Some sections of Spain's Camino de Santiago feel made for Instagram; a stretch between Samos and Sarria feels made for the soul. On day 29 of a long walk that has now passed 414 miles, two hikers left Samos under a clearing storm and walked into what long-distance walkers call the 'green tunnel' — a sunken lane worn so deep into the earth by centuries of pilgrim feet that mossy walls rise around 12 feet on either side, topped by a dense canopy of ancient chestnut trees. A fellow walker from Oxford, five Caminos into his hiking career, identified it as a Holloway: an ancient track gradually swallowed by the landscape.
The morning began quietly. After sleeping through thunder in a rooftop room overlooking Samos's vast monastery, the pair walked a few miles of quiet road before the route turned onto a forested path lined with rock walls and huge chestnut groves. Sunlight filtered humid through the leaves, and the fence alongside the trail was dotted with small stick crosses woven in by pilgrims over the years.
Not every mile is solitary. Around midmorning, their trail friends — 'tramily' in hiker slang — Jill and Robert caught up, and the pair of hamlets between Foxos and Aguiada passed quickly over quiet country roads. Foxos itself is the kind of place that makes the Camino charming: medieval farmhouses, old barns and a historic church, though notably no public water source when you need one.
Then came the shift. Rejoining the main Camino Frances near Sarria changes everything. Pilgrims only need to walk the final 100 kilometres to earn the official Compostela certificate, and with a weekend starting, the trail filled with day-trippers and new starters. The mood went from intimate to touristy in an instant — worth knowing if you're planning your own final week.
Sarria itself made up for it: a hillside medieval town of narrow cobblestone streets, where the night's lodgings — a triangular flat-iron stone building with two-foot-thick walls, modern interiors and balconies over a lively street — ranked among the trip's favourites. The evening's highlight was simpler still: a grocery run and a giant home-cooked meal, the first fresh ingredients in weeks.
With Santiago now close, the walkers are extending their plans: after the cathedral city, they'll continue to Finisterre on the Atlantic coast — traditionally 'the end of the world' — before looping back and heading south along the Portuguese routes.
For anyone considering the Camino, this leg is a good preview. The Samos alternative offers atmosphere and history at a gentler pace, but the last stretch into Sarria shows the crowds you'll share the final 100 km with — and why starting earlier in the morning, or walking in a quieter season, makes a real difference.
