Thoughts from my Camino Frances Journey- Day 22
Date: May 1, 2025 Thursday
Where did I begin today?
Fonfría (Albergue Reboleira)
Where will I stay this evening?
Samos (Casa da Botica)
How far have I come?
18.64km (11.58 miles)
Galicia is known for chestnuts
Walking inside a cloud
The cat demanded pets
I ate breakfast at the Albergue (toast with local goat cheese and chestnuts) so I got a late start walking around 8:30am. Right as I left, I saw Lisa (Estonia) who had stopped to pet a cat and now the cat was not letting her leave but kept jumping into her lap. Pretty cute. It was a very misty morning in the mountains. Started in the clouds but soon the sun came out. Everything in Galicia looks so fresh and green. As I was descending from the mountains, I caught up to Nina (Tampa) and walked with her to Triacastela where the path splits and we stopped at a restaurant for a quick beverage break.
A beautiful morning on the Camino
Another tiny church
What a view
Lots of stone walls in Galicia
Am I still in Spain? It looks so different
Florida girls on the Camino
Back when I booked the horse ride with Victor, I realized that skipping an entire stage of walking would put me ahead of schedule. Then when I decided to continue walking to Fonfría yesterday, I got even further ahead. In the guidebook, O-Cebreiro to Triacastela is one stage and I had reached the “end-point” before lunchtime. So, I had decided to take a detour route to Samos to visit the Benedictine monastery, one of the largest and oldest continuously running monasteries in the Western world. This way, I could split one stage into two shorter distance days. Even doing this, I would still arrive at my final destination of Sarria one day before my train to Madrid.
A cool pilgrim statue in Triacastela
Left the road, followed the river
Taking another detour route to Samos
Followed the highway at first
I love mossy, stone walls
When I left Triacastela, I went left instead of right, following a major highway that ran beside a rushing river. Eventually, the Camino left the road and took a beautiful woodland/river path. Since this wasn’t the main route, I didn’t see many pilgrims and it was a peaceful, solitary walk. Around the half-way point, near a tiny village called Lastires, my left knee randomly began hurting, but only when going downhill. I can’t think of a reason why except that maybe I was descending too fast, or perhaps my body was getting worn out after three weeks of continuous physical exertion. I stopped at a bench to apply ibuprofen gel and eat a Cliff bar while resting my knee. After that, I took it very slow and tried to zigzag down hills instead of descending in a straight line. It still hurt, but a little less.
One of the largest & oldest monasteries in the Western world
My hotel was directly across from the monastery
Built in the 6th century, still run by monks today
I made it to Samos and took in the enormous monastery! The small town, named for the river that runs through it, is one of the most picturesque places on the Camino that I’ve seen. Very glad I decided to stop here. Since I hadn’t booked any accommodation yet, I went to café and ordered a coke to research my options. I ended up splurging a bit (50€) on a hotel Casa de Botica for a couple reasons. First, it faced the monastery and had a lovely view. Second, because I was feeling a bit down both physically and emotionally; I wanted some alone time with a comfy bed to rest my knee. When I walked in and asked for a room, the man at the desk led me upstairs and explained how this used to be the old pharmacy (hence the name) and all the rooms were named after medicinal or poisonous plants.
Monastery entrance on the right, church entrance on the left
Returned here later to hear mass
Beautiful cloister
The back of the monastery next to the river
After showering and unpacking, I went to tour the monastery at 4:30pm. The monk giving the tour only spoke Spanish so I understood about every two words in ten. I was with an American tour bus group and some of them whispered translations to the people standing next to them. Still, the architecture was stunning and the artwork adorning the walls was very unique.
One of the monks was our tourguide
Unique artwork on every wall
I walked to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner (cheeseboard) before hanging out in the beautiful hotel garden until the 7:30pm pilgrim mass. After the service, a light rain started so I went straight back to my hotel. I took another long, hot shower because I could and they had fluffy towels. The rest of the evening I relaxed in my room journaling and researching how I should spend my extra day in Sarria. I feel a bit melancholy today, probably because I know my Camino is coming to an end and I have to go back to normal life after this. Hoping to make the most of my last walking day tomorrow. Went to bed around 10pm.
A cheeseboard is always the best choice
I stayed in the “bittersweet nightshade” room
View of the hotel garden from my window
Had this cozy room all to myself!
