Day 16 - 10.07.2020

 I forgot to tell you a story yesterday, after leaving Samos, walking full of boredom but still admiring the beautiful oak and chestnut forests, at one point we met a pilgrim who was returning from Santiago on foot.

Among other things, I related with the lady when I was able to sympathize with her feelings during the pandemic. I had a deja-vu and it was as if I went back in time 8 years ago, a few months after my accident, when it had been months since I had seen the sun's rays, except through the window.

Maybe you remember those who read my "story", at that time I lived with my family in an apartment, on the 2nd floor without an elevator, so if I wanted to go out I needed a real adventure. This is probably why I missed being on the go, but also my stubbornness to motivate other people to travel, even if at first with fear or shame, but then I can guarantee that it is worth it.

Let's go back to our story, everything goes smoothly until we reach the albergue in Portomarin, when we want to take up quarters, we notice that we do not have any identity documents. Crazily, we unpacked our bags to look for them as we didn't understand how or where we could lose them, because we always kept them in our fanny pack, and the other things were all in place. Scrolling through the previous day, we realize that the last place we used them was at the pension`s reception in Sarria. We check to see if they're there, and the gentleman on the phone tells us he forgot to take them out of the scanner and return them to us. The gentleman offered to send them to us in a taxi, so that we don't have to go back after them, our forgetfulness cost us 25 euros.

Being the only pilgrims in the hostel again, the owner lets us use the kitchen, make our own food and coffee, even use the cutlery and plates in the albergue. The owner of the albergue tells us that every day at 7 pm there is a service for pilgrims at the church of St. Nicholas. To our surprise, about 30 people gather at the church, the priests were very nice and at the end of the service, they stopped to talk only to us.

A pleasant sensation warms your heart, being a stranger thousands of miles away from home, when someone tells you that you are a person with a gift and a special mission.

We didn't expect that. 

Everything is divine.

Day 14 - 08.07.2020

We start early in the morning on the way, when it is still dark, so we can cover the 15 km to O Cebreiro.

It is said that it is the queen stage, it remains imprinted in your mind because it has the hardest climb of the French Way, on the territory of Spain. 12 kilometres of continuous ascent with a level difference of 660 meters altitude does not seem like much, but in the last part of 5.7 km from Herrerias to Laguna de Castilla is a level difference of 480 meters.

The climb from my point of view was torturous due to the fact that you have nowhere to buy water in the villages on the route, and the taps had warnings of non-potable water. Only in Laguna de Castilla we find a bar open and we manage to buy water. With small and very small steps we follow the difficult route, trying to encourage each other.

My hands hurt a lot, Vasi can barely breathe, but we don't give up. From birch to the next curve, from certain flowers to the next oak, somehow we manage to reach the plateau. The view heals and the beautiful mountain village is enchanting.

It's lunch time, we sit on the terrace of a restaurant, eat pinchos and then combined dishes and a mixture of embutidos, we enjoy our coffees and set off again. The municipal albergue in O Cebreiro is closed, so we made a reservation in Fonfria.

Because we were very tired, we went on the bike path, to make our descent easier.

At an intersection where we had to turn right, we didn't notice the marking because a motorcycle seating exactly on it, where two boys were working. Unbeknownst to us, we go on about 2 km until a lady in a taxi stops to tell us that we are going in the wrong direction and we have to turn around. Astonished, we believe we are in a nightmare, because we had come down, which meant we had to go back up. Slowly we reach the initial marking, where we notice with difficulty the almost erased arrow on the road.

Tired, with water running out, again, we climb drowisly el Alto de San Roque and el Alto do Poio. We arrive in Fonfria and to our surprise we are the only pilgrims in the huge albergue. For the first time at dinner we take the pilgrim's menu.

Day 11 - 05.07.2020

  

Astorga – Foncebadon - day 11

We start quite quickly, from the chic Astorga, barely visible by day, but in passing we admire once again the wonderful architecture that is shown to us in a different light, as if springing from a fairy tale, stone houses, piled one along the other, narrow alleys dotted with multicolored flowers at the windows.

The classic stage of this part of the route ends in Rabanal del Camino but we extend it to Foncebadon. Basically today we start crossing the mountains in the Leon region. The ascent is quite gentle up to Rabanal del Camino, but a continuous ascent, which is going to be accentuated to Foncebadon, a town located at an altitude of 1437 meters. 

For the first time in this adventure we feel swift and when we get to Rabanal del Camino relatively quickly we decide to eat at the restaurant at the entrance of the town that had a generous terrace and we can sit quietly in the generous shade. 

We buy a combined plate consisting of eggs, french fries and grilled sausages but also salad, coffee and cola for cooling. After the hearty meal, you can barely move, but seeing that other pilgrims are catching up, we get up as if in a hurry, stepping up. 

Around 3 pm we arrive in Foncebadon, we are the first pilgrims to reach the hostel. After we stay and we wash , other pilgrims start arriving: 4 Italians and 3 Spanish. We are not very tired so we sit on the terrace in the inner courtyard of the hostel and seem much more confident in our chances of success. The only thing that can make our souls bitter is the distance and the lack of trust of the other pilgrims, no one talks to us or sits down with us at the table. The afternoon passes quickly and the evening gradually envelops us.

What will the next day bring us?

Day 9 & 10

Day 9

At 7 in the morning we have to leave the monastery, we walk around the town, drink a coffee and look for the bus station. However, we regret the part of the Meseta that we will not see but the conditions do not allow us (we do not find accommodation open, the internal situation in Romania is a bit uncertain) and the fear of being stuck in Spain does not give us peace. While we wait for the bus we make reservations for albergues in Leon and Astorga so that we don't have any problems. 

We arrive in Leon feeling down and quite worried about the situation at home, we don't even have the strength to go and visit the city. We go shopping for the next day, wash our clothes and clean the wheelchair of mud and dust after the past few days. Vasi rests all afternoon. The albergue where we are staying is a new and modern one with an adapted bathroom and very good conditions, so I can wash  without any stress. 

Day 10 : Leon - Astorga

Today's stage is a long one because, in fact we planned to do two combined stages 24.6 km to San Martin del Camino plus the 23.7 km to Astorga.

At the exit from Virgen del Camino we choose the common route because we don't know anything about it,  we prefer to go parallel to the national road N120. It is a boring stage without big differences in level but also without places where you can drink a coffee or something refreshing. After Hospital de Orbigo we meet a completely different relief, we leave behind the vast fields of cereals or vineyards and the hills are a bit more pronounced and then we meet the gorgeous alpine vegetation.

We arrive in Astorga. Entering the beautiful town is difficult for me and my 3-wheeled bike stairs, obviously I can not climb them and on the road the severe slope of the hill tests us. Good thing, it's a short distance. We find a chic town where you can admire the beautiful cathedral and the wonderful episcopal palace, the last work of Antoni Gaudi. The pedestrian squares are full of tourists and pilgrims, the terraces are lively.

The municipal albergue in Astorga is quite modest, it has a lot of stairs at the entrance but I was somewhat lucky because they had a bedroom in the basement and a spacious bathroom quite accessible. Next to the albergue just a few steps away is a beautiful garden where you can spend the afternoon in peace,while you can taste the wonderful chocolate made right in the village. We rest quite well due to the fact that in the basement bedroom there's just the two of us.