Left Villafranca del Bierzo at 9:10. Arrived at La Faba at 4:30. We are at 15 miles, and done for. Private car to O Cebreiro with arrival at 5 pm.
The last 6 miles to La Faba were uphill. When we reached there and found it was another 3 plus miles to our hotel, I caved. It would have been another 2 hours uphill, as the way is rocky and twisty and muddy in some places. We stopped about every 10 minutes to catch our breath to get to La Faba.
The owner of the bar we stopped at told us someone died there yesterday. It is reportedly the most difficult of the stages. Hmm…no mention of that in the guidebook. Apparently, 3 people have already died this year at this stage, plus the guy yesterday. We’re happy to be alive!!
Luckily, the bar owner took pity on us and called a friend who drove us in his private car to O Cebreiro, which took about 20 minutes. Worth the 20 euros. Caleb is relieved, as am I.
Back to earlier in the day —- only 200 kilometers to go when we started this morning.
The start of today’s journey was parallel to a highway. It made me feel like it was going to be an easy day since the paved road was pretty comfy on our feet. Little did we know what lay ahead.
We had some lovely sites when we arrived at villages. The Spanish do love their flowers (and cats).
We also passed through what must be a logging camp.
Soon we had a lovely river to our left which is so nice to see and hear .
The river behind me. I need a selfie tutorial 😦
Lessons of the road – never stop to eat at the first place in town. Always go to the next restaurant. The food is much better. That method has served us well. We stopped at a truck stop today considering lunch, and Caleb wisely reminded me we needed to keep going. That kid has learned road rules when it comes to food. Of course, he was right.
Then the uphill battle began. I can honestly say that my goal was not to take a taxi or a bus to sully our walk on the Camino. Today that notion went straight out the proverbial window. Both Caleb and I have gotten stronger as the days have passed, but even I could not see the merit in walking uphill for another two hours after La Faba.
Just yesterday when my knee was giving me some problems, Terry mentioned the possibility of taxi or bus. I immediately said that “can’t” just wasn’t in my vocabulary. Eating my words now.
We arrived at our hotel relieved to be able to shower and have a little rest before dinner. The town of O Cebreiro is very touristy, complete with street vendors and a typical gift shop attached to our hotel.We are not tempted.
My biggest concern is there is no laundry facility near here for two miles. Hope tomorrow we have better luck, because we both need clean clothes.
On a positive note, the views from the top of the hill are spectacular, but photos do not do it justice. You will just have to imagine it and take my word for it.
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2 responses to “July 23, day 29”
Sometimes it isn’t the word “can’t”, it is what would be the wisest decision for us today given that we’ve walked forever today and my knee is going to be bothersome if we continue up this very treacherous hill (even not knowing that people have been dying on that stretch). This is the reason that I gave up hiking in the Coachella Valley. Every week I would need about someone needing a helicopter rescue because it’s so steep and narrow and your stuck if something happens to you. I think you did the right thing by paying really close attention to your body and Caleb Helped you with that I’m sure.
At our end, I finally felt comfortable enough with where we’ve been going as in all the unpacking and everything and I finally did my Petersen Creek Trail walk. I only did a couple miles because we still have a lot going on but even so it was nice to be able to walk again. And we got the garage. All organized. Thanks to Taskrabbit yesterday and everything we’ve been doing. I look forward to seeing how you’re feeling tomorrow and the wisest decision that you can make is to take good care of yourself in the short run so that you can continue this journey of 200 more kilometers safely.
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You did the right thing in taking the ride with Caleb. You deserve the break. And look after yourselves first and foremost.
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