Cascacebo to O Celibrio
I was awakened somewhere around 4am when I heard the door open to my cubicle and a strange woman started to tug my foot. I sat up and immediately asked what was wrong in English but that spooked her and she withdrew shutting the door. My bunk mate awoke and asked what was going on but I didn’t have a clue. Ten minutes later the routine started again and in my spanglish I just said Mi Para espousal which led to another quick exit. This time the roommate recognized what was happening. Turned out he was a priest (Canadian) and had arranged with her for an early exit. Well I didn’t know what was worse, strange women waking me up, or the fact I had been sleeping with a priest. Luckily no harm from either.
By then I was a wake and by six was walking down the roads looking for a side trail in the dark which would lead me into Villafranca de Bierzo where I was hoping for an ATM as well as breakfast. Success on both counts and then shortly after crossing the river bridge I was confronted with a choice. A steep 1200 ft climb or a stroll alongside the highway. I opted for the climb and as the guides say I really felt like I was walking on the roof of the world, always looking down into the valley dominated by the highway. Just before the turn to descend I managed to lose the trail and found myself wandering down along a goat path finally connecting to a road. I had planned to stop at one of the Albergues at the bottom of the mountain and do the last steep climb to O Celibrio fresh and in the early morn’s coolness but while cooling off my dogs in a stream David came smiling around a corner and since he was going to do the climb I decided to tag along even though it was my second ascent in one day. I hadn’t seen David since the day out of Leon. We climbed up the final steep ascent, the last big one the Camino and while I had to stop a couple of times I finally found myself in the province of Galicia stunned by their beautiful vistas. At O Celibrio I decided enough for one day and said goodbye to David who was walking on. My shin was shot. I checked into the new municipal which was large and clean. Later that evening I ran into Ain and Ille an Estonian couple I had met previously. I had a great dinner including their local soup Galega and hit the sack listening to the Strawbs and John Martyn.
To be continued