Tag: Sarria

Invasion of the Decathlon pilgrims

Say what you like about the masses of peregrinos that join the Camino at Sarria but they have certainly spent a huge amount of money in Decathlon in order to complete their 118km hike. There can’t be many small rucksacks left in the stores in Spain at this time of year. Almost everyone carrying one has the tell tale squiggle and Quecha emblazoned the nylon backpack.

Before I continue with this post, I confess I am walking in Decathlon shorts everyday on Camino, I also use their walking poles and one of my three pairs of socks are also their brand. I also possess, as does almost every pilgrim I have encountered at albergues, one of their microfibre, quick-drying towels. The washing lines are jam-packed with a multi-coloured patchwork of them, green ones, orange, real, blue purple, black, red, pink, yellow – there seems to be no end to combination of towel and trim. They dry very quickly, but are not great at their primary purpose of drying the body! This great multi-coloured Quecha invasion was evident from the moment I walked out of Sarria on Sunday. The bright array of coloured backpack rain covers was a sight to behold. They stretched as far as the eye could see. Moving like a giant, sponsored, multi-coloured worm into the mist and rain.

Today was the same, this time, as it was dry, the bags were uncovered and the colours slightly toned down. But I estimate over 75% of bags too small to have walked further than from Sarria were Quecha on the Camino today. There was also a huge proportion of these Sarria 118km pilgrims wearing Quecha or other Decathlon branded clothing and shoes. The sportswear megolith is taking over the Camino.

As for today’s walk … nice to be back to dry walking. It was certainly the coolest day of my Camino thus far, the sun broke through occasionally but the warmth was checked by a chilly wind. I kept my arm sleeves on all day. It is supposed to be heating up again through the week. Scenery wise today was like walking in the West Country – sometimes almost moorland, others times pine forest but all the time very, very green with lots of heather and gorse. Some horreos, crossed the rio Miño, which further west becomes the border with Portugal, a weird tortoise and an abandoned Bianchi : but most of all, all day ‘Tourismegrinos’ everywhere. Again queues for coffee were mind blowing compared to previous 3 and a half weeks. Very pretty little albergue for tonight – Paso de Formiga – Just 12 beds and not a bunk in sight!

34km tomorrow to get to Arzua, famous for it’s cheese apparently. Regarding the walk itself, just for some perspective, if I had walked north from Reading I would now be past Aberdeen!

Three people

There is great deal of alone time on the Camino, there is also a great deal of time spent in conversation with fellow peregrinos. This may be the first time you’ve met, it may be someone you spoke with or walked with a while the day before, or someone you met on day 1 and bump into every three or four days when your paths meet.

However, if you are doing the Camino alone, as I am, there is also a huge amount of ‘me’ time. I got thinking … if I could take any three people, alive or dead, on Camino with me – who would they be. Firstly a bit of a disclaimer, I have walked at least 75% of my Camino totally alone, and whilst I like meeting people and chatting, many of my favourite moments and times have been in splendid isolation.

So who would I bring… it would have to be a comedian, a storyteller/songwriter and someone truly inspirational.

I have thought long and hard about this, and have come up with a shortlist of 3 for both comedians and storytellers but just 2 truly inspirational people on my list. However, before I get onto those who made the cut, a special notable mention to Eddie Murphy in his Shrek role as Donkey. Having a donkey on Camino has it’s obvious benefits but on this occasion is excluded from consideration for my comedian as it is a fictional cartoon character.

3 comedians on shortlist; Robin Williams (Just the funniest person ever and would be able bring a whole array of characters to the Camino); Ellen de Generes (funny, shows great empathy, never shirks a challenge and happy to laugh at herself) Peter Kay (after Robin Williams, the man who has made me laugh out loud the most, he would love the vast spectrum of people you meet on Camino. A master of observational comedy)

3 storytellers/songwriters on shortlist; David Bowie (a vast back catalogue of songs to sing along to, but also an extremely creative mind and so many interesting stories to tell from 50 years at the top); Michael Palin (from Monty Python and all that nonsense, to his adventures as one of the foremost travel writers and presenters of the age, a wealth of experience. The epitome of the sublime to the ridiculous); David Attenborough (not really a storyteller but when he speaks the world listens. Would also be a great help knowing exactly what we are looking at. Just has a voice I love to listen to)

2 inspirational people on shortlist; Muhammed Ali (for whenever I need a pep talk or the proverbial ‘slap across the face’ the Greatest would certainly help get through most difficult moments); Barack Obama (Quite simply the finest speaker and inspirer of a generation I have ever heard. A true leader in every sense of the word, but also a remarkable human being)

My three pilgrim companions would be.

Ellen de Generes – a real people person who I think would genuinely enjoy the Camino experience and would not be phased by any of it. She has a great combination of being really funny but would also make a wonderful Camino companion.

David Bowie – quite possibly the most interesting entertainer of the my lifetime. So many amazing experiences and tales to tell. And who wouldn’t want to sing Starman, Heroes, China Girl, Rebel Rebel or Under Pressure … out loud … all the way across the Meseta

Barack Obama – for me the most remarkable human being for generations. Humble, dignified, intelligent, funny, caring and genuine. An ideal Camino companion for when the going gets tough.

What do you think?

As for today’s walk …. it was wet. Drizzly rain for most of the 24km. I passed through Sarria and as predicted by every guidebook and previous peregrino – it immediately got busy. Like leaving the quite country lanes of Berkshire and suddenly finding yourself on the M4 motorway. But more on the Sarria pilgrim tourists tomorrow. There were lovely stretched of path, more interesting ironwork and street art, a lovely old lady selling raspberries from her garden wall and I passed the 100km to go marker.

Ceña communal

One of my true highlights of Camino has been the many fantastic ceña communal I have been privileged to attend. These are basically when pilgrims staying at the albergue choose to eat together, and share a meal prepared by the hospitaleros. They are great chances to meet new people who have usually walked many of the same kilometers as I have that day. It also, absolutely knocks the spots off the ghastly menu Peregrino that lingers at bars and restaurants along the Camino de Santiago. Just before I wax lyrical about some of the best ceña communal I have shared – let me just explain the pilgrim menu. Usually €10 – €12 it consists of three courses – mostly something like this

  • Green salad or soup
  • Chicken, pork or ‘fish’ with fries
  • Yoghurt or ice-cream
  • Wine and water

And this is the same from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. Even if you are lucky enough to get good menu Peregrino it is boring. Some people eat it every day! Back to ceña communal – price about the same as pilgrim menu, although some albergue ask for donativo for dinner. This means leave what you can afford as it helps to pay for the next day’s pilgrims. The bell rings at 7 and the showered and relaxed travellers head to the comedor and sit down. Sometimes there are familiar faces, other times there may be not one face you recognise, these are the best as you get to hear a whole new set of stories. In some albergue the hospitaleros will join and sit for the meal. There is often a very informal introduce yourself round-the-table session, fortunately the common language of Camino is English. Sometimes a brief blessing is given, if the albergue is run by a faith-based organisation. Or even a song!

The food is often from the garden of the albergue and is surprisingly, mostly vegetarian. The environmental conscience of the Camino again shows in this. Fresh fruit and vegetables dominate and local wine is served. Each one has been a unique and enjoyable experience. I expect tonight’s will be equally nice … although there are chickens running freely round the garden!

As for today’s walk … it was a relatively short day – 24km – and mostly downhill from Fonfria. I started a little later than normal, just 10 minutes before sunrise and was welcomed by a wonderful light as the morning sun lit the wooded mountains. Then, as I rounded the hillside, I was treated to the incredible sight of a valley cloaked in cloud below me. Awe-inspiring. I walked down through the mist to the valley floor and the relentless sun soon burned off the cloud … normal hot sunshine was resumed. I passed a 200 year old chestnut tree, my first horreo, some tiny chapels as well as many, many cows.

Tomorrow I head for, and through Sarria. This is the starting place for many Spanish pilgrims, as it is the minimum distance required to get a Compostela in Santiago – 118km. I expect the Camino to get much, much busier but as an antidote to this I have booked into tiny albergues for my last few nights as I get closer to Santiago.