In Sound, Way Out

Hairdressers in Portomarin, Espana
Hairdressers in Portomarin, Espana

This leg of the Camino is more crowded that our first leg (St. Jean Pied de Port to Leon). Pilgrims are granted a certificate (a Compostela) for starting in Sarria, about 110 kilometers out of Santiago, so at that point the Way is a little cluttered. It is tempting to look at them as cheaters but that is where compassion comes in. Pilgrims try to be non-judgmental.

The Albergues and hotels along the Camino are stingy with their heat. Usually radiators, the heat is hardly ever on when we check in so it is always a gamble as to whether we should wash our socks or underwear. When we go for it we arrange them on the radiator and take our chances. In the swankier places there is often a hair dryer to point into our socks in the morning if they are still wet.

Not all our rooms have had a tv and one even had the old tube style tv. I meant to turn that one on just to see what the format looked like. I usually check for a soccer match but we have only found one, an international qualifier between Portugal and Poland. It seems you have to go to a bar to watch La Liga games as they are on the premium channels. Spain is really big on nature shows. If the hotel gets 11 channels two of them will be nature shows.

We got lost today. First time for us on the Camino. At some point we realized there had been no one in front or behind us for a while. We turned around and found the turn we had missed. We came across an “alternative food” place. Run by a married couple who were attending to a baby as they waited on us. They had made pumpkin soup but there was only one portion left. We ordered that and a green salad with mushrooms. There was a keyboard set up in the room and I asked the guy if he played. He said he did and he wanted to know if we played something. I told him we did and he asked what kind of music it was. I said improvised instrumental music, sort of jazz, sort of rock, and he said, “Like Beastie Boys, In Sound From Way Out?” And I said, “Yeah.”

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