Day 28: Villafranca - O Cebreiro

Two of the most feared words on the Camino; BED BUGS. We woke up to a fair bit of excitement, with some recognising a bug or two as bed bugs. Notoriously difficult to get rid of, and apparently going around the region at the moment, everyone was a little tense this morning. After a team meeting we decided to head down to the laundromat to wash and dry our clothes with a lot of heat. We also bought and and body spray.

A few hours later we hit the road, which was certainly not ideal given the 27kms and the massive mountain at the end to climb. The walk itself was quite nice, with rain all day as a companion. We took shelter for lunch in a car port next to the supermarket and relieved Tina of the red wine she had been carrying all day! The owner of the house even drove up and was super nice, insisting we stay.

I stopped off at a beautiful little church and prayed there for a while, then walked off to town. I had thought we were staying at the foot of the mountain, given how late it was (and how rainy), but when I called Ruben to ask about which albergue he said they were halfway up the mountain! 8kms, 700m incline, in the pouring rain, with only 2 hours till sunset. While I wondered at the wisdom of that decision, off I set. This was some of the hardest 2 hours I've ever done. Praying for strength and having a lot of time to make up, I resolved not to take a break.

Legs, lungs and heart on fire, I was incredibly happy to see everyone else and walk together in the pouring rain. Everyone was also at the limit which made it pretty special, some people singing, intermittent yelling, and genuinely hugs when we reached the albergue.

Mass was at 6pm, just as we walked in the door, so everyone let me check in first and duck out. I was glad I did, mass was special. The site of a famous Eucharistic miracle and mass with a lovely Franciscan. We got a lovely stone with a yellow arrow as part of the pilgrim blessing, capping off a challenging but very memorable day.Read more