Wednesday 26 June 2013

Long walk in the sun

We had a lovely night in O Cebreiro, good food and equally good company. This morning it was an early start for the long and tiring walk to Triacastela. Climbing out of  O Cebreiro in the early hours of the morning was both exhilarating and at the same time, if its possible, depressing. Exhilarating due to the spectacular mountain scenery whilst depressing because I really wanted a nice lie in. The early mists gave a magical appearance to the mountains whose tops seemed to be floating above the mists like small islands. All around was the first awakening of nature and it was a pity I was not fully awake to appreciate it. By the time we had climbed the steep path though that wound around the hill to Alto San Roque I wasn't just awake I was struggling for breath. It was nice to have an excuse to stop at the Monumento do Pilgrino, the imposing statue of the medieval pilgrim who stands above the vast Galicia valleys and take a group photograph. Now fully awake I joined the rest of humanity for the climb to Hospital de la Condesa where a steep path brought us to the highest point of the Camino in Galicia at 4380 feet. It has become a habit during this trip to climb a hill and then climb up another one. In the true spirit of the Camino we went down and then climbed very steeply up a rocky path to Alto do Poio where we stopped for coffee.  This coffee stop was very popular and we were glad to see our friend who has become known as American Joe. Joe is going really well and after coffee he disappeared into the horizon. We hope to meet up with Joe, Shane and others in Santiago.  The rest of the walk was great on dusty paths over undulating countryside with spectacular views. This fabulous walk was somewhat ruined by cyclists who seem to think that the path belongs to them. These very rude pilgrims soon got the wrath of Pauline and Mary who told them exactly what they thought of them, which was clearly understood despite the language barrier. We have arrived in Triacastela and our accommodation is top class. We have met up with two women, Jan and Ruth, who have walked the 1000 miles from Le Puy in France. It sure puts our efforts into perspective.  Only 83.2 miles to Santiago.  C.

3 comments:

  1. I read this out loud to Maeve in the car... You're getting awful poetic in your old age, you could have mistaken me for radio 4.

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  2. I'm waiting for the book!

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  3. Yea it worked!

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