23 Oct.  Samos to Vigo de Sarria.   13:8 km

Spring crocuses in late October, it’s amazing. They are all over the place. They are one of the beautiful things we are seeing on a regular basis. 

Today we walked from Samos to our destination and the first 10 km had not a single town. There was the occasional closed church, the farm, the herd of cows or sheep. At one point we came to a cross roads and fortunately a farmer was driving by in his John Deere tractor. We flagged him down and he graciously pointed the way. 

The skies were blue and the temperatures perfect for our stroll through the countryside. It was perfect. 

When we got settled in our hostal, I had an opportunity to call Matt—always a treat these days—and Dad went to check out the neighborhood. I had barely hung up when Dad yelled for me to come downstairs. He had just spotted two of the friends we had made earlier and then lost. It was a lovely reunion on the street and another of the joys of the day. Hopefully we’ll see them again soon as they were moving on. 

We decided to go into the city of Sarria to attend the pilgrims mass. So we left early, found the cathedral, checked the time for mass on the door and went to get dinner. When we went back at precisely the correct time, we found folks in line to sign the guestbook for a funeral. Our fleece gave away that we were not friends of the family. The same thing happened to us two days ago. No pilgrims worship for us. 

However, as I think of the last few days, I realize that Dad and I had a wonderfully spontaneous experience of worship on the Camino. We left Triacastela in the company of a large contingent of pilgrims from Mexico. On the way they alternated between the rosary—an antiphonal reading—and a hymn, or so I surmised from the few words I could pick out. It was spontaneous and joyful and honest and I am thankful for the experience. 

Buen Camino