Day31 - Triacastello to Sarria

We left Triacastel a at 0550. There are two Pilgrim routes out of here. The longer route goes via Samos Monastery and takes 6 hours+, the shorter route, which is the traditional route, goes via road a lot of the way and takes about 4+ hours. We decided to take the shorter route.

This route involved quite a bit of ups and downs. As usual the sunrise was quite impressive.

We travelled along the road for while and then zigzagging down into a valley, past tiny, half abandoned villages.

But it was very quiet. It seemed we were the first ones following this route, this day.

Down in the valley it was very interesting. All the trees were covered in lichen. There were many ferns and the rocks and walls were covered with moss and lichen. The air was quite damp. I wondered about this and did a quick search on temperate rainforests in Spain. Sure enough I found this link

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fragas-do-eume#:~:text=This%20enchanting%20natural%20park%20is,a

These are some examples of the plant life there. Temperate rainforests are endangered. Most have been lost in the UK, although they have the ability to regenerate, if left to rewild.

The tracks we often used appeared to be sunk below the surrounding landscape. The implication is that these ancient tracks have worn away the soil down to the bedrock, leaving trees and vegetation towering above. It also means that there are rock walls supporting some of the banks.

Whilst looking for a coffee shop, we came upon this place, run by hippies, I suppose. It is a 'Donativo'. You make a donation to pay for your food and drink, if you can afford it. We could and we did. It was a most welcome site.

We saw this fixed to a wall - a rather nicely made wall! We wondered what it was. Two thoughts came to mind:

1. A wooden wheel with an iron rim.

2. A lid for some sort of container.

The first picture above shows a well constructed wall that wouldn't look out of place in a UK landscape.

The second picture shows large lumps of quartz built into the wall. The third picture shows a stone built house, where the stone forming the window and door openings is very different to that being used to build the house.

We haven't seen sheep since the Pyrenees, which is odd, as I thought that quite a lot of the landscape we've seen in Galicia would be ideal for sheep. But, I'm not a sheep farmer.

These sheep were on the outskirts of Sarria. Ruth says that this lamb is maybe a few days old as you can still see its umbilical cord.

We saw this bench outside a bar. Proof, I think, that these are old cart wheels.

Obligatory Bridge photo. Note the yellow arrow flower bed.

At the end of the walk they put a large flight of steps. Life can be cruel!

This guy looks like statue from Lord of the Rings. He's one of the old Lords of Sarria. By his left foot is a staircase leading up to a tower wall. This is emblematic of Sarria.

This is a nice mural at the base of the main church in Sarria.

The first picture shows the river running through Sarria. No shopping trolleys! The water is clean enough for fish, at least 20-25cm. If you look closely at the second picture you might make them out. The water isn't murky, it's reflected skyscape!

Decent bar at the top of town. We got pinchos with every drink, so didn't bother buying food.

We wwent looking for the ancient Monument of the staircase and Tower. It was rather depressing, bearing in mind that this is the symbol of Sarria. And yes, they have an old bed frame deliberately blocking access to the staircase.

Luckily, around the corner we came upon this guy.

He was so impressive, we called him the Holy Goat.

We wandered back to our room and sat in the bar next door, which was very nice. It was getting colder and started pouring with rain, so we wandered inside the bar and watched badly dubbed American TV.

Then we wandered across the bridge and ended up in a bar, where the town's youth drank. Interesting place, especially as we were morethan twice as old as anyone in there, including the staff.

After this we went to Parillada ' O Recuncho' and ate 1200g of rib steak between us, plus half a chorizo sausage, chips, tuna salad and Padron peppers. It was excellent. Ruth left half the chorizo sausage. But we demolished the steak! The service was good and the food was great.

Then we crawled back to the room for a good night's sleep.