The Way to Land's End

• Beginning Point: Triacastela
• Ending Point: Sarria
• Daily distance: 15.66 miles (25.2 km)
• Total distance: 398.65 miles (641.57 km)

It was difficult to get motivated this morning. My body is fatigued and my energy level despairingly low. The last two days of hard hiking have drained me. Thirty three total days of hiking with a few nominal “rest days”, in which we walked all day sight seeing, have taken their toll. It’s hard to find my groove this morning. I shuffle along, leaning heavily on my poles and dragging my reluctant feet slowly behind. 

But the beautiful landscape eventually revives me. I lose myself in the beauty and tranquility of the forest and the quaint hamlets which are interwoven throughout. I soon forget about my aches and pains. 

We briefly encountered some charred earth from the recent wildfires. 

The hike took us through the town of Samos, known for its monastery. 

Laura and I brought a sandwich along on the hike today as there was a long stretch without services. We stopped alongside the trail and ate our ham and tomato sanwiches on an old stone wall. A couple of cows milled about in a pasture below us. 

In Sarria, we checked into a great albergue. It had a nice shower, a beautiful courtyard and sitting room with a fireplace. And sweetest of all, a cute ragmuffin of a dog named Donna. I sure do miss my dogs back at home and enjoyed getting the chance for some puppy love.  After I found Donna’s spot (you know all dogs have that one spot that they love scratched), she was my buddy. 

During my shower today, I noticed that the shampoo I bought two days ago just wasn’t foaming up or working through my hair well. I start to suspect that maybe it’s not shampoo and look at the bottle more closely afterwards. Sure enough, the bottle says “piel”, the Spanish word for skin. The Spanish word for hair is “pelo”, so the mix up is understandable.  I had been washing my hair the last two days with lotion! I can’t stop laughing at yet another lost in translation snafu!

As we get ready to settle down for the night, the owner of the albergue invites us to the fire for shared conversation and shots of a liquor. I note how the mantle has icons of Jesus, Mary and a witch and it further endears this region to me. Due to its Celtic influence, this area has an affection for witches and they adorn their spaces with “brujas”. I love when people can hold two differing ideas, in this case Christian and pagan, and find value, honor and respect for each.