Tuesday, March 27

We're going! Finally!

Today we woke up in Sarria and after breakfast and packing our backpacks at 11:13 we're finally on our way. The first thing we need to do is find the path and a place for the first stamp in our pilgrim's passport. We quickly find the yellow arrows on the walls of the houses and the streets. In a small outdoor clothing store, we get our very first stamp pressed into our passports. "Buen camino!", they wish us and we're on our way. The path leads us up to the highest point of Sarria, past its cathedral, into the Spanish hinterland. We're quickly surrounded by lots of green, trees, nature, and plenty of cows. The first companions on the way don't take long to appear, as a herd of cows is being driven directly across the Camino from one pasture to another. "Buen camino!", this time we wish them and we're quickly on our way again, before we get in the way of a cow.

Behind the next street corner, a local greets us friendly. "German?", he asks. "Yes,", we reply. "Stamps!", he calls and has us hooked. We enter his small sales room. He stamps our passports, asks us if we're mother and daughters, which we confirm, and tells us about a friend from Hamburg. Incidentally, he explains to us why we need a pilgrim's shell from which we can drink the holy water in Santiago. We each buy a shell from him. Conny, who speaks fluent Spanish, does him the favor and writes an SMS in German to his friend Steffi from Hamburg. He thanks us by giving each of us a pin with the symbol of the Camino.

We continue. Galicia shows itself to us in all its beauty. The sun comes out at 14:00 hours. We have 15C and walk long distances in our t-shirts.

Shortly after the 100km stone, which marks the point where it's only 100 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela on foot, we take our halfway break for today. We sit on a stone wall in the sun, eat fruit and bread, and let our tired feet rest for a while.

The kilometers that follow go up and down a lot and often run through mud, mud, or rocks. The panorama that northern Spain offers is indescribable. When we have the choice just before Portomarín between the historic Camino and the path over the mountain, we decide on the historic route and still come from above, through a small rocky alley, into the town. The small Portomarín is located on a reservoir and so beautiful that it's worth every one of the 21 kilometers we walked! The male head of the family warmly welcomes us at the mobile home, in a parking space that overlooks the whole town. We sit tiredly in the sun and enjoy the view before we settle down for a shower in a restaurant for steak and paella.

The first blisters and tired joints are already appearing today, but we're just getting started.

Today we started at kilometer stone 113,246 at 11:13 and stopped at kilometer stone 92,231 at 17:41.