G and I had no intention of stumbling through the countryside in the dark, so we waited until full light and left at 8:40 am. As we stepped out of our door and turned up the hill, we found ourselves behind a mass of people. Fortunately, a large portion of that mass was a school group that stopped to take a group photo at the Sarria sign, and we took advantage of that to get in front of them. Today, the first section of the track wound through forests and fields. The countryside was stunning and very green. Mist settled in the valleys, and the fields were covered with dew. Not far into our walk, we detoured slightly off the way to the small 12thC Romanesque Iglesia de Santiago de Barbadelo, which was initially part of a monastery. A lady was there collecting donations and stamping Pilgrim passports. It was quite a walk until the first stopping point, packed with everyone needing to use the toilet and refuel. We wished we had known there was another bar not too far away because we would have avoided the scrum. The Ladies from Shep had a prime table and were about to leave so we were lucky to score their table when they left.

After our morning tea stop, we continued walking, and now there were frequent places to stop for a drink or food. At about 1 p.m., we came upon what looked like a spot to get some good food. As we were going to the bar to order, I noticed soup coming out of the kitchen that looked wonderful. We had a memorable lunch at Mercadoiro—Galician soup (greens and white beans in a meaty broth), cheesecake, and sangria for me.

The villages in this area are usually a small number of houses, often built with stones picked up from the surrounding fields. Each house has a raised stone and wood structure, which we wondered about until we could peek inside one and see that it stored corn cobs. I later googled these and found out that they are called horreos.

We arrived at Portomarin at about 3:30 pm. The original town of Portomarin was flooded when the Embalse de Belesar dam was built in the 1950s. The major monuments were removed block by block and reassembled in the new town on the west side of the Mino Gorge. After crossing the bridge into town, we came to a flight of steps that led to the small chapel of Santa Maria, which originally stood in the middle of the ancient bridge. Once up the stairs, we had to find our accommodation, which was not that straightforward, even with our app and Google Maps. After a bit of wandering, we managed to find it. After checking in, we went for a wander in town.

The main square is dominated by the Iglesia de San Juan, a fortress church dating back to the 12th century that housed the Knights of Saint John. It is the largest single-nave Romanesque church in Galicia.

We spotted the Ladies from Shep at one of the bars and joined them for a late afternoon drink. On our way back to our accommodation, we stopped in and booked a table for dinner at O Mirador. When we came back at opening time, it was empty but soon filled up, and they were turning away people who didn’t have bookings, so we were very happy we’d booked our table. Our dinner was very good; we had scallops and grilled vegetables to start, followed by steak and finished with Grandma’s Cake. We crawled into bed, tired and satisfied.

The stats from G’s Garmin for the Sarria to Portomarin leg of the Camino: Distance – 22.25 km; Total Elevation Gain – 442 m; Moving Time: 4:43:54.

And off my Garmin for that day: Steps – 36,528