Odds and Ends from Sarria

Hey big brother, hope the coffee is on because I´ve got a few stray thoughts and descriptions from Spain.

First, I took the long way around from Triacastela to Sarria in order to visit the Monastery of Samos. Since the 6th century, it has been constantly in use for monastic observance--for the last thousand years by Benedictines and an associated order of nuns. One building actually dates from the 8th century, but the extensive complex underwent major additions in the 16th and 18th centuries. There are still over 100 nuns and brothers in the facility. They venerate, among others, Saints Julian and Basilisa; they were a married couple who observed strict chastity. Some historians have suggested that the saints were meant to inform this mixed-sex facility.

Now for just stuff:
EVENINGS--every day, you walk until two, three, or four o´clock until you reach the hostel. After showers and clothes washing, a strange ritual takes place. We hold an informal, de facto Walter Brennan walk-alike contest. You remember Walter Brennan--Grandpa McCoy--"To Have and Have Not"? He had, as he described it in "The Real McCoys, "a hitch in the git-along." Everyone staggers around, favoring one knee or another, or trying to nurse a blister on one foot or another. The result is a comic display of silly walks--to say nothing of the groans to get into or out of a chair. Well, you try walking 13 to 15 miles a day for a month and see what happens.

BEER--is cheaper than Coke. No, really. A 12 to 14 ounce glass of beer costs 1 euro. A .20 liter Coke (I´m not sure what that is in ounces, but it´s less than 6) in a glass with one cube of ice sets you back 1.20 to 2 euros. Additionally, they drink beer with lemonade in it here. No kidding; lots of folks order a beer/lemonade mix that comes in a huge glass for about 1.50. I haven´t been brave enough to try it, but my Danish friend, Hans, says it´s the only way to drink beer.

WAITERS--have a kind of strange ritual of pretending not to want to be paid. The first time that I bought lunch in a cafe, I immediately held out a 10 euro bill, and the woman at the bar looked shocked and offended. She took the money, but handed me change along with a hurt expression. The second time that I tried the same thing, a man simply refused payment. I wandered to a table a bit confused and ate a rapid, unsettling lunch. Here´s how it´s supposed to work. You´re supposed to sit down. Eat. Relax. Talk. Go to the bathroom. Sit some more. Then, and only then, you suddenly remember, just as you´re leaving, to offer payment as an afterthought.

I´m on my way to visit the church and monastery here in Sarria. Tomorrow, 22 km and Portomarin for a Templar church. ¡Buen Camino!