Day 32 La Laguna - Fonfria

Alto San Roque

Inside the church at O Cebreiro

Inside the church at O Cebreiro

Photo taken by Ursula - by the flowering hawthorn

Dinner at Fonfria

Slept with 6 Italians who were gone by 6.30am so decided I may as well move too. I climbed up to the top of O Cebreiro as the sun was coming up. So lucky to have the sun and clear skies for the amazing views.

O Cebreiro is quaint and very touristy but I did have a special camino moment in the church. It is 9th century and the oldest church on the camino. It is so beautifully simple and I was there just as the sun was shining through the window slits behind the altar. Surprisingly for an earthbound, irreligious and rational person, I was choked up. Maybe it was just reaching the top. But I think it was the sheer magical beauty of simple stone, wood and light. No stained glass, no blood and gore effigies, no gold or silver.

Once over the mountain, I'm walking into the damp mist that you can see from the top. It is pleasantly refreshing after the heat of the last few days. The guide book says that the weather changes dramatically in Galicia as the westerly winds from the Atlantic hit the mountains.

A lady who liked having her picture taken

I have met Ursula, German living in Spain, on this stretch. She had the OK in March after treatment for throat cancer. So this is really a camino oh thanksgiving. She's going slow and valueing every moment.

Clara at Alto do Poio (1337m). Walked last little climb with Matts who emerged from the mist. Matts is the self confessed alcoholic Viking who tells me he is 34. I guessed him to be 40.

Ruth and I have walked together off and on today. She takes off, I linger. Then she stops and I catch up. So we arrived in Fonfria together and decided to stay. We could have walked on but the next albergue is 9 km away. The landlady said she was full but agreed that we and about 10 others could sleep on the floor on matresses. That's fine. More than fine. The building is a palloza and it's tons better than the military style bunk beds in the usual albergues.

Walking alone - why I can't get lost!

Inside the palloza where we are sleeping

Where I am sleeping tonight

John and I passed through O Ceibreiro where it was misty and attmospheric.Sometimes the surrounding mountains could be seen, sometimes the mist was too dense. We walked on to Triacastela but arrived later in the afternoon. The place was full! No beds to be had anywhere. We went to the local alburgue and were directed to a Casa rural place 2Km back. The owner came to collect us. We were told to bring food but she then locked up the kitchen, leaving us with a pile of uncooked food and no alternative! I was not happy, but we managed to scrape together some cold food that we later shared with three Spanish people who were brought later and faced the same situation as us. We had our own room but the beds creaked and there were rustling plastic sheets. We put the mattresses on the floor. We won´t be recommending that particular billet to anyone. Mo