October 16th, 2015

     My friend Bob commented on Facebook that he thought he had Celtic ancestors who once lived in Galicia and that a form of Gaelic was still spoken here.  Yes, Galicia does have its own language, called Galega, still spoken by many Galicians.  And it says in our gúdebook that "Galicia shares many historical and physical similarities with other Celtic regions, particularly the west of Ireland."
      Though Ive never been to Ireland,  Galicia looks to me like what I imagine the Irish countryside to look like:  green and verdant, narrow lanes along ancient stone walls and crumbling stone barns, rugged and magically beautiful.

     We've met Irish pilgrims along the way who've told us that Galicia does, indeed, remind them of Ireland - right down to the pervasive smell of manure in the air.  I'd say there are almost as many farm animals in Galicia as people. Maybe more.
     Yesterday we walked 14 kilometers from Samos to the city of Sarria.      

     From here to Santiago we can expect the Camino to be crowded with  day-tripping, backpack-free  pilgrims who've come with tour groups to walk the last 100 kilometers to Santiago, as 100 kilometers is the minimum distance required of a pilgrim to walk in order to receive the Compostela, or certificate of completion of the Camino.
    In Sarria We found a really lovely 9€-per -bed  albergue  called O'Durmiñento, where the friendly, helpful hospitaliero's little poochie had his own spot on the livingroom  couch.

    We shared with three Italian pilgrims a wonderful 10€  community dinner cooked by the hospitaliero's mother.

      This morning when we stopped at a bar for breakfast it was clear that the last-100-k crowds had already descended upon the Camino when 15 people at once pour into the bar.

    Now we're off to join our fellow-pilgrim herd, on to Santiago.