Day 24 Villafranca del Bierzo to O'Cebreiro
18.7 Miles
Total: 391.9 Miles
Bree gave me a gift this morning. When looking over the route for today last night, we noted our guidebook gave three options. One was just a straight shot more or less following the road at the bottom of the valley. Another offered a bit of respite from the road by traversing a hill before joining the main route. The last option was a strenuous day of climbing in and out of deep river valleys south of the main route. It was far hillier, longer, and not as well marked. In other words, it was perfect. However, I learned long ago that what I deem as "fun" tends to differ from the general public so we had a decision to make.
The dilemma with the situation was that the Camino is beginning to swell with pilgrims. There is a palpable difference with the newer pilgrims. For instance, this is the first time on the trip that Bree had difficulty getting into the bathroom because a woman was busy applying make-up. Backpacks overflow with full size bottles of shampoo and we are starting to see people wearing jeans. It's just different. It's not necessarily bad and who are we to judge another's Camino, but it does change our walk now as the hostels from here on out will be stressed to accommodate the increased pilgrims. No longer can we take our time and stroll in at 3pm. There simply won't be any beds left.
We figured most pilgrims would take the main road and we figured Bree and the girls could take the route that briefly took them away from the road for a chance to take in some scenery without losing too much ground. That left me with an opportunity to take the long route. So long as I kept moving and didn't get horribly lost in the hills, there was no reason why I couldn't make it to the hostel in time to get a bed.
I said farewell to the girls early in the morning. Street lamps guided me to the Drogonte signpost and the first of four steep climbs began immediately. The views were fantastic. The sun began to peek over the ridge lighting up the hills around me. Every time I rounded a corner, Villafranca appeared smaller and smaller. The climb was fairly steep, but it felt good to generate some heat in the morning. Periodically I would come across messages in the road. They were all in Spanish. There were a few I couldn't understand, but it didn't matter, I knew what they meant. "Strength," "courage," it was all the same and I appreciated every word.
Dragonte, the first town on my route, came quicker than I imagined and I took the opportunity to refill my water bottle. It was at this point I headed away from the main road and followed dirt tracks for the rest of the day. The downhill was steep and I took to a run, bouncing over rocks, and sliding down gravel, always one slip away from crashing. It was exhilarating, but the problem is that the route is not well way marked and it was necessary to pay close attention. The guidebook warned to take a right near a stream before you get to the ruins of a stone building. I had read this, but in my bounding exuberance I continued on through the stream, busy jumping from rock to rock before nearly running face first into an old stone building. It wasn't obvious where to turn so I backtracked a bit and finally admitted to myself that I was lost for the first time of the day. I eventually made my way back to the stream and discovered that by walking up it for a ways, I could get back to the dry track on the other side. Three other times throughout the day I found myself lost, like accidentally venturing into someone's farm, or staring up forks in the road with no discernible way of telling which was the main path. A few other times I stood in front of completely overgrown paths, tangled with tall broom and blackberry vines. I was loving every minute of it. To be lost in Spain, away from the beaten path, I would have trouble thinking of anything else I'd rather be doing.
I eventually emerged in the town of Herrias to rejoin the main route and the rest of the pilgrims. I didn't expect to see the girls and we made plans to meet up at the hostel, but as I sat down to enjoy an ice cream, who do I see? I wasn't there but two minutes when I saw Bree, Auna, and Deija all smiles walking up the road. I looked down at my muddy shoes, and bloodied legs, and shaking thighs. I was smiling, too.
Together again, we set out for the final climb of the day up to O'Cebreiro. We passed several other pilgrims along the way, which turned out to be important as we were among the last pilgrims to secure a room at the top.
As I write, I am looking out the window and all I see is mist and clouds. We ventured out earlier and had a "Pergrino Menu" or a Pilgrims Meal. Usually around 9 or 10€, it tends to be a bit too expensive for us, but tonight we indulged. The girls used their "Morberg Meal," money that Mr. Morberg had donated. Well fed and in good spirits we are looking at roughly 100 miles to Santiago. The trail is definitely changing. The new terrain is welcome, but the new pilgrims will add an additional element so hopefully we can adjust and still enjoy the last few days without being too stressed.
Take care!
James
Great story.
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