are the only open restaurant. The meal was good, salad and beef stew. I walked back to the grocery store for snack and breakfast stuff and back to the room to watch a movie. I did not see a single pilgrim all day. I think this is the first day with zero sightings and it happened on what is thought to be the busiest stretch – leaving Sarria.

January 31, 2025

Portomarin to Palas de Rei – 15.3 miles

It was a foggy start to the day. As I walked out the door of my lodging, there was a young Asian woman asking me where to put her bag to be shipped ahead. I started to point, then realized she spoke to me in English. I am out of practice. So I answered her in English. She was in a hurry to find a restaurant for breakfast. I did not see her again.

The fog was kind of fun. As I climbed, I got above the fog. At first, I thought it was burning off, but when I looked back toward the valley you could see the fog below. It was a beautiful clear day. I think the first of this trip. The Galician countryside continues to be beautiful. Yesterday it seemed like there were dogs everywhere. They are loose roaming the streets in the small villages. They never seem to be a problem, but if you are uncomfortable with dogs, I can see how you could get nervous. Anyway, today was cow day. It is great to see them out in open pastures.

I am not very inspired to write today. Enjoy the pictures. I have 3 days remaining to Santiago. I think I am at 67 km to go. That is just over 40 miles.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzue