Day 27 - Fonfria to Samos - 25 km

It's not light enough to walk in the mornings now until about 8:00 a.m. I woke up with the usual lights flashing and kerfuffle of people speaking in other languages. Some mornings I take this all in with a positive peligrino spirit. This was not one of those mornings. I am failing to understand why people want to wake up so early when they either have to wait for daylight or walk in the dark. I got up with the rest of them and walked out the door light a crazy person in the dark. I mean it was REALLY dark! I was wearing my headlamp and I'm sure quite a sight as I headed down the road. I had decided to take the main road instead of the Camino path because I knew that this morning involved a very steep decline which is hard on the knees. Almost an hour went by before I removed the headlamp and sat down at the side of the mountain road. It was incredibly quiet except for the birds and I felt quite in awe that I was sitting by the side of a mountain road in Galacia, Spain watching the sunrise.

I hadn't had breakfast and was hungry when I reached Triacastela 3 hours later where I was able to get cafe con leche and a croissant. After spending my last 3 € I found a bank machine in the town. The walk today was extremely beautiful and more enjoyable physically than the extreme mountain trails of yesterday.

I walked all day along the Oribio River and through very very old little villages where everything is made of stone. I believe most of the pilgrims took an alternate shorter route to Sarria today because I rarely saw anyone else on the Camino. I walked by many cows and had to be continually on guard about where I stepped! Cow pies in the road appear to be a normal and socially acceptable thing here.

I arrived at Somas at 2:00, but the monastery where I am staying tonight did not open until 3:00. A friend had told me this morning that he'd seen Benji leaving with a couple of French girls at 6:30 and there he was, across the road from the monastery here in Samos. We had a little visit and I'll have to see about getting him some food later.

News flash! I went to vespers and mass tonight for the first time since on the Camino. Since I'm staying at the monastery there's a bit of peer pressure. I liked the chanting and the organ music. Only 19 monks live in this huge monastery. I'll be in Santiago by this time next week. My plan is to spend a couple of days there and to attend the spectacular pilgrim mass on Sunday, before flying from Santiago to Paris on the 10th.