May 20, 2016
Vespers and Mass at the Benedictine Monastery last night was beautiful, although the church itself was extremely cold (could this be because of the foot thick ancient stone walls?). At the end of Mass, the monk who had sung vespers blessed all the Camino pilgrims present and sang a pilgrim's prayer that was beautiful, even though the only words I understood were "Santa Maria." Wish I could find this on CD somewhere. It would be a wonderful keepsake of our Camino journey.
As predicted, today turned out to be a very warm day! My jacket was off probably within the first half hour of walking. We walked from Sarria to Portomarin (Stage 29 of the Camino), a total of 13.7 miles, up and down hills. It was a tough day, mainly because of the heat, although we had a few fairly steep hill climbs.
On the way out of town this morning we stopped at the Mosteiro da Madalena, originally a convent but now home to a few monks. The enclosed garden area is so beautifully landscaped and peaceful, one can imagine the nuns still wandering the garden in contemplative prayer.
Our way today also took us past several cow pastures, cemeteries and too many churches to count. Most of the roads were lined with trees whose arching branches formed a canopy for the weary pilgrim and a respite from the hot sun. It didn't seem fair that the last 1/2 mile of our journey was up a long, steep flight of stairs and then up even more hills until at last we reached the Church of San Juan and the bar across the street. By this time, all of us were ready to kick off our hiking boots and relax in the bar in Portomarin with our cold beverage of choice. A very satisfactory way to end the hiking day.
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