Triacastela > Portomarin

Via Rio Cowpie Milkshake...
Holy Crap...I mean, literally.
We had a wonderful, sunfilled ride from Triacastela via Samos, although with a late start, we slept in until 8am!
OhMyGawd! I'm sure!
We ride own a river mostly, farms, trees, cool paths, a very lovely old mill, we took lots of photos, including another burro co-existing with a long horn. The burro would bug the longhorn until she whipped her head about, then use her horns for precise scratching opportunities. The burro was in the field at the monastery in Samos, a very old (6th century) monastery, that took both nuns and priests, and was run by a married couple of virgins.
Hmmmm. Yearly checkups?
It was very beautiful, located in the curve of the river..as we were watching, a nun came out with a flock of chickens, but we missed the photo opp. One thing about Spain, eggs are in almost every meal, but chicken is very rare to find in a dish.
We got picnic stuff, our first sunny, warm, nice day, and stop at a peregrino picnic site on the river..lovely. Wine, fresh bread, pate, cucumber, tomatoes, chorizo, salami, chocolate, cherries, yummers.
Don't fret, Cowpie approacheth...
Now, you recall we are pounding the kilometers away, and discussed a possibility of 'Taking it Easy'...I mean, no use getting to Santiago a week ahead of time...Right!?
SOMEBODY decides that since we slept in, we should press on until 6 or 7pm, it is light until 10pm here..
I mean, why not? Everyone else except your faithful writer goes along with this, an apparently collective brainfart causing the memory of the ENTIRE time here in Spain, the last two weeks...
Rain starts at 4pm.
So in Sarria, at 4pm, after 30km....they, not we, decide to press on...
I say.."uh, why? 30km not enough?"
"You all forget the places fill up this late, we'll have to press on until Portomarin...22km farther?"
Out of Sarria we have a 200 meter climb, followed in 10km or so by another 50 meter climb, then the descent to Portomarin. The rain starts just up the hill from Sarria.
5km out, just about halfway up the hill, we are soaked. It gets worse...the trails the Camino use are also used by...cows.
As Tom points out..."that ain't mud".
The rain continues....now it is after 6pm, the cows are coming home...one woman is driving five of them up the trail and they are balking at passing us..the first is resisting, she is in the rear, yelling in Spanish..the fourth one wheelies onto the third, as if her udder was another utensil, and drives them right past, mounted the whole way. All of us are laughing, including the old woman, and because of the driving rain, alas, no photos. We bounce, bash, and splash up and down creekbed/trails
Now, the descent begins...rivers of cowpie milkshake are flowing down the trail, I mean, 6" deep, rocks, muck, indescribably toxic goo. Where it was level was worse, foot deep muck, you did NOT want to put your feet down, falling over was out of the question...Now it is 8pm...still raining, muck, gravel, rocks, bicycles...all flowing downhill...nobody crashes, thank Santiago!
Finally Dad bails, he and Ann take a chance and try a paved road, Tom, Brian, and I keep bashing down the riverbed/trail...I did get a photo and a movie of one section, but on my little Canon, which I can't resize the photos on, the Nikon has in-camera editing/resizing, but I am not taking it out!
10pm, we roll...squishingly...into Portomarin. I am a bit upset, it was an adventure, yes, and fun, ok...but completely un-necessary.
52km, left at 10am, got in at 10pm. We just barely find a restaurant open for dinner, and collapse into bed after midnight.
We call this...
Taking it Easy.