Day 34 O’Cebreiro

Although a short, 8.2km day, the steep climb (626m) through the valleys and mainly chestnut woodland made the arrival of the picturesque village of O’Cebreiro a welcome sight. Prior to leaving Las Herrerías at 8:30 am we were given weather warnings for the area from our travel company, but we experienced beautiful, sunny temperatures most of the day, until arriving in OCebreiro, close to 2:00 pm.
We entered the province of Galicia today. When the westerly winds across the Atlantic hit these mountains, you can expect an immediate change in weather with frequent rain showers and thunderstorms, and we experienced all of that today.
This is farming country that includes horse riding up the trail, dairy cattle, sheep, chicken, pig, geese farming, and donkeys grazing. We witnessed some of the most beautiful scenery on the Camino today. And all small, family farms with lush, pastures and intimate fields. The country side is reminiscent of what we would see around the Cabot Trail without the ocean. I have included photos but unsure if they can do it justice.
Today’s walk was essentially an 8 km steep climb with three small villages along the way. We stopped at was once a monastery at La Faba, at Iglesia San Andre where monks, even now, on occasion, wash people’s feet at certain times of the year. At the cafe there, we were greeted with whistling sounds in the back room, reminding me of Denis Alain, when, all of a sudden out pops the waiter, the spitting image of Shea, Denis’s son. Another Canadian couple , Val and Jamie, from Collingwood, Ontario shared an experience they had yesterday off the beaten track, when an elderly, Spanish couple invited them into their humble home for a piece of chestnut cake. There is a striking contrast here between the simplicity, poverty even, of the people’s existence and the richness of their lives. It seems like they would give their last bit of food just to make others happy. Val and Jamie had a bit of an encounter with wild boars, a sow and her piglets, on the way back to the trail but nothing of any consequence. As Jamie was telling me the story of the sow, he noticed my Blue Jay reminding him of a statement from a guy last week who said, “Have you seen the Canadian guy wearing the Blue Jays hat?”
Tonight we will be joining our friends, Doug and Jean and Kathy and Laurel for a 6:00 pm dinner reservation, the first time we’ve been able to get one so early.Читать далее