Day 26 - O Cebreiro, O my!

“We live in a fast-paced society. Walking slows us down." - Robert Sweetgall.

Day 26 - Las Herrerias to Fonfria - 19.8 km (8 on horseback)

Today was the day we face O Cebreiro - 8km uphill about 700 for elevation gain - 7% grade approx. Before I even started my Camino, I had no plans to walk this. I am obviously collecting experiences in this trip and therefore today I got to add a new one. I ascended O Cebreiro on horseback. It was a great experience and I have no regrets. We passed many, many pilgrims who were making the trek, and I did wish (for a few minutes) that I had at least attempted the climb on foot. Then we would round a corner and see yet more uphill and those thoughts soon disappeared! 😂. The ride was almost 2 hours long over steep and rocky terrain. The views over the fields and forests were stunning. I can not believe the farming that goes on, on the mountains. Most impressive!

When we arrived in O Cebreiro, it was off to the local bar with Victor (the horse guy) and the 3 ladies I rode with. We (unfortunately) ended up being there for 1.5hrs. Wine, lunch, chatting. Full bellies with amazing Galician garlic soup and a French omelet with chorizo. Delicious but filling.

I took a quick look around the town with a lady named Annette who rode up with me and who is also staying in Fonfria as I am. We had decided to walk together to our albergues. The delays in leaving meant we didn’t leave town until around 2pm and we still had 12km to walk after this!

Then the walk. Shoot me. Hill and valley, hill and valley. We were both dragging our asses. Walking quite fast on the straightaways but otherwise slogging up hills and down. The lunch was certainly part of it. I was full and felt like I’d be better rolling down the hills! We took a wrong turn too and likely walked a good 1/2km out of our way. A local stopped to point back up the hill (yes, up the bloody hill) to say we were not on the Camino. So we slogged back to the marker and got on the right path again.

Despite what my little Michelin book says, this whole section is not flat or gentle, until after Alto de Poio - 9km from O Cebreiro. I should have looked at the elevation on my trust apps instead. It shows a much truer picture. Honestly didn’t think we would make it to the albergues before dinner (usually 7/7:30) as the hills were never ending. We got to the top of a bitching hill at Alto de Poio and celebrated with a glass of wine and a lovely view of where we had come from.
Still another 3.3km to go and we were searching for a taxi! None in sight though, so off we went. Rest of the walk was mostly flat-ish, so we made better time. It was actually the best part of the day! Although we were walking above a main road, the trail was shaded for a good stretch and the smell of pine forest was soothing. We finally rolled in to Fonfria at 5:40 - about 3.5 - 4 hrs after we left O Cebreiro, including our 1/2hr break at Alto de Poio. Not too shabby but man, I just wanted to check in and sleep for a week!

I wasn’t interested in the pilgrim dinner today so sat at the Albergue cafe and had pre-packaged and microwaved pasta bolognaise for dinner. I didn’t even care at that point! Dessert was amazing - a local soft cheese (with chestnuts which are everywhere here), drizzled with honey. I am not even a cheese person, but this is a local specialty so I decided to give it a try. So freaking good! The coolest thing is, the woman who made the cheese was sitting two tables away, drinking coffee with friends. She had just brought in a freshly made wheel of this cheese, for tomorrow.

Can’t wait to crawl into my sheets and go to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and it’s mostly downhill, which brings a whole new set of challenges!Read more