Day 30 To O Cebreiro
Day 30 Oct 8 Destination = O Cebreiro / 173 km to go. NOTE: Oofdah alert: 550m to 1300m today !!! Yikes !!! The last giant jumbo mega climb of my trip - it’s all downhill from here after I make it to this Buena Vista
“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love”
-Marcus Aurelius
Wow what an uphill! When 3/4 the way to the goal I got to a little hill top town hoping for water a coke or something since I was all out. Nothing, all cerrado! So when I got to ‘La Fada…. I thought I was going to La faint-ah 😵. And a little farther there was a nice restaurant where I had lentil soup, fresh OJ, and a coke for instant sugar buzz (joined by the buzz of a thousand flies). Along came about 25 gate crashers (milking cows) that wanted me to drink the ‘udder cola’ I guess
The climb was certainly worth the view. Sunrise can be viewed from this side of town. Sunset the other side
Sunset can be viewed from this side of town
I’m now in Galicia, comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) and historic region of Spain. Autonomous region? Galicia has a parliament, headed by a president, and a unicameral assembly. The capital is Santiago de Compostela, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. The terrain of Galicia is hilly and relatively uniform in elevation, with more than half its area lying between elevations of 1,300 and 2,000 feet (400 and 600 metres). Annual precipitation is moderately high, exceeding 40 inches (1,000 mm). Villages are ordinarily small and isolated, the parish being the common denominator among the widely dispersed villages of a locality. The terrain favours raising animals over cultivation. Subsistence farming prevails among the minifundios. My observation is anyone that has a plot of land next to their house is growing something for their own use or to sell on the local market for a couple of extra euros. They are known for their cuisine especially the infamous pulpo- octopus which I had tonight for dinner in celebration of being in Galicia
Galicia at last !
Walnuts almonds chestnuts apples pears plums lemons passion fruit grapes are seen growing everywhere in people‘s backyards. It’s wonderful to see them taking advantage of their land for their own subsistence. The common denominator to each garden are lots of tomatoes and beautiful big red peppers! The are canned and put up in olive oil for the winter.
The church of Santa María do Cebreiro.
I got my ‘sello’ stamp here for my credential.
The origin of the church seems to have been a pilgrims’ hostel, which would be the first construction related to the pilgrimage built in O Cebreiro. Often, these buildings incorporate the name ‘Hospital’ in them since that is the function they often served for traveling pilgrims. The church or sanctuary would have been founded and built in the 11th century, originally being a priory dependent on the French house of Aurillac. Subsequently, from 1486 it became a Benedictine priory dependent on the central house of San Benito de Valladolid, with several subsidiary or dependent churches, including two nearby ones also located on the French Way: San Esteban de Liñares do Rei and Hospital de la Countess.
Yes I do from time to time I do light a candle to honor ‘the mothers’ . I sat contemplating for a while as they have beautiful chant playing at very low volume in the background. The source music was entitled ‘Chant -Santiago del Compostela’. It can be found on Spotify etc.
The old Roman Road was very steep but still intact on the challenging uphill approach to O Cebreiro. This would be a brutal climb on a rainy day that is for certain. Kudos to those who actually biked this thing . They will be rewarded with a unbelievable downhill on the other side - hopefully they brought spare brakes. Again who all has traveled the same path over the centuries? It would be fascinating to see the Who’s Who list - NO doubt some very interesting names on it.
