Where to begin — WOW! What a day!
Started out of my albergue rather late (given my current Camino trends). I didn’t leave until probably 7:00 a.m. this morning.
I connected quickly with Team Texas! and we continued our walk together from Samos down to the split in the path where a decision had to be made.
Okay, I’m going to interrupt this blog right here and now for a current event. I’m sitting outside next to a pool on a 75°F day. The pool is cold — cold enough for feet to sting at first, but after a few minutes it actually feels great. There’s a very brave soul who decided to take a full-body immersion dip in this ice bath. A short snippet of that will go on Facebook later…
So yeah, back to the blog. We reached the point where we had to decide between two paths going forward. The first was the well-marked route that turns abruptly and rejoins yesterday’s path. The other was the old path — not so well signed, mostly following the highway almost all the way into Sarria but saving nearly 4 km.
Yeah, we couldn’t decide which one to take. It was early enough that the highway would have had little traffic. We weren’t keen on coughing up an extra hour of walking, but logic and desire were at odds. We left it to a coin toss. If it landed money-side up, we’d take the highway; if the pretty landscape side landed up, we’d go scenic.
Wouldn’t you know it — the damn thing came up scenic side up. I may have muttered a quick expression of displeasure at the coin toss, but we all agreed to stick with its decision — which turned out to be the right choice. The route wound through several hamlets, rejoined the main Camino, and we were in Sarria by 11:00 a.m.
By the time we worked our way through town, we’d burned some extra time and decided to crash at a bar until the restaurants opened at noon.
At noon my favorite Italian restaurant in Sarria opened, and I went in for a good old pilgrim feast. While sitting there, a few events involving other pilgrims unfolded — which sparked conversation — which led me to bring up my blog entry from ten years ago. The similarities were striking.
We all agreed that the spirit of the Camino — the generosity, the companionship of strangers, the simple act of being kind for no reason other than shared humanity — was alive and well. It was a deep conversation, made more powerful after my companions read my old entry. It reminded me exactly why I do the Camino.
After a few hours in town, we finally headed out the last 4 km to our albergue for the night — a very well-appointed yet somehow wacky facility. Well-appointed in that it has many sleeping rooms (each with eight beds), large grounds, a pool, and a dining area — all the amenities. But when it comes to the pilgrim side, there are minimal power ports in the rooms, the bathrooms need some TLC, and the staff could stand to learn the difference between new pilgrims and long-haulers.
Gripes aside, it’s still a wonderful place to stay.
I know I said just a few days ago that Camino families were breaking apart, but I think just as quickly they’re now struggling to reconnect — because the reality has clicked in everyone’s mind: we’ve entered the final stretch.
People I talked with today agreed with my view of the Camino:
Stage 1 breaks your body, forcing you to rebuild it stronger.
Stage 2 toys with your mind, making it sharper and more resilient.
Stage 3 pulls at your spirit and tests your resolve.
Then you enter this last stage — the home stretch — the final run into Santiago. By this point, the Camino stops toying with long-haulers and instead prepares you for that last, meaningful arrival.
From here on, there are literally two Caminos happening simultaneously.
There are the long-haulers — mostly the crowd coming from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We’re the ones entering the home-stretch, mentally preparing ourselves for the imminent arrival in Santiago in just a few days.
Then there’s the green crowd — the fresh injection of new pilgrims doing a 5- to 6-day walk. Their Camino is no less valid than ours. Everyone walks their own Camino. For some, that’s the only way they can do it.
But the fresh wave can feel at odds with the trail. They don’t feel the embrace of the homestretch; they feel the challenge of the rolling hills and the shock of suddenly adapting to Camino life.
It’s an interesting contrast — but I want to stress again: it doesn’t make their journey wrong, nor does it make mine any more right.
With that in a severely depleted phone battery, I am going to call it a day. The excitement builds as the kilometers dwindle.
Till my next post.
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📊 Camino Stats – Mon Oct 6, 2025
Day: 33
Location: Barbadelo
Stage: Samos → Barbadelo (~19 km total via scenic route through woods and hamlets, not the highway)
Total walked: ~666 km
Remaining (of 769 km): ~103 km
% complete: ~86 %
Average so far: 666 ÷ 33 ≈ 20.2 km/day
Needed average to finish by Oct 13: 103 ÷ 7 ≈ 14.7 km/day
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✨ Milestone Note
A lush, winding route from Samos to Sarria, full of forest shade, stone bridges, and quiet farm tracks.
A long, two-hour lunch in Sarria reconnecting with old Camino friends — laughter and stories carrying down the trail.
Finished in Barbadelo, surrounded by rolling green hills and stone walls, marking the start of the final 100 km stretch.
Reflection
The day was less about kilometers and more about connection — with nature, with friends, and with the rhythm of Galicia itself.
