Penance for missing a mountain climb!

O Cebreiro to Samos – day 28 – 33.67 kms!

After a quiet day yesterday…a good evening meal and no beer!, I got up early and left O Cebreiro at 6am…. Giving myself a leg up for my 30 km day!

The sun was not up but the sky was lightening….

And the clouds were floating around below me…it was magical!

Then the sun came up and the temperature was 4 degrees…it was a jacket and thermal morning for sure…but good to get moving and there were a few uphills to start the day!

Went through the first town about 5kms in and grabbed my first coffee… then carried on over the mountain top…

Taking a right turn… then missing the left one along the ridge, I had a wonderful (quite steep) walk down a deserted road in to the valley…at this point I realised I had not seen a human or a yellow arrow for quite a while…and a farmer came out of his driveway on his tractor.,.waving his finger at me…and pointing back up the hill (mountain) I had just descended! Yep I had taken a side trip! Oh my goodness up was a lot further than I thought I had come down (an hour of my early start lost in a hundred heartbeats!!!)

I rejoined the track, with humans and yellow arrows…

And cats, only to be greeted by the steepest uphill yet!!

The views were good, but I was a bit cross with myself and God for punishing me for not climbing the mountain yesterday…I guess what goes round comes round!…

Thank goodness there was another cafe at the top of this climb where I could take my second coffee and regroup!!

Met up with a couple of Spanish blokes (one I had met before) and chilled for 20 minutes…

This very long legged pooch was basking in the sun…and as the day was warming I removed one layer!

Even though by this stage … now downhillish, the views were still amazing…walked through several little villages, not needing to stop (as I had a bit of time to make up!)

The paths were mostly downhill by this stage

With the odd (closed) stone church….in the deserted villages…

Not quite deserted…the livestock watching the silly humans click clacking their way down the mountains!

The odd cow on the way…ringing their neck bells as they munched away..

Through the village of Pasantes… this attractive chap keeping guard…

Having ventured out of his tree hut!

And nearing the larger town of Triacastela…yours truly posing by this 1200 year old tree! Makes one feel like a mere child!

And over the bridge, spied a fellow pilgrim…whom I joined for my 3rd coffee of the day…most of my Camino friends stopping in this town as I rolled out for my last 10kms…just saying after my rest day yesterday feeling like I still had the legs, even though I had taken a detour earlier in the day…it was now 1pm!

So off I went over the exit bridge and out of town, turning left towards Samos…

A little (maybe 2kms) of roadside walking but on boardwalks high above a river that I could hear but not see…and under the shade of large trees, as I followed the road through a gorge…slight incline…until the top of the hill where the yellow arrows sent me across the road and into the bowels of I don’t know what…

I kind of followed a river for a bit…then climbed high and down steep hills…on a very narrow(at times over grown) stone track…

Passing several ghost towns…with barking dogs only, no humans in sight…let me say here…I spent two hours on this inland hilly track without seeing another human…

I was concerned for my life..my sore feet paled into insignificance with the desertedness… There was the odd faded yellow arrow…which I held on to…and kept moving forward (very alone)

Finally it opened out a bit and a few cows kept me company…

Then I came to this sign…suggesting I was in the last outpost….a few crumbling stone dwellings (can’t call them houses) with smashed windows…I felt I was in the middle of the movie “Deliverance” and was waiting for someone to jump out and attack me!!!

This certainly made me keep moving…I’m sure this solitary two hours was a character building test….i just kept telling myself …. There will be light at the end of the tunnel! By now I was very hot, had stripped off all my layers…and was contemplating getting down to my underwear….like there was no one to see me!

But there was more…my walking poles my best friend…down and up a few more times and voila….

The tunnel I had been praying for…and on the other side of the tunnel, a car road (albeit small) AND…

Over the other side of the road, a glimpse of my destination…after 34kms (a few extra than anticipated) I spied a town…

My town!!! Now the feet were hurting as civilisation crept into view…so there is a Monestry here (well worth a visit they say!)… but…

The bar across this river was beckoning for a nice cold, well earned, beer!!!!

My 8 hour day had become a nine and a half hour day…

So after a half hour relaxation, I headed to the other end of the town and my hotel for the night….funny how they always know my name when I arrive, as I seem to manage to be the last to check in for the day!!!

Great room, a bath for washing me and everything I had worn today…a terrace and clothes horse outside, with pegs even!

Dinner not until 8.30pm, but I can handle this as I can have a later start tomorrow with only 15kms to walk!!! (I hope)