110km from Santiago

The requirement for receiving the compostela (certificate of completion) is that you must walk the last 100km to the cathedral at Santiago, or the last 200km if traveling by bike.  Being 110km from Santiago, Sarria is a major starting point for those pilgrims that are just going to do the requisite distance.  Although, we had understood that there would be more people joining the camino at this point, we were not prepared for the hoards of people.  This was the first day for the majority of them and they were carrying very little as their baggage was being transported for them to their next stop.  In fact, we saw a car drive up to deliver lunch and wine to a large group of Frenchman and after a couple more kms, we saw a large bus waiting for them. So they weren’t going to actually walk to their destination.  The scenery was so magnificent but it was hard to enjoy it.  Sadly, we immediately noticed that there was no more “Buen Camino” being said from pilgrim to pilgrim. 

Beautiful Tree lined trail

Ancient Roman Bridge -the other ancient is Jerry