Monastery to Lumbier- hard but wow!

25 km and 550 m elevation, what could be so hard about that? I left the monastery at 7:15 in the morning and arrived at my hotel around 4:30. I think this is the hardest day I have ever walked. But so worth it.

Padre Ramón sent me off with a blessing and told me to come back. The first 7 or 8 km were great – wide tracks, great views, gentle ascents. And then it changed. I knew that I was going to be walking up on the cliffs. I knew it was going to be hard. It was harder than I expected, that’s for sure.

There were so many steep rocky ups and downs that I lost track. I must’ve shortened and lengthened my polls at least 30 times today. There were three or four spots where I had to take off my pack and hoist it up onto a rock above me and then figure out how to get my body up there. Clare, I needed you! Then there was a short stretch with a chain that I had to pull myself up with. After the first step, I just stood there and couldn’t figure out what to do. But then I studied the rocks, readjusted my feet, and up I went. Very slowly, but with continuous movement.

This route took me on the cliffs where there were raptors aplenty. Two “ojos” (eroded holes in the rocks) were highlights. I had a good rest at one of them, chatting with a bunch of Spaniards who were going in the opposite direction.

After successfully navigating the chain, I somehow lost the trail. My wikiloc tracks will give you a chuckle. My strategy when this happens is to go back to the point where I knew I was right and try again. Three or four attempts, and I was finally on the right path. The long descent down to the river was hard, but the real challenges were over.

When I got to the bottom, I was in the town where I plan to spend the night, but I had not yet walked through the Foz (gorge?) that extends for about one and a half kilometers. So I got to see it twice, once in each direction. I have walked through a fair number of gorges on different Caminos, but I can’t think of any that was more spectacular than this one. Lots of raptors flying around, imposing, multicolored cliffs, really awesome.

When I emerged at the parking lot, I was delighted to see that my hotel was only about 2 km away. I was dragging by the time I got here, but after a good shower and washing my clothes, I felt re-energized. A short trip up to the center of town to get some fruit and nuts, and now I am sitting outside and have just ordered stuffed eggplant, sea bass, and chocolate soufflé with cherry ice cream. I need the calories, don’t I?!Okumaya devam et