Day 41 Trabadelo to O'Cebreiro

What a magnificent day.

It started with a lovely breakfast at El Puente Peregrino. It was my kind of breakfast, eggs, bacon, chips without pan (bread). I knew with the kind of hill work ahead of me that I needed a breakfast my body could cope with.

I set off at 8:30am, in the cool cloudy weather. At least it was not freezing cold. 

It was about 4km's and I had arrived in La Portela de Valcarce, stopped briefly for a drink, hydration is very important for a day like this not to mention sugar levels. The town was more like truck stop although it did have some old buildings.

I walked on to Ambasmestas and found Barbara from the states with her friend. They showed me the place they had stayed at for the night. It seemed very nice, they told me to take a photo a keep it in my archives, I did just that. The life of a pilgrim with an open mind, amazing what just happens around you. There are no co-incidences in life, I just seem to be more aware of them now.

I walked on further and arrived in a beautiful town called Vega del Valcarce. I was blown away by what they have done in this town to cater for pilgrims. In fact it's the place to stop before the serious mountains start.

I walked on to Ruitelán and stopped for a double portion of tortilla patat.

It's the last time I would be able to eat before I reach the top of the mountain. I cannot eat for two hours after serious cardio. 

After the re-fuelling and hydrating I set off again. The climb I was doing was from 600m to 1300m, lets just say, you need to be fit for it and very well hydrated. That's a good couple of Fresnaye hills back home.

The trip from Ruitelán to Herrerías was relatively quick and the hill was not bad at all, at that point I still felt good. I walked with a lovely Australian lady I met the night before, again we invested in each others lives.

Then the walk from Herrerías started, straight up through a forest to La Faba. It was really beautiful but the climb was hectic, slippery path going up. I really had to concentrate using feet and poles correctly. I was relieved it was not raining otherwise it would have been impossible. I eventually got to La Faba and thought to myself how do I manage another 5.1km's of climbing. 

I popped in at the bar and ordered a 330ml Kas Limón. It did not touch sides but I knew I would manage to get energy from it. I walked on up and  up, the left heal started giving trouble again. Shoes and sock came off and I added 5 layers of micropore to avoid a blister, note there were already 5 on the foot from this morning. I keep 3M in business but it really works well. 

I climbed further and arrived in Laguna de Castilla, stopped to tape up some more and then practically sprinted up to O'Cebreiro, I did however stop to take photos on the way up. It was one of the moments like my second day on the Camino when you have to run in auto pilot to conquer that last bit.

I finally crossed over into Galacia.

I arrived in beautiful O'Cebreiro around 14:15. It is the most beautiful town with stunning views.

I checked in at Caso Carola, my room  had a bath and I just flopped into it.

After that I slept for 2 hours to recover whilst my washing was being done.

I strolled around the wonderful town.

The priest at O'Cebreiro Iglesia stamped my pilgrim passport, a special moment for me. I walked outside to took photos of the church.

I found the Don Elias Valiña Sampedro statue. (1929 to 1989)

He was the parish priest who did a lot work to restore the integrity of the pilgrim route. It was his idea to mark the route with a yellow arrow. 

That's my short story for the day.