Camino Day 1: Sarria to Portomarin

Despite going to bed after 1 am, we managed to get up and ready to walk our first day of the Camino by 8:30 am. Here are some sidewalk signs as we left Sarria showing us the way:





We followed the arrows and signs out of the city and crossed the bridge:

It was hazy and warm in the morning and it began to actually cool a little as the sun started to shine through.









There were times where we were with lots of people or none as the groups ebbed and flowed. Here’s once when there was a crowd:



And we posed with the signs some more:

After about an hour of walking, we stopped for breakfast in Baradelo, where we also picked up scallop shells to place on our backpacks.

As we walked through tree tunnels, we enjoyed the Spanish countryside with the waft of smells from the farms, like the cows and manure. Mary Ann declared it was all natural.







Here are some selfies even one with sheep:





We definitely pulled a rookie first day move with not enough resting, as we hit a wall and couldn’t find a village restaurant in sight for lunch. We were grateful when we found Mercadoiro which was just under 4 miles from Portomarín at around 2 pm.

Here we met an Irish couple who gave us some tips on how to order - we shared a goat cheese and honey and a ham and cheese sandwich paired with lemon soda:



They also had lounge chairs looking at the countryside where we rested for about 20 minutes:



After resting and for our last hour of walking, we trudged on with the Spanish sun out in full force. I definitely have a sunglasses and farmers tan from the day. We passed this shop which said in Korean they had spicy cup ramen. I heard there were many Koreans who do the Camino and I saw a few today.



On our approach to Portomarin, you could see the Minho river:

And then we had a little adventure coming down a steep climb - Mary Ann promptly reminded me of our hiking in Machu Picchu which was also steep:

But we made it down and took this selfie right before the bridge crossing:



We arrived in Portomarin and had to consult maps to figure out where our hotel was and walked through the village:







But we found La Casa de Manuel where our luggage was waiting and fresh towels. We had paid 20€ each for a luggage forwarding service where they bring your luggage to your next stay. There are many services, but I selected Correos.

We then headed out for dinner. We meandered the streets and decided on the restaurant next to the plaza and church where we had beers and price fixe pilgrim menu which was very cheap.

We then decided to to take this ridiculous selfie in front of the pilgrim statue. You can see we are all at our best:

I think that’s what over 24 km / 15 miles of walking will do to you and we do it all again mañana!

Leon

I had read in my “1,000 places to see before you die” travel book, that Leon was worth visiting in northern Spain. So I made sure to research what there was to see and maximize the day.

After breakfast at the hotel, we tried to hail a taxi on the street, but they were either already occupied or it was actually a driving school student as there was an academy nearby. The taxi stand that our hotel had directed us to was not helpful, so we returned to the hotel where they called us a taxi.

We waited 2 minutes and finally headed to San Marcos, a former convent with a church and museum. We enjoyed the beauty of the architecture and I had noted it was a parador hotel, but was fully booked. I ultimately decided staying at a parador at the end of the trip was probably sufficient. Here’s a picture collage from our visit to San Marcos:

We then walked to the Royal Basilica San Isidoro which is even older than the cathedral. A gentleman saw Tresa’s backpack and asked us if we wanted a stamp. He happily stamped all three of our Compostelas and gave us high fives; he was a very happy man:

Leon is very pretty and not overrun by tourists, so we enjoyed meandering through the town and had fun seeing pilgrims walking and the signs that show us the way. 

Here’s a photo of the approach to the Cathedral:

Listening to the audio guides, we learned about the gothic architecture and the many stained glass windows. Here are some photos:

The Thomas sisters had some fun with the light beam and even decided to be artistic with the audio guide:

Around the corner to the church is where you received your stamp and an entrance to their museum, cloister, and chapel. You couldn’t take photos in the museum, but the pieces were well curated and there was even a floor of modern paintings. Here are a few photos of the cloisters and the chapel where we caught the end of noon day mass:

At this point, it drizzled and it actually rained on and off during the day. So we decided to squeeze in one more building before the midday siesta when everything closes. We entered the Casa Botines, designed by Gaudí with a small museum inside about Gaudí, contemporary apartments, and art.

We took a picture of Gaudí outside - one with the Thomas sisters sitting on a bench admiring his design and a selfie:

We climbed up many steps to see the whole house and the landings had corner benches where the Thomas sisters are resting here:

Inside the experience included some interactive pieces - we all took turns animating a camera that gave you a birds eye view of his buildings and you could soar around it:



Also the towers in the corner were small pockets and had a lookout to the city:

For lunch, we made our way to a nearby restaurant where the service was attentive. We lunched on chicken and mushrooms with fried potatoes in a pan, a toast with goat cheese and tomato jam, and a bottle of rosé. Here’s a collage of the experience:

After lunch, the sun was beaming and we wandered back to our hotel where we napped on the terrace for 30 minutes. Then we headed to the train station which was just a few minutes away. Our taxi driver was delightful and he was the first to say to us: “Buen Camino!” We got snacks and got on a three hour train to Monforte de Lemos. 

We were nervous that we would miss our transfer which was a 20 minute wait as our train had been running about 10 minutes behind. But our train to Sarria was running about 20 minutes late, so we thought all was well and took some selfies on the platform. Or so we thought....

We sat on our train which was more like a people mover shuttle with 2 cars for almost an hour apparently due to signal problems. Our conductor then told us we were going to get off and he escorted us to a private bus. Lucky for us mostly everyone was going to Sarria. One couple wasn’t, but it seemed they were going by taxi or a separate car. A 25 minute train ultimately became a 2 hour ordeal. Adventure! Luckily I messaged our hotel, as the hotels in this region do not have 24 hour check in to let them know about our status. A collage below of our time in Monforte de Lemos including getting on the bus!

In less than 30 minutes we were at the Sarria train station and walked less than 5 minutes to our hotel - DP 85. They told us they were bringing us to newer apartments which were literally around the corner, but we piled into a car and looped around. Here’s a photo of Tresa in the new living room of a 3 bedroom and 2 bath apartment!

After settling in, we walked down to the corner to Cafeteria Polo where we had roasted chicken and a tomato and mozzarella salad. Our waitress was full of energy and we paired it with local beers called Estrella Galicia, as we’re now in the Galician region of Spain!

What an adventure today of exploring Leon and traversing northern Spain, just to start our first day of walking the last 100 km of the Camino de Santiago!