Someone wished me “Ultreia” on the Camino today. It’s a special greeting among pilgrims, in Latin, with a historic meaning along the lines of, “go beyond.”

The much more common day-to-day greeting for pilgrims on the Camino is “Buen Camino.” Google Translate insipidly renders this as, “Good Way,” but what it really means is, “Happy Camino.”

Peregrinos hear this from other pilgrims, often as a polite way of saying, “let me get past you,” but also from non-pilgrims, who seem genuinely supportive. In traffic, cars will sometimes honk in support.

In my 40+ years of world travel, Americans are rarely regarded in such high esteem.

The hike into Sarria was a long, steady climb through forests and rolling hills. It was cold most of the day—in the 50s F.

The city is known as a convergence point for peregrinos from all over the world. Many start their Camino here to complete the final 111 km over 6 days.

Unlike many cities on the Camino, Sarria is actually growing. There is no amazing architecture here—just a ruined castle from the Middle Ages, but the city itself has pre-Roman Celtic roots.

The Galician language is said to have some elements of Gaelic, and the landscape in places is similar to Ireland and Scotland.

I haven’t heard them yet, but there are bagpipes here.

Tomorrow is a 23 km hike to Portomarin. Saving my last dose of cold medicine for the albergue, so I don’t keep everyone awake.