From Samos to Barbadelo Via Sarria

We were awoken at 7 AM with beautiful music by Vivaldi - just as the warden had promised us the night before. How pleasant to wake up to lovely music!
After packing up and saying goodbye to all my new friends, I set out to reach Barbadelo, so I could get to Portomarin the following day. Again there were 2 routes to choose from, and I wanted the longer one, and not the one that went along the road to Sarria. I found the little path going off to the right following the yellow arrows. It was a lovely walk along pathways and small country roads, but it felt quite a lot longer than the 12 km my guidebook claimed. When I finally reached the outskirts of Sarria I went in to the tourist office to get a stamp and an extension for my pilgrim's passport, as I was running out of pages. I asked her about the distance from Samos to Sarria, and she confirmed that it was 12 km, if you walked along the road, and more like 15 or 16 km if you took the paths. It made me feel a lot better, and made a lot more sense!
I met Esther whom I met Samos last nigh outside. She was going to stop here, and give herself a break, because she was having trouble with her legs, and was worn down. I was happy to see she was taking care of herself, and wished her a nice rest, and hoped to see her in Santiago!
Then I continued on up to the old, and quite lovely part of Sarria. I was wondering if I should stay, but decided to stick to my original plan, in spite of the extra km. As I was going out past the albergues I met Nina, whom I had just met the night before at the monastery. She was heading out also, so we ended up walking together, chatting and almost missing a turn - a nice elderly Spanish man called out to alert us - pilgrims on the wrong track - and pointed us in the right direction! It's so nice how the locals were looking out for us, and made sure we didn't go off track!
We walked the 1 1/2 hour to Barbadelo, and found the little private albergue I had read about. We were the first ones there, and soon we were checked in and getting settled. Later we were joined by 3 older guys, 2 French and 1 Polish - they were business friends. All of them spoke English, so we could talk without problems, and they were really nice and considerate.
Nina had bought food and some small containers of wine for a before-dinner drink, so she invited me to share her meal, and I was happy to accept! For my part of the meal I offered to go up and see if I could buy a bottle of red wine from the only restaurant in the tiny village. Even though it was closed until it reopened for dinner at 8 PM, I was bold and walked in, finding the woman of the house busy cleaning the kitchen. She only hesitated for a moment, then agreed to sell me a bottle for 5 Euros. Then I walked back to the albergue, and we rested until it was time to go for the 7 PM mass in the little church. There was not a single local, just a few pilgrims - I can't say I blame the locals, it was a very uninspired old, tired priest!
I was hungry, and so was Nina, so we set out the spread, as the guys got ready to go up to the restaurant for their dinner. We had bread, cheese, dried ham, olives and octopus in olive oil - and plenty of red wine! We were in bed before the guys got back from dinner, falling asleep after a long day!

From Triacastela to Samos

I walked out of the albergue around 8:30 am, and followed the 2 Danes, brother and sister, whom I had met up i O Cebreiro. We were all 3 a bit uncertain as to the correct route, since we were following the longer route towards Samos, a detour of 5-6 km. After walking along the road towards Samos for a couple of kilometers, there was the yellow arrow we were looking for, and from there on the Camino was on lovely dirt pathways through little hamlets, nice stretches of forest, and just the most delightful and varied landscape.
The Danes had long disappeared, they were walking without backpacks, and were long-legged and very fit, so they walked much faster than I. It was a beautiful morning, sunny, but quite chilly, there were frost on the grass and bushes in the fields and pastures, where the rays of the sun had not yet reached. I was happy that I had bought a pair of gloves up in the little store in O Cebreiro, because they sure came in handy this morning! There was definitely Fall in the air, and I thoroughly enjoyed walking through this pretty stretch of the Camino. Birds sang, the ferns and some of the trees were glowing in yellows and golds, picturesque indeed! I had not had any coffee before I left, and I could feel the long walk yesterday in my bones, so when I saw the huge Benedictine Monastery down in the valley, I was happy to know coffee was only a short distance away!
Soon I was drinking my first café con leche of the day, and then I walked to the Monastery. On the way I ran in to Ilona - I was happy to see her again, she was definitely one of my "special" people on the Camino! She told me that the evening mass with chanting at the monastery was at 7:30 PM, and also that the tour of the Monastery was well worth it. She was staying at a hostal just opposite the monastery - she did not stay at the albergues, she preferred to spend a bit more money on her accommodations, and then be frugal with her meals.
Right after I had talked with Ilona I met the friend of the Danish brother and sister I had walked with in the morning. He was driving, and was their personal "carrier", and a really nice guy - he also told me the tour of the Monastery was absolutely a must, so armed with these reports I set out to find when and where the next tour started.
It was still early in the day, I had only walked about 12 km, but I wanted to spend the night here, because the albergue was in the monastery, and when would I ever get a chance to stay in a monastery again? Besides, I wanted to experience the evening mass with the chanting monks.
I bought my ticket for the tour, and walked around a bit, before it was time to go back to the entrance, where we were guided by a lovely young Spanish woman. She only spoke Spanish, but at least she spoke slowly and clearly, and I actually understood some of what she was explaining, as we walked through the huge buildings with beautiful murals, statues, fantastic carvings and artistic and architectural details of this large Benedictine monastery of Samos. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, even if the explanations were only in Spanish!

Afterwards I went over to the café across the entrance to the albergue, which did not open until 3 PM. I had lunch, and soon I was joined by Vihar, whom I had also met earlier, and when it was a few minutes to 3 PM the kind warden came over and told us we could check in now. He was such a nice, kind man, as was the other warden, and they played lovely music that made the big room seem cozy, as we got settled in these quite majestic surroundings with the tall, vaulted ceilings decorated with murals. While were getting organized and showered, another couple of Danes, Nina and Esther, came along with 2 Canadian women, whom I had not yet met, but heard about.
One of them had been lost for about a day up in the mountains by O Cebreiro. She and her friend had separated as one of them had to use the ladies room. As agreed, the other one walked ahead, and somehow the one trailing behind went the wrong way, and ended up walking all the way around the mountain, and did not find an albergue until it was almost evening.
In the meantime the one walking ahead was getting quite frantic, because her friend never showed up. The next day she was still looking and asking everyone if they had seen her friend, but nobody had! Finally she called in the police, and about 1 1/2 hour later her friend was found, and all was well, luckily! They did not have cell phones, and there was no internet where the lost one ended up, so she had no way of letting her friend know she was okay.
It was quite a scare, and these kinds of news travel fast on the Camino - so even if we did not know any of the involved pilgrims, we all worried and wondered what could have happened. However, I must say even though I walked by myself, and often was all alone for long stretches with no one in sight, I never felt the least bit afraid.

Nina had forgotten her towel at the last albergue, so I dug into my backpack and found the little instant towel my kayak friend Jan had given me long time ago, and gave it to Nina. She looked at the tiny little package, wondering how on earth that would turn into a towel; but she gave it a try, and it worked just fine to her amazement. It is one of those that slowly unfolds as it get in contact with water, and we were all laughing as Nina emerged showing off the towel after use! We were also cracking up when several of the old guys in their tiny speedo underwear zoomed by our bunks, which were right by the entrance to the bathrooms. As someone said, on the Camino modesty is best left at home! It was just too funny, and all this in a monastery! I wondered if the monks have as much fun?
Just before I went to the evening mass I ran into the two Norwegians from Bergen, and we were so happy and surprised to meet again! We ended up going together to the mass, where we joined Ilona on the bench. There were only about 10 priests and monks performing the Vesper service, and most of them were very old. The chanting was really not very impressive, I am afraid. The poor monks were so old, their crackly voices could barely carry in the huge chapel, but at least the organ was playing, helping them along.
I had to imagine what it was like back in the days when several hundred monks lived here. It must have been quite a choir then. However, it's a tradition which clearly is dying out, as the monks get old and pass away, not many newcomers anymore. After the Vesper part of the mass was over, Ilona, the Norwegians and I snug out, we were hungry. After saying good night to Ilona, who did not want to have dinner, I went with Lita and Sven, and we had a nice dinner together, catching up on what we had experienced since we saw each other last in Fromista.

O Cebreiro to Triacastela

I woke up around 7:30 AM, and enjoyed the peace, took my time getting out of bed. I loved getting ready in peace and quiet, before I got out on the path after having enjoyed a café con leche at the café.
It was a beautiful morning, and I enjoyed walking again, feeling fresh and rested! I stopped at Alto de Poio for orange juice, and then walked on through little forlorn hamlets where the cows definitely seemed to be in the majority - it smelled accordingly! Since none of them seemed the least bit inviting, I ended up walking all the way to Triacastela, well over 20 km.
I was beat, and my feet were really sore by the time I reached the albergue "Refugio de Oribio" around 3:30 PM. I got a bed, bath, did laundry, tried the internet - extremely slow, and I met another Canadian - David, who gave me a nice ice cold soda, so I traded him the last 10 minutes I had left on the computer - it was so slow I had no more patience for it.
After that I went out to find a supermarket and a pharmacy, to get tooth paste and a few other things I needed resupplies of, and then I rested until it was time to find a place for dinner.
As I walked in to the main street, I saw a nice-looking restaurant with a pilgrim's menu according to the sign outside, so I went in, and there was Spanish Pilar and her new Japanese Camino friend. They invited me to join them and we had a delightful evening together! It was so nice to see Pilar again! She was doing so much better, because she is walking at her own pace, and not at that of her friends with whom she walked in the beginning.

On to O Cebreiro and Galicia!

The first part of the path was just along the road, and I stopped at a couple of the little villages I went through - and in Laguna de Castilla I stopped for another rest and a bite to eat. Here I met the guy from Alaska, I had heard about. - We had a nice, long chat about art and life, before I moved on after lacing up my boots again.
Even though I was tired today, after yesterday's long walk I did enjoy the scenery, which was beautiful, especially as the path went off the road and into the mountains. Lots of birds here too!
- I was so happy when I saw the marker announcing I had finally entered Galicia! Soon the lovely village of O Cebreiro appeared, and I found the Municipal Albergue at the other end of the little village and checked into the modern and pleasant albergue!
I really liked it here, on top of the mountains. It was so green everywhere you looked, and O Cebreiro had retained the Galician charm. It was a popular tourist destination I had heard, and I could certainly understand why! I felt like I needed a rest day, and thought this would be a perfect spot to spend an extra day - something to ponder.
I had the pilgrim's dinner at the little restaurant/bar/souvenir shop, and I shared a table with a young Japanese pilgrim. We had a really nice meal together exchanging Camino stories, and he told me a bit about himself. He had studied in Pennsylvania, and his English was excellent. He was in-between jobs, as he was in the investment trade, and had lost his job, but luckily he had a new position waiting for him in Japan, when he returned.
- At another table I could hear a Danish accent, so after we had finished our meal I went over to say hello to Danish Per from Tønder, and we had a nice little chat in Danish before I went back to the albergue for the night. Top bunk, which was not a problem, I could get up and down without too much trouble other than the usual aches and pains! In the middle of the night the young Spanish girl in the next bunk started to text message on her cell phone, and it rang several times, until I told her to stop it, and turn off her phone!! Somebody had to tell her! Of course, after that I had a heck of a time falling back asleep, and all my aches and pains were acting up, so I tossed and turned for hours, and awoke tired and unmotivated.
I had heard the wind howling during the night, and it was still very windy, but otherwise a beautiful, sunny morning. I made up my mind - I would indeed spend another day here - rest and just enjoy this lovely little village with the great views!
I walked back into the village and found an open café, and joined the crowd of pilgrims getting coffee and toast in the cozy cafe. I asked the hostess about a room for the night, and she told me she was closed for the season, but I could rent a room across the way. I was enjoying my coffee and toast, and when I went up for a 2nd café con leche, she indicated that she might have a room for me after all - great!
When I had finished my 2nd cup of coffee, she came over and asked me to follow her, so I could see the room. It was right around the back, up a set of stairs, and absolutely lovely, with own bathroom, and even a small bathtub! She told me I could have it for 40 euros, if I could close it myself the following day. - The deal was on, and I got the keys and could settle in right away!
I loved having the lovely room all to myself, with views over the little cobble-stoned street, nice and sunny - my own bathroom - heaven! I realized that it was high time for me to take a little break from walking and staying at a new albergue every night, so I was pleased with myself for taking this day of rest in such a lovely place.
That day the miracles of the Camino continued, had I walked on, I would have missed these wonderful reunions! First I saw Vihar come walking in to the village - it was a happy reunion, but she was a bit worried about her backpack, which she had sent ahead, so she didn't have to carry it up the steep path to O Cebreiro. It was not here yet, even though it was mid-day. As we sat and talked about it, a German lady joins us, and when she heard of Vihar's worried, she sprang into action, putting several people on the search, found the phone number for the albergue from where the backpack was sent, rounded up a pilgrim who spoke Spanish, etc. Vihar was just so touched at how everyone wanted to help her!
In the meantime the Spanish lady who had fainted from pain several weeks ago, but whom I had not seen for a while, Pilar, arrived at O Cebreiro also, so another joyful reunion. She had also sent her backpack with a taxi, and just as we were talking, the taxi appeared, and there was Vihar's backpack as well, so everyone were elated and relieved, not least Vihar! Later on I met the German lady again, and we took a walk together to see where the trail continued, and had a wonderful conversation as we were walking along. I learned that her name was Ilona, and she was an artist from Berlin! She had been an artist, and had lived from her art for the past 10 years, Japanese Ink drawings. Now she was entering a new phase of life, she had given up her studio, and wanted to move on to other things. She had a lot of good insights, and I truly enjoyed our conversation.
I really enjoyed my day of rest, and meeting up with old and new friends. In the evening I had a nice relaxed dinner with Vihar, then a nice soak in my little bathtub, before I went to bed, and slept in the comfy bed, with comforter and no sleeping bag - pure luxury!

Villafranca del Bierzo to Vega de Valcarce

I had a little trouble finding the right trailhead on the way out of Villafranca, because my guidebook gave me 3 options, and on the actual signs I could only find 2. It was important to find the right one, because one went along the road, shorter, but on paved roads, and not nearly as scenic as the one I was after, which went higher up on small pathways, with stunning views. The third option, according to my book, was also very scenic, but over 40 km over very rugged and partly unmarked trails, so I definitely did not want to end up on that one!
After a bit of searching and asking around, I found the trailhead, and started the long hike up the mountain. It was a beautiful, if strenuous walk up into the mountains, but I enjoyed it!
It's a little miracle how at the end of the day I am so tired, my feet hurt, and many other parts of my body aches as well, and yet the next morning I am ready to walk again! When I get to the albergue of the day, have my shower and maybe a nap, I walk around wherever I am, to see the sights!
Anyway, this morning was gorgeous, I enjoyed being all alone on the beautiful natural trail, just me and the birds - and there were lots of them - all the way to the first village of Trabadelo - a stretch of about 12 km. From there the trail went from idyllic to a hazardous and unpleasant walk along a busy highway, with a very treacherous crossing of the busy highway! After this unpleasant stretch I was back on quiet country roads, where I tried to walk on the shoulder of the road as much as possible, to spare my feet from the pavement.
I walked through several tiny villages, and got as far as Vega de Valcarce, before I found an open and appealing albergue - so I landed in Albergue do Brazil just on the outskirts of the little village of Vega de Valcarce!
I was welcomed in by the very cheerful Christina from Brazil, she spoke English with a charming Brazilian accent, and was just so exuberant and Brazilian! She sprayed my backpack outside - custom procedure to curb any infestation of bugs - I appreciated that effort! She assured me the washed and changed the sheets on the beds every day - and I actually saw it in action the next morning! Most places that's not the case, that's for sure! In spite of all these efforts, I am sure it's an uphill battle, because the buildings are just so old, and full of cracks in the walls, old wooden plank floors, etc. I did have 2 new bites on my hands the next morning, but luckily no severe reaction!
I was tired from the long walk, and after shower and laundry I rested almost until dinnertime, which was early - 6 PM. We were a small group seated around the big round granite table outside, where Christina seated us, and then told us a bit about how she had landed in this tiny village all the way from Brazil! She had walked the Camino herself, and had ended up helping out at this albergue, and after completing the Camino she came back, and now she had been here for several years, and felt she learned something new every day, and loved being here. You could feel she was speaking from the heart, she was so bubbly and enthusiastic! Then she asked us to introduce ourselves, and in one word sum up our Camino experience so far - "camaraderie" was what I came up with.
I got to talk quite a bit with the South African couple I had met here and there for the last week or so, but we had never really talked, just greeted each other as we met in cafés or albergues.
They had stayed at San Bol - the little albergue with the field as "potty" - and she told me of a wonderful experience she had there.
When she started the Camino she had wished that somehow God would show himself to her during her Camino. So at San Bol she sat in the sun that was shining through the tall poplar trees, and all of a sudden she saw a cross, when she closed her eyes there was a bright silver cross. Then she opened her eyes, and looked down at her hands, and they were covered in glowing gold - as she turned them in amazement they stayed covered in gold. She would close her eyes, then look again - they were still covered in gold. This went on for about 10-15 minutes, until she was absolutely certain this was really happening. Then the hospitalero, who was a Hungarian woman, arrived with her groceries, and she looked over and said: "Yes, this is a magical place where miracles happen - now you can help me carry in my groceries, so I can cook dinner for us!"
It was such a beautiful story, and as she was telling it, tears slowly rolled down her cheeks, and she discreetly dried them. I was very taken by her story, and grateful that she trusted me to tell it.
After the lovely dinner Christina had prepared Brazilian style - which was a nice change from the usual Pilgrim's Menus, we went upstairs and got ready for the night. We were only a few there, so it was nice and quiet, and we didn't get up until it was way past 7 AM.
It was hard to get up in the mornings by now, because it was dark outside way past 8 AM. - We all had a nice breakfast with ham and cheese toast, coffee, and soon we went off one by one, heading west along the Camino.

Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

It was a long walk, mostly along paved roads, so my feet were really hurting and and I changed into my sandals for the last stretch into Villafranca. The Albergue was very crowded, but I still managed to get a bottom bunk on the top floor in a very, very crowded room. There was barely room to get in between the bunk-beds, they were so close together. In my dorm room there was a group of teenagers on a tour - they were German, and at first I must admit I was a bit irritated, because they were, of course, having fun, playing cards and music, and just horsing around. I was tired and beat, so I really had no patience for this, but after resting a bit, and getting to know a couple of them, and they were actually a really nice bunch of kids, it was just my state of mind at the time, combined with the crowded conditions and my aching body!
I walked in to the lovely Plaza Major after my shower, and found an Internet cafe and later a nice, outdoor restaurant where Danish Lars was sitting along with several other pilgrims I had met in Ponferrada. They invited me to join them, and I ended up having dinner there with Lars, and a Canadian and a German pilgrim. Later we were joined by a Brazilian girl I had met on the Camino during the day, as we took turns passing each other. We had a really nice evening, and I learned a lot about the Camino from Lars, who was walking it for the 3rd time! He had started further up in France - in Le Puy, so that's quite a distance extra - about 500 km, I think!

From Riego de Ambrós to Ponferrada

It was still pretty dark as I started out of the village around 8 AM on a steep and rocky path going down through a lovely forest and passed beautiful groves of huge, old chestnut trees. - I got off track as I reached the road , probably because I was lost in thoughts, so had to backtrack about 2 km to get back on the right path, instead of following the road. - It was beautiful, but very taxing on the knees, as the track went steeply downhill on very uneven ground. Malinaseca came none to soon and there was a café for a eagerly anticipated coffee break!
From there it was a long 8 km in to Ponferrada through some vineyards, then a long slog through neighborhoods and industrial areas on paved road.
I found the refugio without problems just outside the old part of town. It was a nice, municipal albergue, and one of the volunteers was a very friendly woman from Texas, who went around and served ice tea, while we waited. They opened for check-in at 2 p.m., but they had shower and laundry facilities adjacent to the church across the courtyard that were open, so I had my shower and laundry done while I waited. After getting settled in, and chatting a bit with a Danish guy named Lars, I went in to the old part of town, which was quite lovely, and dominated by the huge, medieval castle built by the Knights Templar. I had a nice glass of wine and a pizza on the square by the church, and enjoyed the scenery and resting my tired feet. On the square I notice a sculpture made by the artist who had a special exhibition at the art museum I visited in Estella - I could recognize his distinct modern style.