Day 29 - Villafranca del Bierzo to Laguna de Castilla - 26 km
Our albergue served breakfast today at 6:30 so we took advantage of that and were on the road by 7:00. I heard people getting up at 5:00. Not sure what the point of that is. It is still dark so you may not see the markers, or depending on the trail it could be dangerous. Plus you would miss some fabulous scenery!
Today’s scenery was a lot like old growth forest in BC. Huge trees, everything I vibrant green. We even came across a lumber mill.
We had a great walk, partly because we again sent our bag ahead. We have decide on the longer days with lots of hills that is what we will do. It only cost 5-6€, and makes the walk so much more enjoyable.
And today we had some weird weather to deal with. We expected rain so brought our rain gear along. We ended up with it on and off a couple of times as the weather is a bit like home, can’t decide what it wants to do.
We stopped about 10 km in for coffee, then 20 km in for lunch. We knew there was a big hills coming (we had been gradually climbing to that point), so we opted for a larger lunch. One with protein and carbs. Could have had vino but didn’t want that before hiking 6 k straight up. Did have a coke though - energy and caffeine makes sense.
As we were leaving the town we stopped at for lunch (Herrerias), it started to rain and then hail. Back on with the rain gear. The hail stopped but the rain didn’t, so we kept going. After a bit of climbing the sun broke through and we had to stop and remove layers. We also met some horses that were on their way down the hill. You can actually hire a horse to ride up to O Cebreiro! It didn't look like a good path for horses, but it might beat walking!
At this point we had AMAZING views. There was an entire hillside purple with heather. We are now climbing over our third mountain range and entering Galicia, where Santiago is located. So yes, we are getting closer! And we are at a pretty high elevation- around 1400 m today. And a bit more to climb tomorrow.
After we checked in, showered, decided not to do laundry (it will just get wet if we put it on the line, and the laundry service here is 8€ to wash and dry!). Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to wash some things.
After a bit of a rest I went to the bar for a cerveza, ran into Maryann from way back at Orisson! She is traveling with a bicigrino (pilgrim with bicycle) but he is mostly pushing the bike. It actually took longer for him on the road than for her on the “straight up” path. They are going a bit further today.
Since we have been here we have had sunshine, snow, rain, and hail. Not that there is really anywhere to walk, but we probably won’t anyway.
So supper at the albergue and an early night to bed!
Today’s lesson: have a good lunch before a steep climb.
Breakfast 2€
Cafe con leche and tortilla 2.50€
Lunch 10€
Albergue 10€
Cerveza Limon (my new favourite drink) 2.50€
Supper 10€
