Del Ray Wellness Center

Day 2
Camino Frances Day 1 walking
Samos to Sarria
10 miles

Today is the first day of my 6 days of walking 150 km to Santiago from Samos Spain. This is not a typical starting point as most that do the shorter trek will start in Sarria. The train easily takes you there from Madrid and it also gives you the mileage needed to achieve your Compostela (certificate). My schedule allowed me to add in the extra miles and have an extra bit of a challenge! And - while doesn’t love a bit of “extraness” 😊

The morning started out with a fantastic breakfast with other pilgrims at CasaLicerio. Noira’s breakfast was a combination of ham, cheese, eggs, fresh tomato, yogurt, toast, jams, teas and coffees.

There were 3 other pilgrims at our table. A couple from Michigan, who had started in the Pyrenees with Heather. And a guy who arrived same day as me from California and was starting in a couple of days. Side note - I found this interesting that he had met the owner of our B&B in and online class for alternative medicine. I could have spent hours chatting about German medicine and functional medicine but I had to get on the trail.

For those wondering - the accommodations in Samos was a B&B. Along the Camino these are known as a rural house or CR “Casa Rural”. So, generally it is an older house with multiple bedrooms. The owner lives on site and will generally provide you with either a dinner and/or breakfast. Generally you pay extra for the meal. This breakfast was 7 euros 😳

We headed out a little bit later this day around 9 am since we were only walking 10 miles and bc i needed a bit of sleep.

This walk was pretty easy. Not too many hills. The weather started out a bit chilly - high 40s but soon warmed up. Once we reached Sarria the temperatures were in the 70s. There were a few small towns that we walked through. A few old churches that were abandoned. Neat to see inside as the altars were still there.

Side note: I am writing a lot of these posts - post Camino as it was hard to keep up with walking, resting, eating, vino-ing and taking it all in 🇪🇸🍷🥾

Day 1 - Samos Spain
June 1
Left DC (Dulles) Friday evening and arrived in Madrid Spain on Sat morning 8 am.
Getting through customs was a breeze. Grabbed a taxi and headed over to the Madrid train station to grab the fast train to Ourense.

The train station was a bit to be desired. Smelly. Dirty. No place to sit. And no food or coffee. Waited about 90 minutes and then it was a mad dash to the platform. Train stations always seem so frantic. 2 hour train ride to Ourense.

My driver picked me up for my 90 min car ride to Samos. Fun fact - my driver - Corra was from South America and her sister lives in Virginia. She was super excited when she saw my 703 area code on what’s app. Corra was great although she did like to use google translate on her phone while driving to chat with me. Her words “don’t be afraid I am very good at driving fast!” 🤣
I arrived in Samos to Casa Licerio. This place was great. Comfortable, clean and right in the middle of the small village. Easy to get to the Samos monastery and to lunch and dinner. Nuria the owner was a wonderful host. Her breakfast was delish!

I met Heather- who at this point had been walking for just over 4 weeks 😳
We had a fabulous lunch- those “bowls” were soup for one or a village 🤣 and we had some vino.

After lunch checked in and then visited the monastery and went to mass. ⛪️

Late dinner at 9:30 pm for me as the sunset is at 10 pm. And yes they give you the whole bottle - you choose between water and wine in the daily menus and then drink what you want! A bit crazy.

Also, it’s insane how bright it is at 10 pm!! At this point I was up for about 38 hours and with it still looking like noon it was hard to get ready for bed. Also, excited and I think i hit a 4th wind.

Tomorrow starts my first walk of the Camino - Samos to Sarria.
Buen Camino.

Day 63.
Day 62.
Day 61.
Day 60.
Day 59.
Day 58.
Day 57.

Even when you don’t post it. The days still move.

Don’t worry I haven’t given up - still here keepin’ on and moving to the goal.
12 days to go.