Day #10. Sarria

We walked 9.1 miles today to reach the large city of Sarria (pop. 13,000). It was an easier walk and just took us 4.5 hours.  We are both feeling really good. 

We have been meeting people along the way and chatting over meals and breaks.  It's been fun and interesting.  I've been concentrating on the sites rather than the people for the last couple days.  But now I'll talk about Camino Relationships. 

We met a Brit, Nick, traveling with a his new Camino friend, Heather ( Canadian ). Both are married but their spouses are back home because they didn't want to walk it. It's very common to meet single pilgrims who have matched up for a few days or longer with another single pilgrim to make the journey more fun. It's a totally innocent relationship and bonds definitely forms and they become a couple or a team.  So we met up with them for 2 days but now we have lost them because they were walking 15-18 miles a day and we max out at 11 miles a day. 

In a similar situation, we met 3 Germans (2 men & woman)that had just met as strangers and now called themselves "a Camino family ". They had been together for 2 weeks and plan to arrive in Santiago together. We lost them after we all stayed together one night. 

We walked with Julie for a day. She is from Australia and owns her own tour guide company and is leading a small group of women to Santiago. She hires a 'slag wagon' that follows her group so if anybody wants to ride because they are tired they can jump in the van. Her "pilgrims" have huge suitcases and stay in fancy boutique hotels along the Camino. (We have no idea where these hotels exist). They will arrive in Santiago well rested for sure. 

Yesterday, we met Sharon from California who is celebrating turning 70 years old by walking the entire 480 miles of the Camino in one trip!  OMG. She looks terrific!  She was very inspirational to chat with on road, but we lost her for now. She's probable walking faster than my pace !

During the tour of the Abby, we met a physician and his wife originally from Portugal, lived in Spain and has now retired in Puerto Rico. He was our translator during the tour. It's his 5th time traveling the Camino  but now he says he's too old to walk so he drives The Way. He was fun and very knowledgable.  He was in his 70s. 

Its not the sites but the insights that are the most important part of the journey. (I wish I had thought of that but I read it in the guidebook). 

Tomorrow is our first rest day after walking for 7 days straight and 61 miles. We have 71 miles to go. We will stay in this hotel for 2 nights and rest up for walking again on Mother's Day. 

Have a great weekend!