My birthday

It is an awful shame that today's generations do not respect the traditions of the past. On this, my Beatles birthday, only persons of a certain age will get this, I had to carry my backpack ( all 20 lbs ) up the mountain paths to the highest village, O  Cebreiro, in the Galician mountains. Climbing up to 5000 ft in the heat, over rocky paths that are at times almost vertical is no joke and should not be done on your birthday. I must say that three weeks ago both Mary and Pauline would have struggled on this climb whereas now they are  going like veteran climbers. It should also be noted that both Mary and Pauline carried their backpacks whilst the majority of pilgrims, both men and women, had theirs transported. These two have earned everyone's respect. Today's walk must be ranked as one of the best in the world. You have everything from scenic mountain views to hovering red kites. All of this is enveloped by the stereo surround sounds of nature. A truly magical and inspiring journey that would gladden the heart of even an old sceptic like me. We met Shane today after his hard and difficult journey over the Dragonte. Again it must be recorded that only three in the party carried their backpacks and Shane was one of them. We decided  to stay the rest of the day in O Cebreiro which is the most wonderful place surrounded by mountains that are magical. It, along with the rest of Galicia, takes tremendous pride in and celebrates its Celtic roots. Celtic symbols are evident everywhere and Celtic music, including the Chieftains, is always playing in the background. Tomorrow we have a longer walk to Triacastela where we will pass the pilgrim statue at the highest part of Galicia. This is one of the unexplained mysteries of life - you spend all of one day climbing uphill and completely exhausting yourself to spend the next day walking down hill to the level you started at.  By the way I'm not the only one getting old today. - Happy birthday Paddy.   C


Another mystery of the Camino much discussed , is that you can walk and climb for 6 hours minimum every day for 4 weeks and not loose an ounce.  Why is that?  Although I must admit to being very proud of myself today.  Climbed for 10 k over rocks and tree roots and hardly out of breath.  Four weeks ago I would have been a gibbering wreck.  Although we are now covering what we already covered last year, it has lost none of its magic.  Tomorrow week we will be in Santiago. Magic!    M(