Our walk from Sarria to Portomarín on the Camino de Santiago

Our walk from Sarria to Portomarín marked a major turning point on the Camino de Santiago. After days of quiet, reflective walking where we rarely saw other pilgrims except during café stops, the sudden surge of foot traffic came as a surprise. Just past the 100 km marker—the minimum distance required to earn a Compostela—pilgrims of all types filled the path. School groups, walking clubs, families, and fresh-faced first-timers now shared the route with us, bringing a buzz of energy and chatter that changed the rhythm of the day entirely.

We couldn’t help but miss the peaceful solitude of the earlier stretches, where the Camino felt like a private thread through the hills and hamlets of Galicia. But in some ways, the crowd was its own kind of beauty—living proof of how this ancient path continues to call people from all over the world. We still found little moments of quiet between clusters, and of course, familiar joy in our mid-morning stop for a drink and snack in Barbadelo. By the time we crossed the iconic bridge into Portomarín, we were ready to rest—tired from the walk, yes, but also from adjusting to this new, more communal phase of the pilgrimage.