Day 27 - It’s all downhill from here

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau

Day 26 - Fonfría to A Balsa - 11.6km - 2.5 hrs walking time

Ok so the title of the day may be a bit misleading. It was almost all downhill today from Fonfría, with a couple of minor uphills, until Triacastela. After that, I had 1.6km with a fair amount of uphill but nothing major - unlike my walk tomorrow!

I walked to Triacastela with Annette today and we left just after 8:30am. The sun is rising later and later but it was light enough out to see where we were going. And boy, was the scenery worth seeing! We were so high up, we were above the mist coming out of the valleys. The sun rise was pinks and yellows and skimmed the top of the mist before the sun burst over the mountain and blinded us on some turns.

We stopped after about 5.5km in a wonderful cafe. I had the breakfast of champions - tea and cheesecake. What the hell - I’m walking a lot, right?!

We continued our downward walk towards Triacastela. The Way here was through chestnut tree lined small towns and “fresh” smelling agricultural areas - with lots if cows. There is a reason albergues make you leave your shoes at the door!

I left Annette at Triacastela and continued to the hamlet of A Balsa. I started my upward walk to the smell of mint that lines the sides of the path. The hills were do-able and I arrived very early to my Albergue El Beso. This is a hippy-dippy eco Albergue that is organic and vegan. After doing my laundry (by hand of course), I was able to hang out in a swing chair in the forest, read and enjoy the peace and quiet until other pilgrims arrived.

Dinner was - interesting. Pumpkin soup (which I did actually enjoy), main course of rice, veggies, curry and mango hummus and sunflower and black olive hummus. Carrot cake with chestnut icing for dessert. I ate at least half of the main course and only a couple of bites of dessert. I was actually pretty full from the soup!

Tomorrow will be a challenge, to say the least. I am unsure of the actual distance (16-19km) but the first 4.5km are uphill. Not looking forward to that, but I will get it done and the rest of the day is pretty much downhill again. I will be meeting Annette around noon for lunch, when her path from Samos intersects mine from A Balsa. We will then walk together for the last 4-5km of our day.

Wish me luck!!Read more