Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro
We had breakfast in the hotel and left around 7:30 am. It was raining so we put on our ponchos and headed out.
Today’s leg started with us walking up a narrow canyon with a river running through the middle. It was lovely and the trail followed a very gentle slope. With it being a cool, overcast (and at times rainy) day, the moss on the rocks was a vibrant green and occasionally we smelled the smoke from neighboring fireplaces. Jim made a comment how he would like to bundle up in front of one.
Yes, the first 10 miles were idyllic. Spoiler Alert: The last five miles went straight up in mud, rock, and cow dung.
About five miles into the trail, we stopped and had coffee and a tortilla. We ran into Banff (Canadian #2) and his daughter and visited with them for awhile. I think I have mentioned this, but they are booking rooms about three days in advance. It provides flexibility in a case you want to change plans due things like weather or injury. We are booked in all of our hotels for the entire Camino so have very little flexibility. The downside of booking three days out is that rooms are not always available. They’re going a little further than we are today because there’s no accommodations where we stopped. He mentioned that a couple of days ago pilgrims needed to sleep on a church floor as no rooms were available. We most likely will not see them again because of our scheduling differences. As I mentioned, the last five miles were a tougher haul. It was raining and the trail became much steeper. We were no longer walking on a paved trail, but hiking in mud. This is a very rural area and cows and horses share the Camino with us. And let’s just say they are not potty trained. And although it was a more strenuous climb, the views got more beautiful as we gained elevation. Also, we are officially in Galicia! This is the last region of Spain we will be walking through, and it’s the region that Santiago de Compostella is in.
We got to today’s destination at the summit of the hill we had been climbing all day. Jim said, “Before we walk much further, let’s find out where the hotel is so we don’t get too far from it.” We looked it up and it was a 48 minute walk away. Wait. WHAT? We looked at the fine print on our reservation and we were supposed to call the hotel to arrange a transfer. Or we could walk. I pulled out my phone and a taxi picked us up, we checked in, had a delicious lunch.
Overall it was a great day. We hiked 18.2 miles, our moving time five hours and 55 minutes and the ascent was 2,626 feet. Tomorrow we head to Triacastela.
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AuthorsGreg and James live in Pleasanton in Northern California and are on a pilgrimage on the Camino De Santiago in Spain. Their adventures are captured in this blog. Archives
October 2021
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