(Samos to Barbadelo: 18.4 km, 6 hours with 1 hr & 40 min breaks; 25,548 steps, plus 260 later)

Hebrews 12:1-13
v. 3, 7, 11 Consider [Jesus] who endured such opposition from sinful men, so you do not grow weary and lose heart…. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Growing weary and losing heart–that’s exactly what I’m doing. I go to bed tired and wake up tired and then we walk. What’s the point, I wonder. But consider Jesus, says the text. What I’m going through is nothing compared to what he went through. Jesus was not just physically tired but conspired against, unrighteously judged and dragged to a hideous death. He did it all “for the joy set before him” (v. 2), of pleasing the Father and returning to the glories of heaven with a redeemed people. What I’m doing may be hard, but it’s a discipline, writes the author of Hebrews. God has put me on this path because he loves me and is working his good purposes in my life. If I submit to the experience and keep walking with him, I will grow in righteousness and live in his peace. Dear Jesus, help me to endure this path you have set us on. Keep me from growing weary and losing heart.

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Breakfast at the hotel was just as nice as everything else there, with fresh orange juice and plenty of jam. We left at 9:15, first going along the road then continuing into the woods, through pastures and hamlets, for another beautiful walk in the sun. We stopped in a bar for coke and Santiago cake before returning to what the guidebook called a “delightful forest track;” we know that is Camino-speak for “uphill walk.”

At the top of a hill, with bread and oranges

Green Galician countryside with stone slab wall reinforced with thicket

A granary past its prime

At Sarria we walked seemingly forever through the modern part of town before climbing steps to the medieval section. At a little over 100 kilometers from Santiago, Sarria is a popular starting point for people who only want to walk the minimum distance required to get a compostela. The hordes of pilgrims we expected in town were not there; the churches at the beginning and end of the old town where credencials are stamped were not open. Apparently prime pilgrim season was over. It was damp and cool out so we went into the Meson O Tapas for a real lunch. The Ohio girls were already there.

Tympanum of Christ in Majesty and the Tree of Life, 13th-century Iglesia del Salvador, Sarria

When we left it was hinting of rain. We walked to the edge of town and put on our pack covers. We stopped in the Monasterio de la Magdalena for a sello and put on our rain jackets. As we headed down the hill it drizzled on and off. By the time we got to Barbadelo about four kilometers farther on it was raining steadily.

Maurice was ready to stop and selected the first place we came to, Casa Barbadelo, a sort of modern complex with a swimming pool (which I knew meant expensive). We ended up in a double room (spacious, with four beds) and bargained the price down. I thought the room smelled–sewery, covered over with perfume. Maurice didn’t smell a thing and was happy to be out of the rain. He also says we’re finished with albergue bunks; a month is more than enough for the true Camino experience.

The pilgrim menu was served in a lovely room that looked like a library in a country house. I had caldo gallego again instead of salad, then we had some tasty Galician beef. For dessert I had another specialty: a chunk of mild local cheese with a slab of quince jelly–delicious. After we ate I sat on the sofa near the small modern fireplace to write until all the tables emptied and the clean-up crew kicked me out. But first I went over to the piano. There was some sheet music sitting on it as if people actually played it. But no…. Maybe Camino pianos are supposed to remind us of the discordance of life so we long for heaven. Or maybe there are just no piano tuners in Spain.