Villafranca to O Cebreiro

Crissi and I left this town by the river before the sun even thought about rising, and walked the fastest that we've ever walked towards a mountain top. Walking through the dark, in the mountains, early in the morning is amazing. The air is coming alive, the sounds of people aren't yet there, the temperature is cold, and the walking is nearly silent. The only thing illuminated is the small stretch of ground directly in front of you.

Our pace was brisk as we crept through the darkness. On the way through Pereje we passed a pilgrim who was returning to Villafranca at the same pace that we were moving away from it. She must have forgotten something. I can relate.

We continued on, under and over highways, through wooded paths next to rivers, and in front of rock faces that were being held back by cages of wire. Our pre-determined group meeting point was at Trabadelo, and we arrived early, around 7am. Everything was closed, it being Monday morning and all, so we continued on through a series of small cute towns until arriving at Ambasmestas, and had breakfast at a hotel cafe.

On the way to Herrerias, the next stop, we came across a very talkative duck in someones yard. I tried talking to him but he just wasn't having it. Herrerias was the last town before beginning our ascent up the mountain. We decided to continue along once we got there instead of waiting for the others behind us to catch up. The way was via the verys steep road initially, and eventually we came to a dirt path, but this was the steepest portion yet.

Because our friend Maddy was far behind us, we left her a message written in small stones at one of the Camino markers. We found out later on that she never saw it, and instead heard of it from others, which made her happy all the same.

The hike up the mountain was through thick forest which meant we didn't have to worry about the sun beating down on us as we climbed this steep path. We crushed the first part (i.e. walked very fast, and passed many others) and took a brief rest in the town of La Faba. While we were resting near the towns fountain a local farm family decided to let their bulls and donkey out for a stroll through the streets. This isn’t something that you see every day.

Laguna (a town, not the beach) was the next milestone to reach upon this mountain. We also raced up this portion, and I can't remember why, maybe I was in a hurry to be done with the ascent, who knows. We grabbed some cokes and relaxed as we watched others come to the top. After that we went to our destination at O'Cerbreia, which was via a gradually rising trail up from Laguna.

Along the way we crossed over into the next autonmous region: Galicia. We are now officially in the region of Santiago de Compostela.

The views are amazing up here at O'Cerbreia: mountains and rolling hills as far as the eye can see. I simply can't take enough pictures of it. This Albergue, I think the only one up here, was very primitive. The showers lacked curtains, and t he beds were practically stacked on top of each other. And the "town" feels like a tourist trap.: two full-blown gift shops, and a museum church.

We grabbed some drinks with everyone after they all arrived. Luis had the hardest journey today: he went up and down three major hills and had to bushwhack the whole way because he took a wrong turn. Dinner was alright, nothing amazing. Hopefully it isn't too stuffy in this Municipal tonight.