The walk from Triacastela to Sarria was more of a meandering through small farms and quiet hamlets. Here are a few of the sights along The Way.

June 6
Laguna de Castilla is really the last town in Castilla. We quickly came upon another type of marker telling us that we are in Galicia. We will follow these markers all the way to Santiago.

It was a beautiful hike up high in the mountains and stopped for breakfast in O’Cebreiro, another significant gateway on the Camino because it has administered to the needs of pilgrims since the 12th century.

We stopped in Fonfria, a typical Galician village. When I tell you these are farming villages, take a look at what goes by behind us sitting outside having lunch at a restaurant.

Shortly after this it started to rain and continued until we got to Triacastela. Nearby are the quarries that provided the limestone used I the building of Santiago. Medieval pilgrims would carry as much as they were able to the kilns to help. We are hoping the packs we are carrying will remind us of their sacrifice.

Meaning, it’s up to you to moooove. Sorry, if you were here after a long day of climbing you would think that was hilarious. Today (June 5) took us through small farming villages and up into the mountains. So different from the plains when we started. From long trails through wheat to quiet paths through the woods, it’s as if we started a whole new Camino.

Right now it is 9pm and we are tucked in our bunks and i can hear the bells clanging as the farmer brings his cows under our window and back to the barn. Most of the day was like this-quiet and serene – starting from Trabadelo and heading towards Laguna de Castilla. Our first village – surprise – had a statue of St. James that told us we are only 190km from Santiago!

Stopping in Vega de Valcarce, we found the village church open. We were the only ones in the church and Rick played his flute while we all took our own moments to appreciate where we are..

My moment was to light a candle for my family!

It truly is amazing how each of these tiny villages, most with a few houses and inhabitants, have these beautifully maintained churches. In Herrerrias, we came across another open church that we stayed for a few moments to admire.

Leaving the church we faced the beginning of our climb and an alternative to walking it ourselves. For only 10 euros we were offered transportation:

Next stop- La Faba. It was described as a hamlet. Not sure what a hamlet is, but if it means a store, an Albergue, a bar, and a church then this it it.

We stopped for lunch and visited the 12th century church that says mass at 8 pm every night from May to August including washing the feet of pilgrims.

From there we were less than 3km from our Albergue. We had a short delay because of local traffic.

But worth the wait.

This is what I can see from our room and I already told you what I can hear.

After Villafranca the fun began with a 7.4 km uphill hike. We had lunch at the top of yup you guessed it : cheese, bread and yogurt.

The decent was hard into Trabadelo but delighted to have a room to ourselves.

our fearless leader getting some well deserved alone time

Don’t worry, Elizabeth is ok. It is just this picture describes our day! We left Cacabelos around 715 and stopped in Valtuille de Arriba at a pilgrims fountain and had a breakfast of bread, yogurt, cheese and jam. We then went up and down and up and down through the vineyards. . And came down to Villafranca for our cafe com leche.

. On our way out we passed a 12th century church with a door of forgiveness for pilgrims unable to continue to Santiago could receive absolution.

tonight’s dinner is dedicated to my brother – yummy trout!!

We stayed to tour the castle that opened up at 10am. It extended our rest day giving us the time to reorganize our packs and have cafe con leche before starting our day. Here is a picture from the castle looking down on our hotel.

Carol, this is where your first night wlll be! Here are a few more from inside the castle.

We stopped in Camponaraya for lunch and we can not seem to pass a Pasteleria-so don’t think of losing weight on this trip.

To be honest, today was hard. Even though it was only a 15 km walk it was on sidewalk and roadways which exasperated our aches and pains. To get us motivated, rick said there was a treat a mile ahead. There was two. Yup a vineyard to fast wine and to walk through.

We made it to Cacabelos. It was here that I took extra time to think and to thank for my friends and family back home. My love and respect continues to grow with each step.

Today is a rest day. We took a leisurely 6.5km walk into Ponferrada and treated ourselves to a hotel. It is a beautiful hotel right across from Castillo de Los Templarios, a 12th century Templar castle. It is closed on Monday so we are going to take the time to tour it in the morning.

We first had coffee out side the hotel at the tables you can see in front. The next two pictures are looking out from those tables.

. Took advantage of the day, walked around, ate and then ate some more.

. We attended the 8pm mass and at the end the priest called up all the pilgrims for a blessing-all in Spanish, but we felt every word.

Oh yea……..today (June 1) was a 7 hour, 20 km decent and we r still not completely down. For all my JOI family, take a little bit of Kili from base camp to millennium, add the 5 miles of Marcy and a pinch of the Canyon – without the hat and you got our day. For those of us with blisters it was a new experience and not a pleasant one, but the sights along the way helped a great deal.

We left Fancebadon around 730am to have breakfast at Cruz de Ferro- one of the symbols of the Camino

Every pilgrim stopped to place a stone, say a prayer, and take a picture. The pile I am standing one is filed with messages written on stones. It was awe inspiring and little did I know how much I would need that for the rest of the day.
Our first stop was in Manjarin- ok wait for it – population 1.

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You can see him in the white knight Templar robe talking to Rick. He serves coffee and sells some Camino memorabilia
We continued our decent down through the ullage of Acebo.

Yes, in the picture you can see our path below and the city of Ponferrada In the horizon. We decided to use a rest day and break up the next two days into shorter hikes and stay in the town before Ponferrada, Molinaseca

from whence cometh my help.

Today’s walk was a gentle constant ascend into Monte Irago. We left Santa Calina (pop 50) around 730 so we could walk in the morning light before breakfast. We stopped in El Ganso, a 12th century village, at a family home that had a little store and offered hot coffee on the porch.

As soon as we started our ascent, our path was lined with a wire fence to our right. Looking closer at it you could see crosses that were placed in the wires. This went on for at least a mile.

I wonder when the first one was placed and how long ago. We nicknamed it The Fence Of One Thousand Crosses (plus one, with mine). In Rabinal del Camino (pop 60) we were greeted by a man with a falcon raising money for a children’s cancer hospital and of course had to help.

The town still continues a century old tradition of caring for the pilgrims before taking the steep climb, and Templar knights that protected their journey.

The picture above is a church run by an order of monks that still hold a blessing everyday for the pilgrims. We also came across the parish church, Iglesias de Santa Marie that was built in the 12th century that gave us the rest we needed before going on.

The hike was one of the prettiest so far frequently coming across respites of cool water.

We finally saw our town ahead

and turned around to look were we came from and realized we had walked from as far as you can see- we have walked 150 miles, half way there.

The village, Foncebadon, is a semi-abandoned village that flourished during the Middle Ages. It is starting to come back to life with the re-awakening of the Camino. Our Albergue, Convento de Foncebadon, was one of the few buildings in the town but had everything we needed: a place to sleep, do laundry and enjoy a wonderful meal.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.