Day 30 Fillobal to San Mamed

Walked way too much today! Started off this morning at 7:45am from Fillobal, it was foggy and cold. The first village was Tricastela 4km away but I didn't stop and continued on to Samos. I was looking forward to stopping at Samos because of the big Benedictine Monastery there. On the way here on the plane I was reading a book about the way of life of the Benedictine monks and their philosophy and it was very interesting so I made sure I go and visit the monastery in Samos. It was a 15km detour walking some parts on the national freeway and some parts in the woods from Tricastela to Samos

I got into Samos at 10:45am and went on the 11am tour with a chubby monk that lives there. The monastery is massive and very impressive. Well worth the €3 to get in. I bought some Benedictine charms and 2 angel callers pendants from and older monk called Augustine and he won't stop hugging and kissing me. Strange. 

After the visit of the monastery I went and had a big lunch because the walk from Samos to Sarria is long and hard. It's a total of 15km and somewhere along the way I must have missed some signs and I ended up next to the freeway all the way into Sarria. Me, Tara and Sam have booked beds in San Mamed's Albergue and I am ended up on the other side of the mountain. It was after 4pm when I got into Sarria and my feet were already throbbing so when I saw a taxi let down some passengers next to me I asked whether he will take me 3km from Sarria to San Mamed. The taxi driver didn't actually know where San Mamed was so we ended up getting lost in a taxi for a good 35mins. He didnt charge me extra though. €8 to get me into the alberque and the first thing that I did was soak my feet in cold water with peppermint oil to stop the throbbing. 

The Albergue is very nice with a nice garden and a big warm living room with lots of places to chill. Since the sun was out, we sat under the sun to massage our feet. Had dinner at the Albergue and it was a really nice lentil soup, salad with spinach quiche, tortilla con patatas and tarta de Santiago. One of the nicest pilgrim meal so far. 

Tomorrow is a 26km day to Portomarrin and its following the stages recommended by the guide book again so I will probably bump into more people