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| O'Cebreiro - a bit tacky & souvenir-y but still a cool village |
The town I stayed in last night, Villafranca, sets the pilgrim up nicely with a choice of how to tackle climbing the mountain 28.6kms distant - O'Cebreiro. One can walk a pleasant short day along the road, stopping at any number of villages, then hitting the mountain refreshed in the morning. The other way would be to do it in one exhausting go, staying at an albergue or hostal at the top after a long day. Or, you can make the crazy choice like I did, and throw another mountain into the mix, just for kicks.
Last time through I walked the road route, thinking I wasn't fit enough for the Pradela route, and hating pavement as much as I do, I vowed to tackle the 'scenic' route this time round. Somehow I never really registered the facts my guidebook noted: 36.1kms adjusted for climb, and an additional 1300' ascent AND descent...
I made sure I had an early start - 6:20am, for the day's adventures. I crossed the bridge out of town, found my route deviation, and "whack" right in the face was a road so steep I could have blown my nose on it. As much as I like hills, this was suicide. Luckily, it only lasted a few 100' feet till it smoothed out to a nose-bleed climb, and I was immediately looking far below on the poor pilgrims slogging along the road route.
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| Those are pilgrims walking waaay down there |
The advantage was that I was once again out in the wilderness...kinda. I passed some abandoned small stonewall-enclosed fields that must have grown something at sometime, and the trail was actually a poor excuse for a road that eventually led up to a series of powerlines and radio tower. But I was up in the forest again and it is wonderful. The views are just incredible: the sun is just breaking on the mountains across the valley from me but I'm still walking in pre-dawn light in the heather, broom and all my favorite plants. I can easily see the attraction of being a hermit in a place like this: nothing but nature, solitude, and beauty. If only the job came with wi-fi, hot showers & central heating!
Aha, I found the sun! It was waiting for me at top of the mountain. It crested the far horizon as I watched, welcoming another beautiful day and bathing me in it's heat (hint: hot day ahead!)
The total length of my mountain deviation route was only 10.7kms but I had 2+ hours of peace and solitude before I rejoined the road route. What I didn't think on beforehand, was that what goes up, must come down...and steeply. Very steeply. Par for the course these days.
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| I have to descent down to that highway waaay down there |
I had my morning coffee stop, then joined the long line of pilgrims snaking along the road. In shady bend of road I came across my 3 new Spanish friends from last night (they took me out for beer): Vincente, Cesar, and Miguel, having an impromptu beer and bocadillo. At 10am! The Spanish know how to live! They just joined the Camino yesterday in Ponferrada, and want to get to Santiago by Saturday afternoon so they can watch a soccer game...
I wish I could capture audio here, there's a pilgrim walking behind me belting out what sounds like "When The Saints Come Marching In" in Spanish. At least when I sing I make sure no one is within earshot.. :)
For almost 7kms we trudge beside the highway, separated only by a metal guardrail. We finally move over to a quiet country road that passes thru 4 little villages. It's quite lovely when there are trees overhanging the road for shade, otherwise it's a hot, sweaty day.
I bought some picnic supplies along the way, but waited until the last village before the ascent to eat - savoring the rest and the energy boost. Vicente came along shortly, followed by Cesar & Miguel, who was already reduced to walking in his crocs, so I had lunch with my new amigos.
It turns out I have a new walking companion, I call him ''Bill". He's a blister on my left heel the size of Texas, ergo earning the right have his own name. He's threatened to visit for weeks, and now with the elevation and sweaty extremities, he's finally made his appearance. I don't mind tremendously, blisters are just pain, or weakness seeping out, as I'm told. I can walk thru pain...I think.
I prepared Bill for the steep 8kms hike up O'Cebreiro. He complained that we had planned to stay in La Faba, just 3kms away, but it was only 12:45pm so I popped him in the mouth and kept motoring all the way up.
I must admit that I'm a bit of a powerhouse on the ascents. Show me a hill and I buckle down and go for it, even 30 'k's' into the day I've been the fastest on the climb; it's the only way I can get it over with... Good thing too as today's walk had the essence of the Calzada Romana over Fonfria. Big stones, steep walk, and when is it going to end? (well, 8kms later).
The views down over the valley were amazing, I had to keep reminding myself to lift my sweat-streaming reddened face to look at the view. This part of the world (we crossed into the province of Galicia today) is absolutely stunning. They say it has closer ties to Ireland than Spain; with it's culture, language, and rainfall! This is the section I've been most looking forward to seeing again.
I had intended to stay at the albergue here in town but I met with a pilgrim friend, Mickey from Kelowna, 100m before the building, who said that there were 40 backpacks lined up outside and it was questionable whether I'd get in. We were standing outside the little hotel he booked into with his brother, so I turned to the chap standing beside me and asked if he wanted to share a room at the same place. (€45) The poor guy is probably only 23 years old and am sure he blushed madly but come on, we all've been sharing very basic, unisex accommodation for weeks, this had 2 double beds and a bathroom you could hold a party in! I should have asked first if he snored....
The village is rather touristy, as seen from the pic above, and they get busloads of tourists each day but it is still rather quaint, with nicely renovated stone buildings with slate tile and a few thatched roofs.
7pm and I'm having a nice cold cervesa, typing up my blog, waiting for my 3 amigos to show up for dinner.
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| Canuck friends: Mickey, Andre, Sheena, Rob |
It actually turned out that there were 6 Spanairds and me for dinner, but it was fun. The guys translated as best they could but as 2 were from the Basque country, the language was even a bit beyond them.
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| Miguel, me, Rita, Vincente, Cesar (foreground), and ? |
There's lots of pilgrim friends here - the 2 young sisters from Hamilton, 2 ladies from Calgary, AnnaMarie from Finland, Alex from 2 nights ago, Mickey & his brother, Buckey & Chrissy from Alabama, and my 3 new amigos. The Camino is wonderful for establishing quick comraderies ...
Thanks, Allison
Sent from my iPhone
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