The hill wasn’t as bad as my drunken friend last night portrayed. A day of great views and surprisingly, a few watering holes along the way.
At 7am I dropped the albergue keys off at the ambulance station then hit the Camino. For the first 1.5 hours it was flat, mostly road walking.
Once at Tamícelas the up hill section began. I managed to get to it before the sun crested the surrounding mountains. When it finally did, I was near the top and above the clouds.
The views were some of the best since entering Galicia. Before I knew it, I was entering Alberguería. The bar was open – although no proper food, they sold cakes and fruit. Every available space on the walls and ceiling were covered in scallop shells, signed by visiting pilgrims – the oldest one I saw was 2004!
A slight rise took me to the highest point for the day, then it was a sharp downwards route revealing the wide open valley below.
My knees were complaining when I reached Vilar de Barrío. The village centre had numerous bars with all the outside seating taken. I continued on.
Bóveda, a village a short stroll away had a bar with plenty of space. A cold drink and an empanada later I pressed on. The sun was now at full strength and the route entered a long straight gravel road.
For about 4km I baked, but the route after that went through forest tracks, shaded from the sun. After 34km I arrived at the albergue, shortly after joined by a cyclist peregrino – the first pilgrim I have seen since Rionegro.
We found a restaurant that had a pilgrims menu. Turns out he is a captain in the Spanish navy. He has been cycling from Cadiz and in two days he’ll be in Santiago.
Tomorrow is a short 21km, which I am pleased for. I have pulled some long distances in the last 4 days. I’ll also be in a town, and hopefully some more peregrinos.
Stu's Camino 