I’ve not had much energy to do much aside from walk, eat and sleep, so I’ve been quite slow with this journal. The days have been a bit of a blur, merging together.
On day twenty-nine, I set off on my first day on the Camino Sanabres and technically left behind the Via de la Plata (although for the sake of this newsletter, I’ll carry on referring to it as such in the title). I also left another one of my pilgrim friends who had chosen to do the other route.
I was woken up early by some people who had left the albergue around 6.30 am. I much prefer to wake up after most people are ready to go to be honest, which has been pretty easy as many walkers prefer to get going early, some around 5 - 6 am (plus I’m a late riser - not that you could tell be any of my previous posts 🙃). When I did get up with the early risers, it felt a bit too much like I was getting up for work, rushing around and queueing for the bathroom. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
So I set my alarm for 7.30 am, and when I woke up again I was the only pilgrim left in the albergue, previously filled with around twenty people. It was great, I hardly saw anyone on the trail and when I did, it was another late-rising pilgrim from the US.
We stopped for a tiny snack in a tiny hole-in-the-wall bar in a tiny village. A bar with budgies, and a hostess who abruptly warned us of thieves and “bad” people in the previous town, though we hadn’t asked.
The first day on the Sanabrés was marked with an almost immediate change of landscape; no more blinding green or endless golden fields with the beginnings of an ascent into the mountainous region of Galicia. I even got a little scramble in when the day’s trail split into two; there was the "difficult" way along a beautiful river on paths barely big enough for a foot, or the road - with a shoulder also barely big enough for a foot.
I chose the difficult way and it was so much fun. A little scrambling, a little riverside walking and a steep climb away from the river to keep things interesting.
By about noon I was feeling quite lazy and hungry again. I found a pillar to lean my back against, shoes off, socks off and snacks out. Fifteen minutes became forty-five basking in the glorious weather.
Towards the end I picked up the pace, suddenly worried that with so many people on the Camino, the albergue I wanted to stay at would be full. But my worries were unfounded, and I even managed to land a bottom bunk.
The albergue was a municipal one and a donativo (they take donations rather than a fixed payment), and they also modelled themselves on a traditional pilgrim shelter, meaning they provide a free community dinner and breakfast. It's only the second time I’ve had a community meal on this Camino - there are a lot more albergues like this on the Camino Frances, the most popular route of the Camino de Santiago.
Dinner here was wonderful, spent sitting and chatting with familiar faces and new ones - including an amazing young Russian couple walking with their three-year-old son (yes, you heard right! I later found out this was his THIRD camino). We were treated to a range of homemade aguardiente (which I have only just found out literally translates as Schnapps) and also a lovely little motivational keepsake.
The community-first tradition of the albergue also extended to choosing what time we would all eat breakfast together, and with some extremely early risers in the group, we averaged at 7 am (cry!).
Until next time,
A x
About me
Hey! Ameena here - I’m a freelance portraiture and documentary photographer based in London. I enjoy telling stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world.
In this newsletter, I’m digitally retracing my steps on the Camino de Santiago. From March to May 2019, over 45 days, I walked over 900km along the Via de la Plata (the Silver Way) route of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.
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