James and I had just finished what many say is the steepest climb on the whole Camino. It is only short, but it’s incredibly steep. A police car even struggled up it, so much so one of the officers had to exit the vehicle and some pilgrims had to give it a push.
The climb is the entry to Alto Do Poio at 1,330 metres. There is a bar right as you exit the climb and we sat there eating a drinking and resting and watching fellow pilgrims huff and puff up the last of the climb.
I should say, that as James and I looked at it from below, he said to me, “I don’t feel like walking anymore.”
We had left O’Cebreiro at around 8:00am after a light breakfast. We were joined by James and Leo and we had a great walk in the first light of a lovely day.
The views over the valley were expansive. We walked with a lightness though our bodies were still sore after a big day yesterday.
James was still struggling though. He was tired and didn’t feel up to any climbing. he struggled up to Alto de San Roque.
From there we descended to a village for a coffee, a snack and a rest. This morning we focussed on children’s television shows that we remember from our younger days. Favourites include Mr Squiggle, Teletubbies, Yo Gabba Gabba and many others.
As I was sipping my coffee, an older Dutch gentleman approached and told me that he had been seeing me for weeks and that I was the spitting image of Dutch actor, Victor Reinier. I’ll take that.
From there we had a gentle walk before we faced an almost sheer wall of gravel, the steepest part of the Camino.
As we sat resting at the bar, we chatted with Paul from England, Glenn from the USA, our Canadian friends Rita and Chad and many others.
James noticed a sign about bike hire and suggested we ride down the mountain. Sure, I said, but you have to call. Sure enough, he got the old guy who ran the bar to help and soon enough the bikes were booked and on their way. Strange thing though, the hire company said we had to ride to Sarria. That would put us a full day ahead of the people we’d been walking with. Again I turned to James. “Let’s do it,” he said.
The bikes arrived and before we knew it, we were blasting down the mountain. Kilometres flew by in mere minutes. Did I mention it was steep. Like really steep. But it was fun.
Then when the road levelled out, we would walk as riding with our hiking packs on was a nightmare. And our seats were super hard too.
Triacastela came and went in about a minute as the road wound through the village at a reasonably steep incline. From there we had about 10km to Samos. This village is not on the main Camino and can only be visited by taking an alternate and longer route. The final descent into the village is steep and we rolled in fast. Samos is so pretty. There is a gin clear stream and the village is dominated by an enormous monastery.
Having a drink opposite the monastery
Strange thing though, there is a tiny Repsol petrol station built into the side of the monastery. I went into the albergue to get a sellos, for mine it looked a little grim.
From Samos it was about 11km to Sarria on a road that went up and down meaning some walking and some riding. In the end we walked about 17km as well as riding the 20+ kilometres on the bikes.
We were glad to leave the bikes and have a cool drink. We can already see so many freshly minted pilgrims, excited and ready to walk tomorrow. We spoke to a couple from the States who were tucking into a huge meal and some vino tinto. James and I really do feel like scruffy, dirty pilgrims as we sit amongst these clean, nicely dressed, makeup wearing peregrinó.
We book into our room for the night, have a shower and relax after a huge day. Our bums and our legs are sore after riding bikes for the first time in well over a month. Nothing a good meal, a nice wine and a good sleep won’t fix.
We enjoy Galician soup, chicken and octopus for dinner. This is followed by Santiago tart.
James heads back to our room and I decide to have my first whisky in heaven knows how long. I ask for a whisky on ice, whisky con hielo. The barman starts pouring and doesn’t stop for some goodly time. In the end I think he has poured about 8 shots.
I do my best, but there is simply no way to finish this mega whisky. As I sit, I look to the streets and see many shiny new pilgrims. They’re easy to spot as they have bright new shoes and clothes. They also don’t stagger about with muscular and/or blister pain after a month walking across Spain. As I said yesterday, James and I are excited about walking with this crew tomorrow.
James is also keen to knock over the last 100km. We’ll see how we go over the next few days.
The Long Camino 