Day 18 – Triacastela and Catching Up

The days are truly starting to blur.  Walking 8 straight days now has done that.  After taking an extra rest day in Leon and leaving that city on Monday, May 27, we’ve walked everyday since.  The approach we’ve used is that if we’ve had a really hard day, we’d follow that with a now “easy” short day.  For us, a really “easy” day is 10 – 16 kilometers (6.2 – 10 miles).  A tolerable day in which we can walk without any need for a follow up short day is now 20 – 23 kilometers (12.4 – 14.2 miles).  Throw in added difficulty factors such as going up a steep climb and facing really bad weather, then we really need to take it easy the next day.  That is why we only walked 10 kilometers today.

Yesterday was a really long, tough hike.  For my friends in Colorado, I was very curious to see how this hike would compare.  The walk would take us up over 2,100 feet of elevation gain over about 5 miles.  Some stretches were flat but other stretches really steep.  For those of you who have hiked up Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, imagine that steepness for about 3 to 4 times the distance.  There were other stretches almost as steep, like hiking to St. Mary’s Glacier near Idaho Springs, Colorado but 2 to 3 times the distance.  Over all, we walked about 7 hours of going up and 2 hours walking level or going down.  Bottom line is that after we completed the entire 15 mile hike, we were very glad to check in to our Alberque.  We started our day yesterday before 0800 Saturday morning in Ambasmestas and ended in a tiny dairy farm community of Fonfria.  We also crossed the border of Castilla y Leon into Galicia.  This region of Spain is absolutely beautiful with the mountainous terrain (OK, big hills in Colorado) with lush green colors and blue skies.  The Galician village of O’Cebreiro sitting near the top of our highest elevation gain of the day provided wide 360 degree vistas of open landscapes that came alive with many different varieties of wildflowers in bloom.  Unforgetable.

We had lunch in O’Cebreiro and hiked another 12 kilometers to Fonfria.

You’ve heard me mention before the incredible spirit alive on the Camino.  Let me share with you another example that occurred yesterday.  During a very steep ascent, I told our adopted Camino family member, Heike, that this reminded me of Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs only that it is longer.  About 20 minutes after that discussion, we caught up with two ladies sitting on a short stone wall catching their breath.  I said hi to them in which they responded with a smile saying Buen Camino.  I immediately heard their American accent and asked them where they’re from.  “Oh we’re from Colorado.”  I responded where in Colorado are you from, in which they both said, “Glenwood Springs.”  What are the odds that in the wilderness of climbing this Spanish mountain I would mention to Heike this reminded me of a place near Glenwood Springs, and literally, within minutes, we meet two ladies, from Glenwood Springs!  The Camino is magical producing magical moments everyday!

The Alberque we stayed in last night, in the tiny village of Fonfria, is a family run business. The pattern I’m seeing is that these people work like slaves, very long hours everyday, dealing with people from all over the world, most who don’t speak Spanish, and they are generally very helpful and cheerful.  They usually close up between 10 – 11pm and the same people open up for breakfast between 6 to 7 am.  Amazing!  In Ambasmestas we met Luis, a tall, handsome blonde Spaniard from Ponferrada who not only checked us into the hotel, but was also the waiter!  I told him how hard he and the other Spaniards work supporting the Pilgrims and he, like all the other Spaniards I’ve complemented in a similar manner, was very humble and gracious.  He was thankful for having a job and also very conscientious of the terrible unemployment of Spain’s young adults.  In Fonfria, a very youthful looking couple, Miguel and Lola Arias run the family alberque business in which they two were serving all the pilgrim’s needs including running the bar and then cleaning and  sweeping at 11pm to get ready to serve at 6am in the morning.  I’ve seen this everywhere on the Camino.  In the Vilasante Hostel we’re staying in this evening, the 3rd generation owner, Pepin Lopez Valcarce, is constantly attentive and helpful to our needs.  This country has amazing people supporting the Camino.

For days now we’ve been running into other pilgrims we’ve been seeing for over a week, some longer.  Jay from the UK, Inaki from the Basque, Marc from Catalonia, Henrik and Heide from Denmark who have already walked over 1,200 kilometers, Britta from Denmark walking her 3rd Camino, Diane and Nanell  from the UK, Merle and his son, Adam who have been walking from France, Wayne and Cathy Foster from Newfoundland, Canada.  It will be a fascinating experience to see some or all of them when we arrive at Santiago.  Speaking of Santiago, we are now 134 kilometers away!

We passed through some very remote dairy country today.  There was a point in which you couldn’t see or hear anyone.  Heike mentioned that she was going to stop to change her pants since the one’s she’s wearing was irritating her.  Nancy, Andrea and I continue to walk down this empty path to give Heike some privacy.  As soon as she started to take off her pants, out of nowhere a group of Spanish pilgrims on bikes appears next to Heike.  She waits for them to continue, once they leave, out of nowhere, a spanish dairy farmer appears.  Where did these people come from!  That’s the Camino!

Tomorrow we pass Sarria which is the traditional starting point for the shortest distance one can walk (100 kilometers, although Sarria is 115 kilometers from Santiago) to receive the Campostella.  If all goes well, we’ll be arriving at Santiago this coming Sunday, June 9th.

With all the pilgrims walking the Camino, securing a place to sleep is getting more difficult the closer one gets to Santiago.  The traffic is picking up very noticeably.  In Triacastela, the town we’re in this evening, all beds were taken by 4pm.

The weather the last few days has been absolutely perfect for walking.  Cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon and sunny throughout the day.  Great weather is expected to continue to Thursday.  We leave early tomorrow for a 23 kilometer walk to a restored 17th Century farmhouse with terrace and chapel Capela de San Silvestre in the village of Barbadelo, the Casa de Carmen.  We’re looking forward to the walk!

Buen Camino!

Food is still really good and plentiful on the Camino.

This part of Galicia is full of small, family owned dairy farms.

Pilgrims experiencing the Camino on bikes and watching Heike change her pants!

A dairy farmer was leading his herd of dairy cattle through a village with his German Shepherd when another Shepherd pops his head out the window to join in the barking!

We had an excellent lunch at a super restaurant in the village of Filloval.

Jay from the UK and Marc from Barcelona. He’s a real champion as he’s been hobbling badly for days but promises to make it to Santiago.

More than 800 year old chestnut tree as we enter Triacastela.

Very old Romanesque Church as we enter Triacastela

Nancy and Andrea enjoying a well deserved Sangria today in Triacastela.

Wayne, Sharon, Lauren and Cathy from Canada.

Joe and Heike enjoying a beer while Nancy and Andrea enjoying their Sangria.