23rd May 2024 Las Herreiras to O Cebreiro

We woke up to fog!  It was difficult to see anything on the other side of the road but it soon started to burn off and made for some pretty pictures.  We had been able to hear the water all night and that was very peaceful.  Pilgrims had been going past since about 0600H but the included breakfast wasn’t starting until 0700H so we just packed our bags and prepared the drinks for the day before heading downstairs as we were shipping our bags.

A delicious breakfast was consumed with fresh orange juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, toast and she came around again and offered some more toast which we had with a bit of jam (extra energy for the climb!)

We were both a little nervous about the climb today, but I was seeing it through the goggles of last time when I walked from Villafranca and all the way to the top of O Cebreiro in one day – a thoroughly exhausting day.  Today was going to be relatively easy; 4km to La Faba, 2km to Laguna de Castilla, then the final 2km to O Cebreiro.

The town of Las Herreiras was longer than I remembered but the amount of water was a lasting memory.  It just thundered down in places and was controlled by many “hatches” or gates that could be raised or lowered.  We had decided that we would stop in both small towns and just enjoy the day taking photos, looking at the view and just being amazed at the beauty of this part of the walk.  We were also going to enter Galicia today and I was very excited as this meant we are really on the last part of the journey as Galicia is the last “Province” and we will start to find eucalyptus trees that had made me so homesick last time.

Up we wandered through the muddy, and sometimes very steep pathways enjoying the mossy terrain with so many ferns and flowers.  It wasn’t as hard as I had remembered it, and the number of people wasn’t too bad.  There were a few stops along the way for a coffee or a hot chocolate until we saw the stone fence start on our right and knew we were close now.  Would you believe there was a piper at the junction of the pathway and the road, and it was an unbelievable experience and a fitting end to the day’s walk.

The view was admired from all angles, and we headed off to find our accommodation which was in the hotel and in a lovely room with a view over the top of some buildings to the hill opposite. I had seen a little shop on our way through the village and wanted to get some postcards, so I left Steve in the bar below our room and headed over there. 

Postcards were written out and posted and we headed down to look at the village properly.  There was even a shop, down a staircase off the side of the hill and we called in there, and then sat in the sun for about 15 minutes just enjoying the sensation of the sun on our skin as we hadn’t seen much sun this entire walk and have missed it.

Over to the little bar/café to find something to eat as we hadn’t had much all day and the Hotel where we are staying would not be serving dinner until 1900H.  I had wanted some Caldo Gallego (the local Galician specialty) as I really enjoyed it last time, but none was available so we both ended up with a burger.  Another lost in translation moment as mine came out and not Steve’s – oh well – we asked again, and they were very quick to get his prepared and back out.  The whole time we had watched a woman behind the counter peeling potatoes and cutting them into chips while she was singing away to the radio.  It was quite lovely.

Back to the room and, as we were both quite tired, had an early night.