The Albergue closed at 8am so we hit the road before sunrise. Luckily we were following a group who had a good headlamp so there was no problem finding the route out of town. Stopped for breakfast after 3.8km and by the time we finished it had started to rain so geared up with full raingear (paints, jacket, backpack cover and dollar-store ponchos. It rained and rained and was the worst day by far. We stopped for cake and coffee and then again for early lunch at Herrerias. The waitress told one of the other pilgrims (who understood spanish) that we should stay on the road (i.e. bicycle route) as the pathway was dangerous in the rain. At La Faba we left the road and followed a "tractor path" with water running down each rut and it was still quite steep - we plodded along with the weather worsening and worsening. The last 5km was pretty challenging for us and the wind was fairly strong as we neared the top. All in all, we climbed 730 meters (2400') with most of that over the last 8km. We arrived at O'Cebreiro in heavy rain and got a room at the first available bar. Turns out the room not upstairs but in a nearby building so we had to go back into the rain. We were a bit disappointed since we had expected to stay upstairs above a cozy bar. However, it turned out okay since the room had radiators and we were able to dry our wet clothes. In the early evening, the storm had paused and we were able to get a few photos and see some of the awesome scenery. The storm quickly resumed and we sat in the bar for a drink and then had dinner there. Rain stopped again so we were able to get back to our room without getting wet.
Self portrait in rain.
At first, we walked along small roads along the valley floor with freeway high above.
Galicia is green = rain, rain, rain! It was raining so hard for the rest of the hike that I could not take pictures for fear of ruining my iPad.
The rain did stop briefly later in the day after we had arrived.
9th Century church in O'Cebreiro - probably the oldest church along the pilgrimage route.
Traditional round stone house with thatch roof.
Village scene.
When the weather briefly cleared we could see great scenery and appreciate how much we had climbed today.
Location:O'Cebreiro, Spain
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