Cacabanos, Ruitelán and Fonfría

On Saturday I woke up at 6.30am, keen to make an early start so I didn´t miss out on a bed! My mantra has now turned into ¨step your foot ahead, and you will get a bed!¨. The road is getting a bit busier now, as more people start walking in the hope of obtaining their ¨compostella¨, obtainable by walking the last 100km into Santiago. At least it is now the off season, going into winter, which reduces the number of people. I started walking at 7.30am after an in-house breakfast, with a canadian couple who set a slightly faster pace and always aimed to get to their destination by 2pm to avoid the hottest part of the day. That sounded perfect to me! It´s funny what I learn from different people along the way. We set of in the dark, using head torches to find our way 6km into Ponferrada, and in a bit over an hour we were there! I couldn´t believe it; pushing myself just a little and taking less stops allowed me to get into a place a lot faster, with less strain on my feet and body. They soon lost me due to a difference in toilet break requirements, but I continued at a similar pace for the rest of the day.

Ponferada had a stunning castle (Castillo) which was great to see. I bumped into a friendly face, Alex from France, that I had met some days ago, and enjoyed the discussion as we walked again through vinyards and rolling hills. The weather was spectacular. Keeping up the pace, I lost Alex and made it to my destination, Cacabanos, a total of 25km, by 1.30pm! I felt really good and I had so much time I didn´t know what to do with myself! I washed clothes, showered and made my way into town, where I found a nice bar with couches and a disney movie playing on the television so I stayed for a couple of hours, feeling like I was back at home relaxing on the couch. Then I had a siesta before finding paella in town around 7pm (unusually early for Spain, most places don´t have dinner till 8.30pm) and going to bed.

It´s funny how I have come to spain and only eaten Paella twice. I thought I would be eating it every day! But the typical routine has developed into croissant with jam, fresh made orange juice and coffee for breakfast, big cheese baguette for lunch and three-course meal for dinner, usually lentil or vegetable soup, mixed salad and some sort of meat with a small dessert. I´ve stopped snacking too as I find that is enough and it can be hard to find good snack foods which aren´t too heavy to carry.

Yesterday I woke early again in Cacabanos, and left at 7.15am with the canadians. We were keen to have breakfast in the next town, Villafranca del Bierzo. After the usual breakfast, they went on ahead while I kept up a good pace for me. For most of the day the walk was through a mountain range, following a surprisingly flat path alongside a highway with other huge highways over the top, but also alongside a river which was absolutely beautiful. The mist burnt off over the morning and despite the roads, I found it to be a very scenic walk. There were many chestnut trees along the way, all at perfect time for harvesting! I stopped for a quick lunch in one of the few small towns I passed through that day, before coming into the valley where I would stop for the night, in Ruitelán. The final 6km were amazing; off the main road and through some ¨hamlets¨; green pastures in the river valley, with small streams, huge mountains either side and cows grazing, with only the sound of the cow bells present. The hostel at Ruitelán was everything I wanted for various reasons; first, it was in a small enough town to not need to go anywhere! Second, the hospitelero was a homeopath who gave me Ruta Graveolans, which was exactly what my mum had told me I needed for my shin splints; and last, I was put in a nice small room with 6 beds, all girls so no snoring! They also provided dinner for everyone staying at the hostel for €7 and breakfast for €3. With the €5 for the bed, my total stay cost €15 + a donation for the homeopathics. €5 is about the norm for hostels, which I think is great!

After a good sleep and being woken up at 7am by loud opera music played by the hospitelero, I had breakfast and got going before 8am. I walked with two finnish women, mother and daughter, for the first hour or so until it was light. Today was a big day; only 22km but up up up, over the steepest and most challenging hill of the Camino. Over about 8km we had to climb 730m. I found the climb hard but good, as uphill doesn´t hurt my joints or shins. The climb was well worth it as the views continued to be more dramatic and beautiful as we went up. I finally reached the top after about 3 hours, where the town O Cebreiro stood. The town had lots of cute shops and was very touristy. I took about 100 photos today. On the way up we crossed into Galacia, the final province in which Santiago is located. I can now feel the pull of the final destination... willing me to walk further and further each day to get there as soon as possible! But I´m being very careful so I´ve planned my days out to the end now, only allowing myself to go 25km at the most per day. After a few more short steep decents and short steep ascents to various vantage points with stunning views, I walked the last 3km along a flat path, well elevated with great views, to my destination, Fonfría.

At this very second I´m sitting in a beautiful ski lodge-like hostel in Fonfría, in a gorgeous living room overlooking the mountains, after having a shower in my private room I got for €26, and feeling so relaxed and happy; a feeling that can only be felt after hiking uphill for the most part of 7 hours. My shins are feeling a lot better and my body is, for the moment, happy with the pace. I am sure I can make it to Santiago. Angi is only half a day behind and we keep in regular contact with text messaging. Only 6 more days to go!

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Part of trip: Camino Frances 2009

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