2012-10-02 Tuesday

2012-10-02 Tuesday

O Cebreiro / Triacastela 

Camino day 25: today's segment is 25Km. We met at 0730 for breakfast, Gunther joined us, Toni had departed earlier. Last night was very cold, but this morning it was a bit warmer, but still cold, we walked briskly.  Nancy and I dispatched our backpacks to our destination. 

While we were eating breakfast, a German woman, a Camino friend of Gunther's, came to our table looking distraught, and she addressed Gunther in German, she was very agitated, talking and gesticulating, I don't understand German, but it was clear that she was extremely upset with something. Later, when we were in the Camino, I asked Gunther what that was all about, and he told us what happened. She had been walking for the last couple of days with a tall, heavy set American, he has been sending his pack by courier every day, and Yesterday, in Vega de Valcarce, they had a late start and missed the courier service. He then hired a taxi service to take his pack to O Cebreiro; she was with the American when he was delivering his pack to the driver, who told them that O Cebreiro lodgings were getting full (it was true, it became full and many people had to keep walking to the next towns) and said that if she sent her pack with him as well, he would find accommodations for them because he is friends with all innkeepers in O Cebreiro. And that was what she did. Confident that the lodging problems were resolved, they took their sweet time to climb up the mountain, stopping for long rests at all bars along the way, arriving in O Cebreiro late in the afternoon. The driver assumed, wrongly, that they were a couple and booked a room with a "cama matrimonial ", which, in Spain, is barely a full-sized bed. There were no other lodgings available and was too late for the German woman to walk to the next village, so she stayed to share the same bad with the tall heavyset guy. She was furious in the morning because she said she could not sleep at all; she barely fit in the bed since he took up most of the space with his bulky frame, and he loudly snored all night long! After a sleepless night, she got up quietly, before he woke up, and was leaving town, she didn't want to see him anymore. We had a few laughs at the expense of the poor woman. 

Gunther had relationship problems too. Last night he had dinner with a German man, in his late 60s to early 70s. I sat at their table when I came down to the bar to have a bowl of soup and a glass of wine, they were drinking their after dinner drinks. Gunther introduced him to me as a Camino friend that he had met on the first day, in St. Jean, and they walked together for the first few days. They had separated when Gunther decided to walk the Camino alone, saying that he had spiritual and personal issues to think about. Yesterday they bumped into each other again and now the old German wanted to resume walking with Gunther (the old fellow speak very little English or Spanish,) and could not understand why Gunther preferred to walk with us instead of with him.

When we left it was still a bit dark, but the light gradually came revealing an overcast sky. We shed the windbreakers when we started the first of the two small (compared with Yesterday's) hills, the temperature eventually raised to low 50s.

Today, for the second time on this Camino, we went off the trail. We had stopped at a bar on a cross roads, for a coffee break. While we were putting our packs back on Nancy and Terry started down a road, and we followed them. About 500 yards later, I started to worry that I had not seen the yellow arrow or trail marker, I looked around and saw pilgrims walking along another trail, a couple of backtracking pilgrims confirmed that we, like them, took the wrong road. We backtracked and took the right trail.

Halfway along today's segment we had to put the jackets back on, a mist formed on the rolling hills. Even though it was overcast, the scenery was beautiful. Think the rolling hills of Pennsylvania or West Virginia with small dairy farms with stone walls for fence. 

Guard dog

By the way, I read in several books about the Camino that stray dogs were a problem, and they suggested carrying a walking stick for protection. I encoutered very few stray dogs and never felt threatened by any of them.

Beautiful scenary

Erico

Erico and a monument to Pilgrims

More of the countryside

VIllage church

After the last hill, about 5 Km from Triacastela, we started a long descend into the small village (600 inhabitants.) We arrivef at 1415, with three rest breaks for drinks/snack along the way. We checked into the Albergue Xacobeo, showered quickly to give the dirty clothes to the inkeeper for wash and dry, and went out for our late lunch/early dinner.

Lunch was the pilgrim's menu. I chose mixed salad for the first course, grilled steak with fries for the second, and "Torta de Santiago" for desert. And a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of the house wine. All of this for 10 Euros. We also got a bottle of a good Rioja Reserve that we ordered separately.