Day 29 - to Triacastela

As always, thanks to my 5000 step and day sponsors and all of those praying to St Anthony that I don't lose anything else.

My afternoon in La Faba was a very restful one. I spent about an hour (or two beers) with my feet soaking in the footbath. It is remarkable what a difference it makes to soak one's feet in cold water. I then spent some time trying to rest (hard with all the talking) and some time reading on the porch of the church.  At around 7pm, I went up to the bar in town and had a refreshing beverage with a couple of Czech girls and two Spanish ladies and then moved inside to eat. I was not incredibly hungry, so I chose just a half portion of the pilgrim meal - pork steak and chips. The woman delivered me two very decent size pork steaks and a plate overflowing with fries - she told me I must be hungry after all that walking. That very sufficient plate of food, together with three very nice glasses of the house red (which was lovely), cost only 9 euros.

I was asleep in no time at all after returning to the hostel. In the middle of the night, when I got up to have a drink of water, I discovered that there was no water at all. The town water supply was turned off for moaintenance from midnight to 7am.  I really shouldn't complain about the three very rude young German girls who woke up before 5am and spent half an hour rustling plastic bags and zipping this up and down before heading to the kitchen and talking very loudly. Because of those very rude German girls, I was out of bed and was the first and last male to be able to use a toilet before heading off for the day. I don't know how the others did it.

It was still dark when I left the hostel. This made the first twenty minutes or so of walking a very challenging affair. Once out of the town, I was again on a very rocky, uphill path. I am amazed that I didn't lose my footing at any stage. 

It was all uphill for the next 5.5kms, much like the end of the day before. Finally, I crossed the border into the region of Galicia and was soon at the town of Ocebreiro. The first thing that struck me as I arrived in Ocebreiro was the fog in the valley below. I have never seen anything like it; it was awe inspiring. As I walked through the very quaint village (basically completely rebuilt in the last 20 years), I was a bit disappointed that I didn't stay the night there. 

The next village was only a couple of kilometres away; so, I headed off dreaming of my first cup of coffee. Even though I had read about the hilly journey, I was not really prepared for the almost constant continuous uphill.  We kept going higher and higher and there was nowhere open for a cup of coffee to put some petrol in my tank.  As it turns out, I had to walk about another 6 kilometres until I found a bar that was open.

I was sure that it was all downhill from there. It was not. We kept going up and up and very very up. What I now know was the final ascent was a beauty - almost straight up. Even though I had only stopped a few kilometres earlier, I made a point of buying a lemon calyppo and having a seat.

Obviously, what goes up must come down. What a descent it was. I found it very hard going on my knees. A couple of times, I just wanted to sit down and wait for a bus.  Eventually, with only about 2.5 kilometres to go, the open gravel path gave way to a shaded concrete pathway (a village roadway really).  This was a very pretty part of the walk - except for the constant smell of cow manure which accompanied most of the day.

As the Camino continues, it gets busier and busier and busier. It also becomes more commercial and more "touristy." I am not sure how much I am enjoying the last part of this journey.

Hasta el luego!