Day 25-to Barbadelo Vilel— chestnut trees and more crowds— May 16, 2024

 In the morning as I left Fonfria around 6:30 AM, the sky was dark and filled with fog, and a light drizzle in 4°C weather.

After a short walk, I came across the bar/café that was open early in Biduedo and I was the first customer. I enjoyed my eggs and bacon, OJ and coffee breakfast sitting by the warm fire.

I really didn’t want to leave this warm place, but I knew I had to continue on if I wanted to get to Santiago at the right time of day.  I had adjusted my daily distances to make sure I would get into Santiago de Compostela around 2:30 PM on Sunday, May 20th.  This would be a about a 20 mile day to Hospital de la Cruz.

From Fonfria down to Triacastela, the trail dropped about 600 m so I again, pulled out my trekking poles to make sure I was safer walking down the steep trail. 

Just outside town, the trail splits into two different directions, one longer trail to Samos and a monastery, and the shorter trail that sometimes paralleled a little used road, and I chose the shorter trail.

Despite the rain and having to wear a poncho all day, this was a beautiful hike through several groves of Chestnut trees that lined the Camino Santiago trail. This is one of the most photographed chestnut trees on the Camino Santiago and is estimated to be over 800 years old.

I walked through several miles of farmland where the fog drifted in and out.

I came to Sarria which is the city that many people start at so they qualify at getting the certificate of completion when they get to Santiago de la Compostela. It’s a little over 100 km from Santiago.

A stork has made its home on top of this roof chimney as I came into Sarria.

To get up into town, I had to climb up several flights of stairs to the main area that was lined with albergues and restaurants. I stopped at one hoping to get some lentil soup but instead I got some chicken vegetable soup, which was OK.

In many of these larger towns, you see these cemeteries with above the ground crypts. It seems like plastic flowers are examples of remembrances of those who have passed. Scatter my ashes around instead.

I only had four more kilometers to go before I got to my final destination for the day at the Casa Barbadelo Albergue.  I had been worried that they may not have a vacancy since once you leave Sarria, the numbers of pilgrims increase dramatically. Others I met along the way always booked places and commented that many of the places after Sarria they tried to book were full. 

From Sarria, I traveled with Corinne from the Netherlands, who had already booked a spot at the Auberge that I was planning to stay. She was joining a few others who were just doing the hundred kilometer Camino Santiago trip at this albergue. She was a dental hygienist and ran her own business and even supervised a dentist.

So far, I have not had to book any places to stay, but I have had about five places that were full and had to continue on to the next available place.  There was only one place where I had to walk another 6 km to find a vacant albergue where I arrived at 7:30 PM in Santo Domingo de la Calzada on April 29th.

Well, I was in luck. They did have a bottom bunk bed for me in a unit that had six beds. One of my bunk mates was Holly, who is retired military, and hiked some of the Pacific Crest Trail as I had.

I had the pilgrim meal in the restaurant and I forgot to tell them I didn’t want french fries. It was a stuffed pork loin with a delicious sauce that was pretty good, so I coated some of the french fries with the sauce.

Just as I was heading back to my room, the rain began again. I hope it’s dry by morning.