Camino Day 33: Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro

Date: May 3rd, 2022

Distance: 28.4km/15.4 miles

Time: 6 1/2 hours (8:30am-3:00pm)

Today was a solo kind of morning. A walking fast, feeling good, blasting music, belting out lyrics kind of morning. A feeling things and seeing my life spread out before me as a blank, unwritten chapter kind of day.

I enjoyed walking along the river, seeing the cows and hearing their bells, watching cats lurking in fields of sheep.

I stopped for lunch in Las Herrerias at 20km. Elevated my blistered feet, ate a tortilla and a tarta de Santiago. Mentally prepared to go straight uphill for the last 8km.

I stopped a couple times on the way up to pant and catch my breath. The views were incredible and totally worth the effort. We summited and stayed in O Cebreiro. It was actually nice to arrive sweaty and exhausted and to have finished the day with an uphill hike.

After some down time, we had just enough energy to go around the corner and get burgers with hunks of goat cheese. Superb. Another simple Camino day with great company and killer views. I’m here for it.