Day 28 – sarria to portomarin – 20.9 km

Bring it on last 100 km – I can’t believe we are here

I don’t want this to end.

I swear, I think this was our mantra all day – every time we walked past a sign, and saw the number getting lower and lower… Let’s start walking back!!! – I wish.
Time is a funny thing on the Camino… – well, for me at least, it was. I wasn’t counting the days, I had no idea what’s the time, or what day is it – I was just there for the moment, but from here actually, I wanted to slow down every minute.

Today was easy, ideal first steps for those who start in Sarria, and offers quite an easy day for us too, since we have hundreds of kilometers behind us.

Portomarin has an interesting story to it, which makes this village with 2000 years of history just about 60 years old.
Portomarin for centuries was situated near the Rio Miño. However, in 1963, the construction of the Belesar Reservoir began, which forced flooding in the area. Then the locals made a crazy decision, and they moved the village to the hillside, where it’s currently located – not just the people, they moved the most emblematic buildings, stone by stone for example the Church of San Nicolás – Its original construction dates from the 13th century. When the water level falls you can still see the remains of the old town. 

Day 29 – Portomarin to Palas de Rei – 24.1 km

I don’t have many notes or pictures about today – which is strange because Galicia is beautiful and we walked through some amazing woods and landscapes. Anyway, what I can tell you about this day for sure is, that it starts with an uphill – nothing serious compared to the ones already behind us.

I remember the moment when we saw this sign with 78 km… It was like whaaAaaAat??? Cannot be… let’s start going backwards…

It still wasn’t like crazy crowded, but there were a lot more people on the road now – at one point when the path narrowed, and a traffic jam occurred – I found that a bit weirdly funny/awkward moment because we had to literally queue up to cross…

Day 30 – Palas de Rei to Arzúa – 28.3 km

This morning we walked past a unique, old stone structure called horréos. Although we have seen many already, for some reason, it caught my real attention now, for the very first time. I thought they just kept the firewood there or cheese or… I don’t even know what I was thinking, really. Well, no. An “horréo” is typically used to store grains, vegetables, and corn. They are often over 100 years old, and they are also symbols of Galicia’s traditional agriculture. There are still around 30,000 horréos in Galicia, much more than in other areas.

In an hour after Palas de Rei – a good 5-6 km – you will cross a little chapel in the middle of nowhere called Iglesia de San Juan de O Mato – a man was there giving stamps in a very special way. He melted candles and then pressed the stamp in the old-fashioned way. I love it, it’s one of my favorite stamps from the whole collection. I’m not sure if he is there all the time – but it’s worth a quick stop, it’s on the way.

50 km to Santiago

… and 1.5 km to Melide – this town is famous for 2 things: being the only town where two Camino routes meet – the Camino Primitivo joins the Camino Frances. And because of it’s octopus…ses (?)
Even though the town is not located next to the sea, still Melide’s best dish and the one you must try is Pulpo á Feira. I recommend Pulperia a Grancha – you can find it on the main road HERE

Day 31 – Arzúa to O Pedrouzo – 19.3 km

What can I say, guys? …

… 😭

Honestly nothing.

At one point today we saw that it’s only 20 km left.

We are arriving in Santiago de Compostela tomorrow – it’s official. Unless, if I finally break my leg or… – looking back on the past thirty-something days, I wouldn’t even be surprised if I would fail now, right next to the finish line – because of some ridiculous reason like a bear eats me at dawn in the woods… or something.

I didn’t even make notes anymore and, weirdly, I made fewer pictures as the last day was getting closer – it just didn’t feel like important anymore to make pictures at every corner. Which I regret now, obviously but there I just wanted to live it and be present in the last meters, I guess… I don’t know. I had the strangest and the widest range of emotions tho’ – to this, I remember clearly.

Casa Tia Dolores deserves a mention here. You will find it 8 km after Arzúa and it’s a very special place, let me show you why…

… well, cheers to today I guess, and…

Buen Camino,

Nearly there,

Noémi

______________

Ps.: If you enjoyed this post, please let me know and hit the ★Like button, leave a comment, and share the love on your socials!
… Aaand if you want to hang out with me between uploads, follow me on Instagram for daily and more personal updates!