*For walkers, riders, drivers, bikers, skateboarders, and others; it's the attitude, not the method of locomotion
July 12, 2016: Sarria to Portomarin
I am used to very conservative, very Catholic Spain, so these posters about sexual diversity were a surprise.I loved coming across interesting murals having to do with the Camino.From the balcony, a great view.While walking, one frequently encounters small, ancient shrines like this one.I loved this graffiti.I tried to puzzle out this architectural structure. Is it some sort of religious crypt, given the cross? But it’s too narrow. Someone told me it’s a grain storage bin. OK, if you say so.As a girl raised on a ranch, I loved seeing the burros and mules along the Way.Walking other parts of the Camino, we could go hours without seeing another pilgrim, but once we got to Sarria, the Camino got more crowded.Here is another one of those strangely shaped structures, but this one was all in wood and obviously abandoned. So maybe it is for grain storage.I found the numerous hills and mountains torture, but they do provide glorious views when one reaches the top.For a history lover like me, there is nothing more wonderful than looking down and realizing that you are walking a Roman road.The iron work throughout Spain is magnificent. Why have a plain gate when you can have one with curlicues and circles and arrows and hearts?I grew up with my father cutting and baling hay in the extremely hot Louisiana climate. The bales were rectangular. Since no one in my family farms or ranches anymore, I haven’t had anyone to explain why the farming community moved to round bales. As I walked the Camino, I tried (unsuccessfully) to figure it out.I stopped for a while to watch the farmer in his field.Another view of what the field looks like after the farmer has passed through.Memorials of one kind or another are all along the Camino.Notice the witch on the balcony. This part of Spain seems to be rich in witches.Camino mementos for sale.So many designs from which to choose! By this time, I had carried the cockle shell given to me by the Gulf Coast (Houston) chapter of the American Pilgrims on the Camino (APOC) for so far that I was not about to switch it out for something else. But sill, I did like looking at the colorful designs.I hated to see this, trees coming down. Shade is a prized occurrence on the Camino.So many trees being cleared. Why?Leaving these gaping swaths. Is a road coming through? A power line?Timber!Walking on a smooth, paved path. What luxury!Modern bridges just don’t have the appeal of the older ones, such as the extremely beautiful one at Puente La Reina.What an imagination, and what effort to put into a roadside mural. It was fun to walk past this.More of the mural.
The Half-Fast Camino Walking* Club 