Windy and Rainy Walk to Triacastela

Today we walked 22 km or so to Triacastela. It was super windy and quite rainy at times. The trail was beautiful, sometimes through farmland and sometimes through the woods. It was pretty cold, especially when our gloves and shoes and hats got wet. I’m not an expert on wind speed but the gusts up on top of the ridge today were hard enough to knock us off balance!

We stopped for hot chocolate and a sandwich when our fingers were getting super cold. It helped a lot!

We saw a few cows out grazing but many cows were in their barns in the little villages. We were surprised to see the pilgrim monument we took a picture of. Poor pilgrim looks like he’s been fighting the wind since the Middle Ages.

We were glad to get out of O Cebreiro. It’s cute but it’s a place that has a “we don’t really like pilgrims” vibe. The innkeepers and residents were not friendly at all. I kept waking up at 4, then 5, then 6 because I was anxious to leave. Triacastela is cute and our Belgian innkeepers are nice!

Can you believe that tomorrow night we’ll be in Sarría, the starting point for 100 km pilgrimages? We have to be sure to get two dated stamps in our pilgrim’s credentials each day to qualify for a compostela, a certificate of completion, at the end of our Camino. It should not be hard; each day we’ll get a stamp at our lodging place and at any bar (coffee shop) or church we stop at. The distance markers we are seeing are now in the 130 km range! In Galicia, the markers are very precise, measuring the distance to Santiago in thousandths of kilometers, which means each marker tells you the precise number of meters to St. James’ tomb in Santiago.

Edit: Here in Triacastela we are in such a nice pension (inn). We just went out for a wonderful dinner (for 13€ each we got first course, second course, water, wine for me, and dessert). David’s been fun, joking and having a great time, and I’m having a great time with him. Still, sitting by the fire at the inn before we go up to our room he asked, “What country are we in again?” We choose to be upbeat and joyful in spite of our challenges but sometimes it’s hard to watch his cognitive abilities slip away 😢.Read more