Sarria is where a lot of people begin the Camino and can qualify for the certificate for having "done the Camino." With this fact in mind, you can imagine the crowds that gather. We were stepping out of our hotel to begin the trek when we were confronted with a whole group of Irish students trodding up the street:
Then there came along young Spaniards, French, older Spaniards, etc. Frankly it was a mess for quite a while until we got a few kilometers out of town. With in increase in traffic on the trail we have lost some of that solitude that we enjoyed so much before we arrived in Sarria.
Nonetheless, I still found great beauty along the way. Here are things that I saw...
(a rare moment when the trail did not have someone on it!)
There are so many beautiful little Romanesque churches along the way that I just keep snapping pictures of them. This one is in Paradela.
YEAH!!!! We are the point that we are exactly 100 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela.
In Galicia you see these grain storage units (called horreos). There was this little old gentleman sitting near this one. I asked him how old this horreo was. He said that it is 150 years old and that the painted decoration is original to it (below). Many of these horreos are beautiful decorated and sculpted.
Much of the trail is flanked with these high rock walls, mostly there to keep the pilgrims from going on to private property. They are quite beautiful.
So, a couple of kilometers outside of Portomarín we came to a sign that offered two ways of entering the city: the historical route or an alternative route. Well, we wanted to do the "real" Camino and so chose the historical route. It was beautiful, but brought us to a surprise descent towards the city.
We were jumping from rock to rock along a "natural staircase" at a pretty steep angle.
This is looking back over a short portion of the trail. In the end it was well worth the effort.
Portomarín
As you approach the huge bridge that crosses the river gorge leading to Portomarín there is a little turnin with this "Liberty Bell." Pilgrims often ring it to announce their entrance into the city.
Portomarin has an interesting history. The medieval city was once located along the Miños River. During the Franco years the decision was made to build a series of dams that would create reservoirs along the river. The project required that the medieval city be abandoned and a modern city built on the hill high above the river basin. The old city was destroyed except for the Romanesque church that was taken apart stone by stone and reconstructed at the center of the new town. The Church of San Nicolás is beautiful (below).
It is an odd combination of both church and fortress. This twofold purpose originated with the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, who built it between the late 12th century and the early 13th century to provide protection for pilgrims and traders. I loved the details on the entrances, particularly the west entrance:
Take note of the figures playing various types of musical instruments...
There were also these interesting figures sitting over the main doors. This one appearing to be an angel...
and the other a demon.
In the evening Jannette, Seth and I took stairs down to the river's edge. The river and reservoir have receded a lot and have uncovered the old city. Below are some of what remains and is normally submerged.
We think that this may have been where the Church of San Nicolás once stood. The foundations here outline an apse and general dimensions of the church.
Here you can see the original Roman bridge with its 20th-century counterpart looming high above it.
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