Day 28 - Working Farms to Triacastela

On the road just after 7am and the views below us looked like islands in the clouds. 

Lots of rural scenes and very rural smells as we walked through about 5 tiny villages with the locals busy milking cows, tending sheep, cutting hay, and selling over priced crepes to the pilgrims!

Todays 22km walk was on the ancient Camino path called 'corredoira' a narrow lane lined with granite walls and shaded by huge oaks and chestnuts. What a lovely way to enter the town of Triacastela knowing that over the last 1 1/2 centuries, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have walked the same path. 

Onwards pilgrims. 

The true meaning of free range! 

This old chestnut has been around a while!

Day 27 - The Last Big Climb

After the most wonderful rest day in Las Herrerias, we set off for our final ascent to O Cebreiro today. We felt a bit like cheats as it was only 9km and despite the strenuous climb it only took us 2 hours. 

We are now in Galicia, a region renowned for its rain and strong Celtic traditions. Lucky for us, the glorious weather continues and the scenery is staggeringly beautiful. This little village is straight out of a postcard (with the tourist buses parked outside to prove it)!

Only 7 days walking and 150km left until we reach Santiago. The Camino is getting busier by the day and Simon and I are preparing ourselves for the masses (haha) of pilgrims that will join the Camino for the last 100km to get their Compostelas. 

Early morning walking up the shady valley 

I think we ate her sister last night!

Too early for your first beer - keep walking Simon. 

The local supermarket!

Cuckoo, Cuckoo! - Day 26

I can't believe it has taken me so long to mention the Cuckoos! I've yet to see one (a rare occurrence we're told) but they have been our intermittent traveling companions for the last 20 or so days. They always sound exactly the same distance away, and it seems the same bird is following you for hours at a time with "cuckoo, cuckoo".

We might have been a bit cuckoo today, as we chose to take the 'hard' (not the extremely hard) option to our destination of Los Herrerias. I don't even have to tell you what Simon has nicknamed this town!  So we set off, the wrong way and quickly had to retrace our steps to follow the path less travelled. We walked 85 mins  non-stop up to the alto, with the first 30 mins almost straight up. (For all us Khandallahites - think Jubilee Rd hill)! So often in life taking the hardest road brings the best rewards and we loved the amazing views of the valley below, the tranquility of walking mainly by ourselves and the beautiful chestnut orchards and scenery once at the top. This is where we met today's cuckoo. 

Our kiwi 'number 8 wire, can fix anything' attitude came in handy today as well. We met a  farmer wrestling with a scary looking piece of machinery that he was having trouble getting to do what it was supposed to do. So we stopped and with no useful Spanish (us) and no English (him) we offered to help him. A lot of brute force and a few farm tools were needed and the 3 of us had success in the end. (Not helped by my hammering the mallet onto the poor farmer's finger)! Simon was much more useful and if it wasn't for us walking past, he would probably be still trying to fix it or be sleeping next to the machine having siesta after a pint of vino tinto! 

What goes up must come down and it was a pretty treacherous descent to rejoin the trail below. We loved the rest of the walk; up along the winding river valley with little villages dotted every 2 kms or so until we walked into our home for the next two nights (rest day tomorrow) and was welcomed by Gerard waiting for us with a large cold beer for Simon and a rosé for me. What a gentleman and my hero!!

Leaving Villafranca

Jet streams over the hills

Major motorway cutting through the valley

We did find another group of pilgrims and we took their photo so they could take ours.

Chestnuts

A helping hand!

Could have popped this wee cutie in the backpack 

The old path and the new!

So true!

Foot selfie! 

Home sweet home!

Day 25 - Molinaseca to Villafranca Del Bierzo

After the 29km day (adjusted for the up and down) yesterday, we walked a massive 31.9km today. We can hardly believe we covered over 60ks in 2 days and have only 185.3km until the end. We left our lovely friends Alissa and John in a cafe today with John nursing a dodgy sore knee. We were relieved to hear he is ok and has a few easier days ahead.

The weather is hotting up again and we have the next 5 days of around 30 degree days forecast and another mountain range to scale for the next 2 days to add to the mix. That means early starts for us as my arm hates the heat! 

John taking out the shop fly screen!

12C Knights Templar castle, Ponferrada

Matching outfit for a change!

Annie lookalike.

Polpo!! The local specialty of Galicia and delicious. Yes, it is octopus tentacles.

My paw covered in Camino stamps.