Requejo de Sanabria - Lubián 19 km

I had a great sleep, one of the best on the camino so far, the albergue was warm and comfortable, it was definitely one of the best I had stayed in, and the hospitalera was so nice and friendly. I always pack my bag the night before and try to be as quiet as possible in the morning but as I was stripping my bed (as instructed by the hospitalera) I was worried that I had woken up Mirjam in the bunk next to me but she assured me later that I hadn't.

I was leaving early because there was a lot of uncertainty about the path ahead. The guidebooks all warned about diversions on this section due to the AVE high speed rail construction. The guidebook advised obeying diversion signs and I encountered several but clear directions were given at each point, and in the distance across the valley I could see the tunnels for the trainline exiting the mountain. However, as I left the sleeping beauties in the albergue, I had no idea what lay ahead for us so I wanted to go ahead of them so that I could report back about any diversions or roadblocks.

The first part of the walk was all on the road and all uphill. The ascent on this section is 535 metres but the road smooths some of that out, trading steepness for length so the first 6 km was all uphill, but not too steep. I wore the trainers I bought in Salamanca until I got to that point and then changed into my boots. Off-road the path continued on uphill for at least another 2.2 km reaching the pass at A Canda, at 1365m it is the highest point on the Camino Sanabrés and the Via de la Plata.

Just another 1.5 km away was the town of Padornelo, and the camino path went right past a café, so of course I stopped for a coffee. The café was well stocked with provisions of jamón and cheese and wine, so, all the essentials. Just a little bit along the road was a petrol station with a shop so I stopped there and restocked with water. As I waited to cross at a junction the driver of a huge truck blocked all the traffic so I could cross safely, I waved my thanks.

As I was walking through the countryside I found a post with a yellow arrow on the ground, it looked like someone had torn it down. I dragged it along the path a bit then propped it up so that the arrow was pointing in the right direction. Just five minutes later I discovered that the path was partially blocked, someone, probably the landowner had put wire and rope across it. I double checked the map to make sure I was on the right path, and then climbed over the wire and kept going.

Once again I was the first to arrive at the albergue, the cleaning lady was there and she showed me around, she was lovely and we had a good chat. Great toilets and showers, so after showering, changing and getting my washing hung out, I went in search of supplies. when I returned I found that more pilgrims had arrived, a girl from Latvia striking blond hair and lots of tattoos, and...all the snorers. After thinking about it for a few minutes I went up to the private albergue where Meg and Kathleen were staying and booked a room, then went back and got all my stuff except my washing, I could get that later.

I met Meg and Kathleen for lunch, it was my treat for Meg because it was her birthday today, she was...well a gentleman never tells. Anne and Mirjam had picked wild flowers for her, and surrounded them with her favourite snack bar, they are such lovely thoughtful people. We had all agreed to meet later to toast Meg's birthday with a glass of wine, we even had some ice cream, and it was lovely to have Jeanette and Arno there as well.

As we drew nearer to Santiago it became clear that we might not have much time left together as a group as we all had to be in Santiago on different days in order to travel to our respective homes or other holiday destinations. I was determined to savour each moment with each one of these lovely humans who were no longer strangers but who were becoming the dearest of friends.Läs mer