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Vilar de Barrio

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    • TravelerCamino Sanabrés
      11
      Day 14

      Day 50 - Xunqueira - 15 km

      November 9, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

      Weather: 8 - 14 degrees and predicted rain ☔️

      But it didn’t rain 🙏🙏🌈

      Today the walk is around the edge of what is called an ‘agricultural plain’. It’s green and flat with open green fields and copses of mainly Birch trees. From the look of the Birch groves I think the trees are grown and harvested for fuel. I thought I would be walking across this plain but the route is more around the edge in the foothills. So plenty of beautiful pathways and plenty of short ascents and descents.
      At a village early in the morning there was a sign to an archeological site of a castle. I walked up the short steep road and found a picnic site overlooking the whole valley. Definitely the best place for a castle but any remains are probably still beneath the soil.
      There is definitely evidence of a milder wetter climate - more small villages to pass through, and many more vegetable and flower gardens in and around the villages.
      In one village there were a lot of renovated corn storage ‘houses’. These little houses are on legs to keep the rats away from the grain.
      And I saw my first communal laundry - lavadera - beautifully restored. When I walked in Portugal we actually saw a couple of local women using their communal laundry. The women said they felt famous around the world because all the pilgrims took photos of them.
      The rest of the walk was along old roads and tracks through that beautiful Galician mixed forest. I completely took my time and stopped many times to just be with the landscape.
      I arrived at my destination at 1.30 pm. The Albergue is the first building as you enter the village (and well sign posted). As usual the door is open. I am so grateful to the Galician government for providing these amazing Refugios.
      Soon after I arrived two women arrived - one was Luna, the Korean woman from a couple of weeks ago, with a new friend, a German woman who lived in Spain for 15 years and is married to a Spanish man. It’s so funny when people who I think are ahead of me suddenly turn up again.
      When I went to look for lunch it looked like this small village has an early siesta - but I eventually found somewhere open for a vino and empanada. That kept me going for a while.
      Later I went to the shop with the ‘girls’ and on the way back saw the church was open. There were two women reciting prayers. It was good to sit and listen. At first I felt restless and like I didn’t belong but after a while something settled and became quiet. When they were done they went out another door and I followed into the church courtyard. I found them in a room where they put a stamp in my Credential. I walked back to the albergue feeling a bit different - somehow strengthened and more myself at the same time. A lovely ending to the day.

      Buen Camino

      PS: It was really hard choosing photos for today. Too many interesting and beautiful sites.

      Reflection on connection
      I love to stop often and for longer periods to actually connect with the bit of country I am standing on - to say hello to the landscape, the trees and bushes and grass; to allow the landscape to enter my being.
      On the days I hurry on (distance, weather, my frame of mind) I don’t feel as good - like I’ve missed something important, ignored an important relationship.
      The three French people from yesterday said that they walk longer distances because they get bored hanging around small villages. That made sense yesterday - but today I realised I could take a very long time not going very far and have an incredibly interesting time. 😂
      We are all different.      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Sanabrés
      Day 13

      Day 49 - Vilar de Barrio - 19.2 km

      November 8, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

      Weather: 11 - 14 degrees. Rain predicted
      Clothes: the usual - but it’s not as cold so will see how I end up.

      Rain, rain and rain
      The early morning started out with no rain - which made it easy to get to the Bar for coffee and toast.
      Then just out of town a drizzle (put on the rain poncho) and then for the first time real rain drops - then REAL rain - till midday.
      But what a blessing that there was no wind and it’s quite warm. My glasses got wet and foggy so at one point I think I just walked through all the puddles instead of around them. My feet, shoes and socks were soaked - sloshing around in my boots. Eventually I took my glasses off so I could see where I was stepping.
      And to top it all off most of the morning was a very steep uphill. Phew!!! But the scenery was beautiful - yet again. 😄
      I finally got to the village of Albergueria where there’s an amazing Bar and Albergue in an old renovated building. The Bar is decorated with Camino shells with the names of the pilgrims that have passed through.
      Hot chocolate and my first proper empanada, and I realised I could continue on to Vilar de Barrio. There were a couple of younger men stopping there to dry out as well.
      I had given myself permission to stop here if needed but apart from being wet around the legs and feet, and a bit damp in the body (my poncho wasn’t as waterproof as I would have hoped in the heavy rain) and a bit crampy in one shoulder, I felt fine and with enough energy to do the final 7 km - down hill!
      Another bonus was that rain had stopped and it looked like it was finished for the day. If it has still been raining I definitely would have stopped.
      The last part of the walk was as beautiful as the first and it seemed no time at all before I reached my destination.
      I had lunch (salmon with lovely baked veges which was a bit unusual) before finding the albergue and shared the washing machine with three French people who arrived just as I was putting some washing on.
      Later one French man was doing some yoga in the afternoon which spurred me on to join him. I can’t remember when I last did some stretches.
      The municipal Albergues in Galicia are pretty luxurious: brand new, solid bunks, warm, washing machines and dryers, kitchen. The only thing they don’t have is blankets so a sleeping bag is needed.
      I finished the day having a drink with the French trio while they ate their dinner. They went to a little cafe run by an ‘old lady’. It was like being in her home kitchen - and the food was plain but excellent.
      Tomorrow is a short day so absolutely no hurrying for any part of the day.

      Buen Camino.

      P.S. Last night the Taiwanese pilgrim at the albergue roasted some chestnuts she had collected along the way. They were delicious and the four of us - her friend Juan and my friend Juan and me - had a lovely night. The other two spoke English and my Juan got to have a long Spanish conversation with the other Juan rather than struggling with me in English.      Read more

    • TravelerVia de la Plata - Spain
      Day 49

      D44 to Vilar de Barrio

      April 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

      A pretty good 🆙 this morning.
      A little preoccupied today with getting to the end/finding space after my longer upcoming days. I am insecure when I know that I will get in later and not def have a reserved space. I thought it was getting crowded again becase some of the call’s I made, everything was booked. But showed up in my albergue tonight (which you can’t reserve) an it looks like I’m the only one here 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️… but I do think I have it all figured to Santiago.Read more

    • Norman GrahamCamino Via de la Plata 2022
      Day 37

      Laza - Villar de Barrio 20 km

      June 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      I woke early but just lay in bed for a while listening to Kathleen's gentle snoring, weirdly I never found her snoring annoying, in fact I always thought that it was kind of relaxing and I was genuinely happy that she was getting a deep sleep. I guess a key issue in dealing with snoring is how you feel about the person, and I felt nothing but good things towards Kathleen, she's a treasure.

      I was only walking 20km today so I was in no hurry, and the albergue in Villar de Barrio didn't open until 1300. Today's walk was going to be a challenge, as there was a mountain with a very steep ascent in between Laza and Villar, and I still had some anxieties about ascents, which in this case totaled 690m. However, today I was to experience another camino miracle.

      I had walked about 3km when I saw another peregrino in the distance, and I happened to notice something falling off their mochila. I quickened my pace and got to the spot and there on the ground was a woolly hat, so I quickened my pace again until I was in shouting distance of its owner. He stopped and waited until I got to him and was overjoyed to have his hat returned, as he was quite bald. So, we walked together and got to know each other a bit. His name was Ougo he was a retired surgeon from Bologna, he was 73. I noticed a dressing on his knee and asked if he was ok, he said yes but he was very upset as his knee was no longer stable enough to allow him to continue mountaineering, his great passion. He had been mountaineering and walking the alps since he was a boy, but all he could do now was walk caminos. He was coming back in July to walk the Norte with his wife. I felt like a total wimp by comparison, moaning about every hill.

      After an hour we arrived at the base of the mountain and began our ascent of its steep slope. After about 30 minutes, Ougo, whose English was ok (better than my Italian) stopped me and said, "I have something I would like to say. In my opinion your mochila is too low." So, I had to loosen all the straps whilst he readjusted them and then told me to tighten the straps and walk. I could not believe the difference, it was as if he had taken my mochila off me, and the nagging pain in my hip completely disappeared. (He thought my mochila was actually too large for me) He wasn't finished, he told me my walking pole was too high and he adjusted that, and again I felt a difference right away. Finally he said "If I can say one more thing, your pace is all wrong. if you are going to walk up a mountain, you must walk, not too fast, not too slow but you must walk at the same pace from start to finish. If you keep varying your pace you will exhaust yourself." So he got me to copy his pace and style of walking and with all the other adjustments he made, I was at the top of the mountain in no time at all, and feeling more energised than tired.

      Why is that a camino miracle? I didn't even realise I needed help, but I did need it, and through a strange set of circumstances I met Ougo, who of all the people I could have met that day, had the knowledge and experience to see what I could not and who knew exactly what to do to fix the problem. If I had not left late, if Ougo's hat hasn't fallen off his mochila...

      The help I got from Ougo that day transformed my camino and I will always be thankful for him and I will never forget him. When we got to Alberguería at the top of the mountain we went to the famous café where pilgrims are invited to write their name on a shell, (there are over 50,000 in the café and albergue), and so we signed a shell together and I bought him a coffee, and we sat for a while listening to Dire Straits (the café owner plays them all day, he's a superfan).

      The steep decline down the other side of the mountain was actually more difficult than the ascent, but we stopped for a moment near the top and looked out over the vista before us and Ougo said "Our Lord's creation is very beautiful." I couldn't argue with that. As we got to the bottom, Ougo and I said our goodbyes, as he was going to have a longer rest before going on to the town beyond Vilar, and I never saw him again.      Read more

    • Norman GrahamCamino Via de la Plata 2022
      Day 36

      A Gudiña - Laza 35 km

      June 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      Having made the decision to go to Laza by taxi, Meg, Kathleen, Anita and I all had a lie in. Once we were all ready to go we set off in search of a café for breakfast, which we found eventually. Breakfast was good and the café owner telephoned a taxi for us, and it arrived very soon after that. The taxi driver was chatty and really funny, and we were there within 45 minutes. The albergue was inevitably closed, and so we went to a café and had second breakfast like real Hobbits.

      The albergue was modern, clean with a good kitchen. We were allocated a room together and picked our bunks and sorted our stuff out. Anne arrived about 1500 but by 1700 Mirjam had still not arrived so I set off to look for her and much to my relief I met her coming up the road. I took her mochila and walked her back to the albergue.

      There was nothing to do but the usual peregrino stuff, I was fortunate enough to spend a long time that evening in conversation with Mirjam, and I will always treasure that time with her. I am sure that people back home will ask me about my camino experience and what it was like walking every day, and what the landscape was like, and the food etc. As I have reflected on that I have come to understand that above all it is the moments with other people, where bonds of love and friendship were established and deepened that have had the deepest impact and settle longest in the heart.

      There's not much else to say about that day so let me give you a typical day in my life as a peregrino

      1. Get up, normally between 0500 and 0530, and get dressed, (some peregrinos sleep in the next day's clothes or at least next day's underwear)
      2. Breakfast of fruit or whatever I managed to buy the day before or if I'm really lucky something in a café.
      3. Walk anything from 15-32 km over varied terrain and always in the heat if not always in direct sunlight. Temperatures ranged from about 5° to 39° and sometimes it was still 25°-30° after midnight
      4. Arrive at the albergue and get booked in, pick a bunk and get clean clothes out of my bag
      5. Shower and change into the clothes for the next day's walk
      wash my dirty clothes, almost always in a sink of cold water with a bar of soap and if possible, get them hung outside in the sun
      6. Look for a shop to buy supplies for the next day, water fruit etc.
      7. Find somewhere to eat, café/bar/restaurants normally offered hot meals between 1330 and 1500 and then again at 2000 - 2100. Depending on the kitchen facilities some folk might cook their own dinner, I did a few times.
      8. Spend some quality time with Meg, Kathleen, Anita, Anne, Julia and Mirjam
      9. Read over the route for the next day and check the map, pack my mochila
      10. Journal about the day, read, listen to music then sleep.
      11. Get up the next day and do it all again.

      Of course, there's a lot that happened in-between those lines, but that's for me to know.      Read more

    • TravelerCamino 2018
      Day 41

      Once more unto the breach...

      June 1, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      As I struggled up the 560 metre steep incline I did question my sanity. And contemplate a taxi. But there was no way a car could get onto the narrow shale track - it could only be a helicopter rescue. At which point I ate some chocolate from my secret stash. I do think the Kissing Point Road hill will be a piece of cake after this.

      As always once I reach the top it feels awesome. Today’s peak was marked by a quite famous bar, where pilgrims write their details on a shell which is hung or pasted somewhere in the room. Photo under - me and my gang.      Read more

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    Vilar de Barrio

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