Day 14 – Sarria to Portomarin

I’ll start with an apology. Today has been one of those days where so much has happened that I just haven’t got the time or energy to write about it. The highlight was the bizarre meeting with the Ukrainian Olympic Gold medal winner and his Spanish friend who we will meet again in a few weeks at “Bleenhem Palace” seeing premier Scottish beat combo – Simple Minds. I will cut and paste in the story of that meeting as I wrote it on Bookface:-

The most crazy travel encounter today. Walking the Camino de Santiago.Arriving into our destination for the day, Portomarin there were a group of 4 or 5 local men chatting by a car. Two of them approached me and the younger one c55 says in broken English "my friend wants to thank you". His friend, older in his late 60’s early 70’s, wearing blue tracksuit trousers with a yellow stripe down each leg, comes up and shakes my hand for at least a minute. He is Ukrainian, and has seen my t-shirt. He's close to tears, and just keeps saying thank you.

 

His younger Spanish friend wants to know where we are from......."England"....but where in England......"Oxford". He then tells us about the Ukrainian. His name is Aleksandr Shaparenko. He won gold medals for the USSR at the Mexico and Munich Olympics in 1968 and 72 respectively - canoe sprinting. He is 76 years old. We shake hands again.

 

Then his Spanish friend tells me he is going to Oxford soon. To Bleenhem Palace, to see a show. I ask him who is in the show? "Simple Minds". No way? You guessed, we're going too. What a small world! He takes my number and asks my name...."Jim Kerr" I reply. Much laughter! Anyway I'm in his phone as Ian Oxford. I'll buy him a pint at Blenheim. We part, and I leave him with "Don't you forget about me". More laughter. Aleksandr shakes hands again.

 

The most bizarre 5 minutes. You couldn't make it up. Just for added spice, Cate and I were walking with 2 others at the time. 2 randoms who'd met back in León on the Camino. Both late 20's. He a heavily tattooed German from near Karlsruhe, and his "Camino wife" from Lucknow (India), but who lived in Fuerteventura working as a yoga teacher. She had loudest voice imaginable, and spoke not only perfect English, but also fluent Spanish.

 

Like I said, you really could not make it up. Camino magic!

 

As for the rest of the day…………………………….

 

Up early as usual, and we pretty much trudged (again!) through the streets of Sarria to re-join the Camino. The initial signs were not great as we saw a lot of people – nothing horrendous, but more than we were used to at just gone 7am. I did a random survey after about 3k, and we had 17 other pilgrims in sight instead of the usual 0 at that time. Busy(ish), but acceptable. Yet again the first 3 hours were typically Galician – low clouds and mist hugged the peaks of the hills and made the forests charismatically spookie. Bits were “Game Of Thrones like” (i.e the place near Ballymoney with amazing trees)

 

Where's Arya?

We plodded on aiming for the “100km to Santiago” marker. Just about 2k short of that a taxi passed us and pulled up sharply, The door swung open and a voice shouted to Cate…it was Bridget from Baden Wurtemburg (BBW!). Out she got with her daughter’s friend. Both had problems, so couldn’t walk the whole way, but were determined to cross to “100k to go” point. BBW had arranged to meet her daughter, who was walking the whole way, at a nearby café. We walked together, slowly for 10 minutes before we got to the café. That was plenty, as we needed to push on before the sun arrived at 10. Well 10am was what we’d been told by the Florida Foghorn when we met him at our first coffee stop. In fairness to the noisy old septic, he was absolutely right. God Bless America!

 

Have you seen the light?                                          

We arrived at the 100k point, took the obligatory pics and pushed on. 

Shortly afterwards our day changed dramatically. We were being passed by 2 “youngsters” and suddenly the girl spoke to us. Boom! The Florida Foghorn had been eclipsed. This was “Jiggy”. Born and raised in Lucknow, India; and now living in the Canary islands running Yoga classes. Well of course, what an obvious combination! She was one sassy woman, but lovely with it. With her was her “Camino husband” Phillip from near Freiburg (Germany). They’d met a couple of miles into their Camino’s near Leon and had looked out for each other thereafter. What a pair. He was quiet measured and thoughtful. She was a maelstrom of enthusiasm and linguistic brilliance – fluent in Spanish and English. We stopped and insisted on buying them a drink. Well it turned out the café was run by a German woman who was looking to sell up and move. Well Phillip had already said to us about a dream of running somewhere like a café on the Camino. They chatted passionately, exchanged numbers etc – who knows what will happen.

 

Jiggy and Cate scale the heights

Phillip discusses buying a cafe!

Thereafter, the four of us wandered onto Portomarin, crossing the bridge and into the town. Then the Ukrainian/Simple Minds incident. 

We bade farewell to Jiggy and Phillip. Let’s hope we see them again. She’s already invited Cate over to Fuerteventura to do a Yoga retreat, so you just never know.

 

I think that’s it. I’m too tired to write any more, or try and be funny. So in the words of Captain Mellow, Al Stewart..”if it doesn’t come naturally, leave it”

 

Til tomorrow my lieblings!