Séptimo día - jueves el 22 del mayo

We walked a quick 4 or 5 km to the town of Sarria and actually sat down for breakfast - tortilla española - and visited for just a few minutes with a couple of other pilgrims there. From Sarria we walked another 15 km (9 mi) to Ferreiros, where we stopped briefly for a snack, encountering Christine and Christina again (of course), and visiting with some Australians. The rest of the way was only another 8 km (5 mi), and we marched that off in fairly short order. We did have some ups and downs, but they were all short and moderate, and we had a good time doing this stretch - most of it under shady trees and on smooth gravel. Even the parts on roads were pleasant, much of it walking beside little stone-fenced cultivated fields.

We were both feeling really strong when we blew in to Portomarín, which we did in the company of Christine and Christina, having caught up with them shortly outside the town. The main albergue was just filled, so we took the first beds in an old school that has apparently been converted into an annex. We showered right away, then strolled out to walk the arcaded (=shaded!) main street.

We met a couple of homeschoolers from California, and sat and talked with them for a while - a father and a couple of kids who were walking with their parish priest. They had started in Burgos and appeared to be having a good time, although the teenagers complained more than once about not having enough fuel for their growing bodies :).

We saw Theo again and visited with him for a few more minutes, then washed clothes (along with every other pilgrim there) and puttered until 19:00, when we went out for a real sit-down supper, our first in a couple of days. As we were sitting there, Brian, one of the Australians we had met earlier in the day, sat down with us and visited mainly with Stanley about environmental topics until we went back to the albergue, which was, of course, by this time completely filled.

Today's walk: 28 km (17 mi). Seven-day total: 213 km (132 mi).

One of the topics of our talk with Theo last night was our having a sense of connection with all the pilgrims who have walked and who are now walking the Camino. Stanley and I talked about that for a while starting out this morning. We both have some sense of that fellowship, even though we agree that neither of us is at all mystical or anything of that sort. It certainly puts a different perspective on the walk - even walking Hadrian's Wall in England, with its 2000 years of history, I didn't get the same sense of community that I got here.
 

Here's a recipe for tortilla española. It's quite easy to make, although apparently it's a lot easier to make in a special pan which, judging from its name, allows you to flip it to cook the other side with no risk of dropping it on the kitchen floor. Also, instead of cooking the potatoes in oil, I sliced and parboiled them, then just added them to the eggs, essentially skipping steps 3-5. It was always served to us sliced into pie-shaped wedges.
 

Finished Product		Ingredients		Preparation
		6 small potatoes, peeled 1 small chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, chopped (optional) 6 eggs enough olive oil to cook the potatoes (including 2 tablespoons to cook the tortilla itself in) salt and pepper		1. Slice the potatoes into very thin slices. 2. Add olive oil to a deep 10" frying pan, then add the potatoes, chopped garlic, and chopped onions. 3. Make sure there is enough oil to cover potatoes. 4. Saute uncovered until the potatoes are soft, but not brown. 5. Drain the oil off, reserving a couple of tablespoons. 6. A little before the potatoes are cooked, mix the eggs and milk. 7. When the potatoes are cooked and drained, add them to the eggs and milk mixture. 8. Season the mix with salt and pepper and let sit for 10-15 minutes. 9. Heat a non-stick frying and add the two tablespoons of olive oil. 10. Add the potato and egg mixture and cook on low heat until the egg is set. It will probably still be runny on top. 11. (Tricky step) Flip the tortilla. Use a large plate or pot lid. Place it over the frying pan, flip the pan to plop the tortilla onto the plate, then slide the tortilla cooked side up back onto the frying pan to finish cooking, just a couple of minutes longer. 12. Remove from heat and let the tortilla rest for 15 minutes before serving, either warm or at room temperature.

And for our German-speaking friends, a very similar recipe off the web, with a small joke added:
Das Basisrezept des Tortilla-Klassikers:

150 ml Olivenöl
1kg große Kartoffeln festkochend, geschält in dünnen Scheiben geschnitten
2 TL Salz
6 Eier

Die Kartoffelscheiben in Olivenöl wenden und 15-20 Minuten bei schwacher Hitze in einer Pfanne braten. Überschüssiges Öl abgießen und Kartoffeln abkühlen lassen. Eier mit 1TLSalz schaumig rühren und unter die abgekühlten Kartoffelscheibchen heben. Kartoffel-Eimasse in erhitztes Öl geben und in der Pfanne glattstreichen. Bei kleiner Hitze langsam bräunen. Mit Hilfe eines Tellers oder eines Deckels die Tortilla wenden und die andere Seite gemächlich anbraten. Das Wenden der Tortilla erfordert einige Übung. Misslingt dies, kein Problem - dann gibt es eben deutsche Bratkartoffeln mit Ei!

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