We start out at 8 am and follow the road to Pereje which we reach after an hour. Here, we have an orange juice and coffee. Next is Trabadelo then La Portale de Valcarce an hour away.
We have lunch at Vega de Valcarce from 12 to 1 pm. Here we again see Joe, the Irishman. He walks with us the rest of the way, first along the road, then on the steep uphill which comes along after a long rocky stretch. We ask him to sing some Irish songs and he obliges, with Oh Danny Boy, Seven Drunken Men and one other ballad about difficult times in Ireland when a man is sentenced to leave on a prison ship due to a petty crime he committed to be able to feed his family. In return, we sing Pippin's Corner of the Sky (see lyrics below) for him, and Sonya sings some church hymns.
The singing makes the uphill that much easier, and we reach La Faba (900 meters) at 3:30 pm. A little later, we pass a marker which shows that we have moved from Castilla y Leon to Galicia. It is all uphill until we reach O Cebreiro at an altitude of 1300 meters at 5 pm.
O Cebreiro is another quaint and beautiful town on top of a mountain. We ask for a blessing from a Franciscan brother in his brown robes and white cord who is sitting in the town square. He places his hands on our heads and as we bow our heads, he gives us a blessing. Later, we go to 7 pm mass where there is a pilgrim blessing like the Franciscan prayers given in Roncesvalles. My sister and I light 2 candles -- one for the victims of the Boston Marathon and the other for our families.
Dinner is at a hotel restaurant -- I try caldo gallego, a local specialty of soup with green cabbage, a churrasco or barbecued meats, and a quezo con miel (white crumbly cheese with honey). Really good. We walk around town and watch the sun set from a high point. It is achingly beautiful.
Later, we stop by a bar for a beer with Joe and an Uruguayan pilgrim we met on the camino. A man with a guitar, Jesus, walks in and starts playing some Spanish tunes like Besa Me Mucho and Bamboleo. Serendipitous moments like this make the Camino that much more interesting. It was so much fun until we need to run again to make it for our 10 pm curfew at the albergue.
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| Leaving Villafranco de Bierzo -- first walking beside the main highway |
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| One of my most important lessons on the Camino -- Open your heart wider... |
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| Pilgrim cows |
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| Joe leads the way up to O Cebreiro |
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| Now we are in Galicia |
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| View from the mountain trail to O Cebreiro |
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| Church at O Cebreiro |
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| We light a candle |
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| Reminds me of the Shire -- from Lord of the Rings |
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| Sunset at O Cebreiro |
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| Rousing Spanish songs from Jesus |
PS. Here are the lyrics from Pippin, which I found myself singing to myself and aloud a lot during the Way:
Corner of the Sky
(
From the musical Pippin)
Everything has its season
Everything has its time
Show me a reason and I'll soon show you a rhyme
Cats fit on the windowsill
Children fit in the snow
Why do I feel I don't fit in anywhere I go?
Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Got to find my corner of the sky
Every man has his daydreams
Every man has his goal
People like the way dreams have
Of sticking to the soul
Thunderclouds have their lightning
Nightingales have their song
And don't you see I want my life to be
Something more than long....
Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Got to find my corner of the sky
So many men seem destined
To settle for something small
But I won't rest until I know I'll have it all
So don't ask where I'm going
Just listen when I'm gone
And far away you'll hear me singing
Softly to the dawn:
Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Got to find my corner of the sky
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