O Cebreiro and Triacastela

I missed the last two nights! Albergues almost always close up at 10:00, with most good pilgrims cozy in their beds by 9:00, feeling righteously judgmental when the party crew arrives in the now dark dorm at 9:50 and tries to surreptitiously open up their sleep bags, brush their teeth, etc. I am always a good pilgrim - except last night when we got to town late, got to a restaurant late, had an extra drink and voilá - WE were the last minute pilgrims. Two nights in a row.

Not tonight though. This introvert needs to hit pause on the social side of things so I’m cozy in my bunk, getting caught up here while the others sit in the sun in front of the bar.

So, we have made our way down the huge drop from Cruz de Ferro, up the big climb that takes you into Galicia and the beautiful stone town O Cebreiro, and today back down the final big drop. Just typical ups and downs from now on.

Tomorrow we will pass Sarria, which will mark the beginning of the end. Lots and lots of people start in Sarria because it’s 100 Km out from Santiago and that’s the minimum distance for the pilgrimage to “count.” Si the vibe tends to shift - we’ll see.

It’s so weird to be saying “we” after my very solo first few weeks, but it does seem that I’m be walking into Santiago with my friends Morne’ and Alejandro. The only real question mark being that one has a bad knee and the other a bad ankle, so we’ll see. Been interesting to balance talking time with alone time, but pretty doable. What happened to my chatter-fleeing self?? I do think I may be able to walk to Finesterre, and if so that will be solo. I think it will feel very good to finish in silence after starting that way.

The big, gnarly Chestnut tree is one I remembered from last time. I knew it was in Gslicia somewhere, and it was so nice to come around a corner and meet up with it again! It felt like meeting a friend.

Today I walked in ahead and found us an albergue, unit remembering until I walked down into the kitchen that we had stayed here before. It made me my miss you Morgan! But look at me, filling the advance scout role!!

The unfolding of a Camino is a rich and mysterious event.En savoir plus