Time Departed: 7.55 am
Time Arrived: 12.15 pm
Distance: 14 kms
Cumulative Distance: 633 kms
Percentage Complete: 79%
Weather: Cold, sunny then cloudy
Accommodation: Hotel O Cebreiro
Feelings: Henk - Good, Neil - Good, Di - Good
We were informed that the electricity would be cut off at the small village where we were staying at 7.30 am. We left our rooms at 7.00 am with our bags packed and left them at the reception for collection. We were keen to have breakfast before the lights went out. At 7.40 am the electricity was cut and the Spanish walkers who arrived by taxi yesterday started singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish. The French joined in and and so did we. We all had the same tune but just different words! It was very funny. It was very dark except for the exit lights above the doorways.
As soon as it started to lighten we set out along the minor road and through the deep valley alongside the small Valcarce River. We soon arrived in the small but pretty village of Vega de Valcarce, the main town in the valley. It had many market gardens between the road and the stream including pumpkins which were huge!
Shortly after we met a lovely NZ couple, Gerrard, Linda and their 15 year old daughter, Juliette. They hired bikes and cycled the Mesata in three days from Burgos to Leon. It took us nine days. We had coffee with them at Herrerias where Juliette was keen to hire a horse to take her to the top. Unfortunately, all the horses were booked. It cost 30 Euros to hire a horse to take a pilgrim from Herrerias to O Cebreiro, a distance of seven kilometres and a climb of 600 metres.
It was a stiff climb for the remainder of the walk which was mostly alongside farms. At one stage we had to stop to allow cattle to move from one paddock to the next.
We had stunning views over the valley below us.
At the very small hilltop village of La Faba we had a short break before climbing higher. Five horses slowly passed us with their relaxed pilgrims! The horses had the yellow arrow of the Camino on their rumps which was very amusing.
At half an hour from our destination of O Cebreiro we walked through the very tiny rural village of Laguna de Castilla. In one of the farm yards was a functional and impressive, old Galician granary.
There was also a palloza which had stone walls and a thatched roof and shelters animals. These are pre-Roman and presumably Celtic in origin. A couple of these have been refurbished in O Cebreiro and are now highly sought-after accommodation.
When we reached the summit of 1300 metres we found O Cebreiro teeming with people as it is a popular tourist destination. Our hotel is very old and our impressive rooms overlook the church and the cobblestone main pedestrian street.
It is also cold and Neil and I are wearing our walking thermal gear to keep warm.
In the evening we found Satya who is an American women in her sixties who lives in Hawaii. She was in the hotel bar having a hot tea to try and warm up. I haven't mentioned Satya before but we have been meeting her frequently since we first met ten days ago at breakfast at Mansilla del los Mulas on Day 26. We enjoy her company a lot and hope to meet up with her in Santiago de Compostela. We also caught up with the Aussies, Phillip and Meredith. They had walked a long 30 kms to O Cebreiro from Villafranca del Bierzo. The seven kilometre climb at the end of the day must have been taxing.
We will spend two nights in O Cebreiro with a rest day tomorrow and then we have seven walking days to Santiago de Compostela. It's going very quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment