Preface: I'm not uploading pictures in this post because it's very late and I'm very tired, and pictures are the most time consuming part of the blog. Sorry!
I wake up today at 6:15 feeling pretty decent. I'm still slightly tired, but the tiredness fades as I get up and walk downstairs for breakfast. I heat up a ham and cheese sandwich I bought last night and eat in silence. Then, I head back upstairs to get dressed and quietly put my bag together to not disturb the others who are still sleeping.
When I finish with my bag, I head downstairs to find Eva, Annemiek, and Margaret eating breakfast. I talk with them for a bit before deciding to head out on my own at 7:30. The sun hasn't yet risen and it's a partly cloudy day. It's a peaceful atmosphere as I head out of the quiet, sleeping city of Sarria.
As I start walking, I notice the amount of people that are out. Usually when setting off, I see almost no one; at most, there will be one or two groups. I see at least five groups right off the bat, and pass some more in my first few minutes of walking. This is definitely a new phase of the Camino!
I leave the city and almost immediately enter a beautiful vibrant green forest. The wilderness in Galicia is really something else. Everything is so green, probably because they get so much rain here. All the trees are huge and look ancient, and are enveloped in masses of vines. The birds sing melodiously as I walk, and soon enough the sun begins to rise above the clouds, casting beautiful morning light on the greenery around me.
I walk for a while, praying and thinking about nothing in particular. I reflect a bit on my Camino experience so far and thank God for the beautiful things: my friends, my safety, my inner growth, the scenery. After an hour, I call Mikayla, and we talk about our day and yet again talk about how close it is until I'm home. 6 more days!
I then listen to another chapter of He Leadeth Me, which helps my prayer. In the chapter, Father Walter talks about his feeling of helplessness when he was first thrown into a Soviet prison. He was in inhumane conditions, with over 100 people in a tiny cell. Once the other inmates found out he was a priest, they wouldn't even talk to him because they were so indoctrinated by anti-Christian Soviet propaganda. In prayer, he realized that he was spending so much time feeling sorry for himself rather than going outside of himself and comforting those around him who needed it. I thought about this and applied it to my Camino experience. Do I live a self-centered life? Do I make my life about me? Or do I listen to Christ's teachings and make my life primarily about loving God and loving others?
This occupied me for a while, until I happened upon Sergio on the road. He's the guy from Arizona that I met yesterday. He's walking with his parents, but decides to walk ahead with me for a time. We get to know each other, talking about what we do, where we're from, and all the other classic introductions. Soon, Margaret caught up as well, and so she joined us and we all talked together. We all shared our reason for waking the Camino and talked about the cliche of "finding yourself." Margaret has a special distaste for that cliche which we all find pretty funny. I think it's a goofy cliche, but I also think there's something to it, maybe for those people who don't have their inner life together.
Anyways, Sergio is walking the Camino with his parents because his mom has really wanted to for years. He's a really cool guy and he also seems very into his faith. He has a good sense of humor as well!
We soon come to a cafe, where we find Dan inside. Everyone gets something to eat and then we grab a table. I get a cafe con leche with a gigantic slice of tortilla. It's seriously huge. Luis soon comes in and joins us too, and about 20-30 pilgrims are right on his tail. The cafe is crazy busy since it's the first open one for 10 kilometers after Sarria. The line to get food becomes huge, so I'm thankful we got there right before the rush. While continuing to talk to Sergio. I learn that he was in seminary for a year with the Benedictine monks before getting kicked out for being too rowdy. That seems to sort of sum him up so far. He's a very fun guy, but also seems to have his life together. For example, he seems serious about his spiritual life, and he has also owns his own company that has been operating for 4 years. He has a degree in linguistics, so he runs a translation and language solutions company. It's fun to talk and get to know him, and the meal flies by.
After a while, Margaret and Luis head on alone, which leaves me, Dan, and Sergio. We walk the rest of the day together. We tell old stories and talk about our time in college, and also about our life now and what it's like. There's plenty of laughter and it's a great walk. Not to mention the fact that we're walking through some of the most beautiful mountainous and vibrant green farmland on the Camino so far!
At one point, while we're passing through a tiny town only 30 minutes out from our destination town of Portomarin, I hear someone exclaim "Oh my gosh! Is that a proper English accent?" I look back to see a man peeking around the corner of a house. Dan realizes he's talking about him, so he introduces himself. Turns out the guy is British and is from the same county as Dan, Yorkshire. He invites us to have tea, and since we're so early anyways (it's 1:00) we decide to take a seat and have some tea. It turns out that this guy, Richard, runs a little donations-based service where he sets out tea and coffee and just talks with pilgrims all day.
We sit and talk with Richard and his girlfriend Everdine for an hour. He's quite the character. He's notes that he's already drunk, though he handles himself quite well (which probably means he's quite practiced at this), and then whips out a bottle of vodka, explaining that he's out of beer and wine. We learn that he's done 5 Caminos and decided that he wanted his life to be a part of the Camino, so he bought a little ramshackle house for about $30,000 in this town and settled in. He must have met his girlfriend somewhere in Europe. She's probably about 30-35 and is shy, but very nice. We have an interesting but good hour with Richard, then head on our way once more.
After another half hours of walking, in which we descend a hill to the beautiful riverside town of Portomarin, we arrive to our albergue. Sam, Margaret, Luis, Eva, Annemiek, Yeondo, and Woody are already there and we all have a room together. I shower and get my bed situated, then a group of us run to the grocery store to get food for the next day. I discover canned fish, which immediately becomes a staple for me. It's cheap, lasts a long time, doesn't need refrigeration, and has tons of protein.
After shipping, I join Yeondo, Eva, Annemiek, and Dan at the bar and I get a coke. We all talk for a while and share about our walk today. It was Annemiek's first day of walking, but she's feeling good! Then I head to the town square to check out the church and call Mikayla for a bit. I tell her all about my day and we once again marvel about the fact that I'm almost home and we're almost married! I can't wait for life back home!
It's now 6:30 and almost time for Mass. I head back to the albergue to discover that Sam has recruited Yeondo and Woody to come to Mass with us. He's doing my job for me! I'm glad Sam likes going to Mass, despite the whole thing being in Spanish. On the way, I explain Mass to him and the general structure of it. We get inside around 6:50 and I have some time to pray before Mass begins.
Mass runs from 7:00-7:30 and is great, as usual. I also notice that there are a ton of Americans inside. It's crazy how it went from me having only seen 2 Americans in my first month to now seeing them everywhere! The Camino is so different after Sarria. Sarria is the #1 starting point, so once you make it to Sarria, everything changes. If I sit for 10 minutes, I could probably count at least 50 people passing by me. You're never truly alone anymore, unless you leave really early. Cafes and bars are packed with pilgrims and so is Mass. My guidebook warned against feeling a sense of superiority and prejudice against the newcomers for intruding on "my" Camino and for changing things. But, as with life, on the Camino you learn to accept things the way they are. This is not any better or worse than before; it's just different, and that's okay.
After Mass, we head back to the albergue. I talk with Dan and Sam outside for a while, then start my blog. At 8:30 Luis finishes cooking dinner and we eat a lovely combo of fried vegetables and rice. It's a very lovely group dinner including Sam, Dan, Margaret, Eva, Annemiek, Woody, Yeondo, Luis, and I. I really love this group! We joke and laugh and have a grand time while eating the amazing meal.
After dinner, I continue blogging and also prepare my meals for tomorrow. Then, Eva convinces me to come to the bar with her, Margaret, Dan, and Luis. I oblige after some convincing, and we go. I only drink water though. We meet another entire table at the bar that's full of young Americans. They're college students at Trinity University in Texas, and they're here for a class with their professors. How neat! They started in Sarria. We talk with them for a while and they ask all about how it's been so far and how long we've walked. It's nice to talk with other Americans, and have that sense of familiarity!
We leave the bar at 10:30 and I continue my blog until 11:30. I then pray a rosary and sleep. The plan tomorrow is to wake up way before dawn and leave at 6:00, partly just to see what it's like and also to beat the crowd and have a quiet day. I'm excited for seeing what it'll be like. Thank you for yet another amazing day, God!