Pilgrims and Portomarin

I am pleasantly surprised to see mostly others walking El Camino who are around my age. I figured it was because it’s September and most college students are back in school. Plus most Europeans take vacations in August. But Savanna points out that our accommodations are too nice for young people to afford. Most of them stay in the “albergues” or hostels, while we are in moderately priced hotels. She calls it our “bougie camino”. I must admit that after walking for 4 hours yesterday when we arrived at our lovely hotel, we did enjoy the swimming pool!




We haven’t actually spoken to that many pilgrims but there don’t seem to be that many Americans, kind of a nice break. We did meet an older couple from Sweden and the US who were walking in the opposite direction just to be different, which was sort of cool. 

Pilgrims tend to have an intention or reason to be walking, be it religious or for health reasons or some transformative experience. I am curious to hear their stories and hopefully I will as the trip continues. As for myself, I am always in search of transformative experiences, but I am also doing this trip for my late Spanish mother, and always, for Miles…

Portomarin has been my favorite town so far. Plenty of antiquities, gardens, and charming restaurants. The approach to the town involves walking across a bridge over the Miño River. The valley is often covered by a thick mist, even though the river is very dry, another casualty of climate change. 

Thanks 







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