We left O Cebreiro in the fog. Walking in the dark with our headlights, there wasn’t much to see. Even though we were on top of a mountain, we still continued to go upwards. How high WAS this mountain?
We semed to keep climbing, then a break or decline, then…another incline. It’s funny. On the Camino, there are times when you cannot see three feet in front of you and you seem to keep climbing, climbing until you think your legs will give out. You question why the heck you decided to do this.
Then suddenly, you reach the crest and a gorgeous view awaits or a friendly bar beckons. That moment is bliss and utterly satisying, and you do it all over again.
We climbed until the sun started to break, and a last steep incline brought us a pilgrim breakfast stop. What a sight after all that foggy climbing: food and friendly faces: Alex, Vittoria, the French elders. A delicious breakfast of freshly-squeezed orange juice and omelette sandwich later, we took off, now making the gradual descent to the bottom.
We could see the clouds rolling down the mountain.
B took off ahead, stopping to chat with some Spanairds and checking in on a fallen Spanish woman (just a scraped leg whew), while Kat and Z met up with some Andalusians, singing random REM and Italian pop songs. We all met up, including Alex, Fabrizio, Juan, and Claudio, the soft-spoken Spanaird, before entering the small town of Triacastelo at the bottom of the mountain, sun strong and clear.
We checked into a small, clean albergue, knowing now to skip the large, municipal ones if possible in favor of the smaller, charming, well-run ones. A light lunch, and Kat and Z settled in for their nap while B caught up on some reading.
We bought some goods for a light dinner and wandered into the strip of restaurants and bars, where we found Alex. We were soon joined by Juan, Nacho, and Hema, a Spanaird here for three days. Gemma and Fabrizio joined, making it clear in this little valley at the bottom of a foggy mountain that good conversation with decent folks and newfound friends are worth all the crazy climbs through unknown territory.