AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY – Triacastella to Sarria 18.7 Km – leaving a 115.5 Km to Santiago de Compostela.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=21bm9uJYuRo&si=8dkB1Pncqs6Y6ZGB “ Walk of Life”’ Dire Straits.

Aimery Picaud evoking the landscape which we will enjoy walking westwards, conjured up images of a promised land. For him,Galicia was a place….” abundant in woods,delightful for its rivers, meadows and exceptionally rich orchards, its wonderful fruit and clearest of streams…it abounds in rye bread and cider, cattle and horses and all sorts of seafood; it is rich in silver and gold, textiles and furs,and, above all in Saracen treasures”.

A very French and possibly over idealised picture, but Picaud regarded the Galician culture as comparable to his own..” closest to our French race in their customs”

https://www.pilgrim.es/en/plan-your-way/codex-calixtinus/ This is the first and most esteemed guide to the Camino – Picaud is regarded as one of its authors and in the Codex,Triacastela marked the end of stage 11 and signaled the end of the Galician mountains ( though there are still a few smaller ups and downs before reaching S de C ).

https://www.hillwalktours.com/walking-hiking-blog/typically-galician-history-of-the-galicia-region/

Leaving Triacastela there are two routes, a longer one via the Samos monastery, the San Xil route we take to the right – the pathways on this section have been much improved, whereas the Samos route does follow the main road in stretches.

An interesting diversion hereabouts is the art gallery of English painter Arthur Lowe ( not Dad’s Army ! )

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hTdikCon128&si=aQa5hBlLxbYgHM9_”Art for Art’s Sake” 10cc

Arthur had walked the Camino several years ago and fell in love with what was then a dilapidated building right on the path about 130km (112 miles) from Santiago de Compostela.  He decided to buy it and set about renovating it and now, 10 years on, it’s both his home and an art gallery.  The garden is still work in progress but the flowers he has planted, which includes 20 to 30 lavender plants, are already attracting numerous butterflies.

Any pilgrims passing by (who will need to turn right to San Xil at the split in the route in Triacastela) are welcome to enter and marvel at the work he’s done as well as his obvious artistic talent.  They may even be lucky enough to get their Camino ‘credentials’, or log book, ‘stamped’ with an Arthur Manton-Lowe original.

After passing through A Balsa, we encounter a small Ermita and over a small bridge, reaching a large pool of water with a huge seashell

Then follows a climb up to Alto de Riocabo 910 M, walking along a new high level woodland path above Montan and down through Fontearcuda and then into Furela.

Just over 1.7 km we reach Pintin and further refreshment if needed.

After two more km we enter AGUIADA, the route that detoured from Triacastela to Samos rejoins the main Camino here. With a population of 40, there is little here but the tiny chapel.

Soon we are passing through San Pedro do Camino and Carballal, still deep in rural country even as Sarria looms 3.8 Km away. Then walking through pine forest we shall become aware of houses and settlements as we near the outskirts of Sarria and the quantity of places to stay and eat increases exponentially compared to our earlier day’s walk. The path then continues through Vigo de Sarria

Before crossing the River Sarria we reach our accommodation for the night in Vigo de Sarria .

EL RINCONCITO de dpCristal

There is a pleasant tree- lined,riverside promenade after crossing the Rio Sarria.

Memories – almost exactly 20 years ago, I began my first Camino from Sarria – in a large group of 24+ – we were walking to raise funds for the Birmingham Archdiocese Youth hostel, Alton Castle and so we were all sponsored in different ways . I knew relatively little about the Camino, as it was not known about anything like the extent it is today. But I can still recall my feelings of anticipation and curiosity as we left Sarria at 6 am, in the dark, literally ! And now, twenty years on and a few more Caminos walked, I still get just as enthralled.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bzHEiK26mgQ&si=nexRjq-kKTAN3Wkv “ Cherished Memories”, by the late Eddie Cochran

SARRIA is a unique place for a variety of reasons and deserves a short Blog to itself – next time then.