Friday, September 20
 |
| Mike, Dave and Pat |
Together, three of us will walk the last section of the
Camino Frances; Pat Fages, my neighbor, his long
time friend Mike Z and myself. We began our trek from the town of Sarria on a
Saturday in September and walked for six days, reaching Santiago de Compostela the
following Thursday. Three of the six
nights we lodged in private rooms and the other three nights in albergues. Albergues are like hostels or dormitories and
are found in most towns along the Camino.
Sarria is about 300 miles from
Madrid. We travelled first by auto from
Madrid to the city of Lugo. Enroute, I
read that the town of Ostorga is on the Camino and historically has been a
center for Spanish commerce and a stopping point for pilgrims. So, we decided to have lunch in Ostorga. It's a beautiful walled town with an almost German
looking town hall, Medieval Cathedral and a Episcopal Palace designed by Antoni
Gaudi, the architect of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. A walk down Ostorga's
promenade and though it's plazas gave clear indication of the town's historical
significance and high stature with regards to wealth and power. It was a fitting beginning to our trip as we
saw our first peregrino's in Ostorga.
They were easily recognized as they passed by, surveying the landscape
around them with a look of curiosity and awe.
Many carried mochillas and held walking sticks.
We dropped off the rental car in
Lugo and arrived early evening in the town of Sarria. Our rooms are at Casa Matias, a small pension. It's in a old building with a photography
store at street level and the pension on the upper floors. From the street, an entry into a marbled
stairwell leads to the elevator which provides access to the rooms above. My room was number ten. It was renovated with a laminate floor, tile
bath and flat screen TV hanging from the wall.
The room was clean and quite adequate, although it appeared well used
and smelled of smoke.
After settling in the pension, we
explored the old town searching for a restaurant to eat dinner. We ended up at of all places, a pizza joint. Then,
it was back to the Casa Matias to retire for an early Saturday AM departure. The wifi didn't work in the room, so I went
downstairs and sat on a step in the first floor stairwell to gain access to the
internet. The motion sensor turned off
the hall light only 30 seconds of exiting the elevator, so the hallway was
pitch black except for my computer display.
I was surely going to scare the hell out of anyone entering the hallway
to the pension, I thought. Fortunately,
no one came in.
