Author: Thom

This marker in O Cebreiro celebrates the former pastor of the village church of Santa María la Real, Don Elías Valiña Sampedro (1929-1989). He almost single-handedly revived devotion to the Camino, after it had fallen into relative obscurity in the XIXth and XXth centuries. He organized the clearance of parts of the route that had become impassable, and it was […]

O Cebreiro is one of my favourite little villages on the Camino, although it does have something of a Disneyland-esque vibe – everything is just a bit too tidy. Our little group grabbed a late lunch in the café you see here to the left. Francine and I walked our Autumn 2018 Camino from this village. Date: 25 April 2013Place: […]

After the long climb, we at last arrive in the Galician village of O Cebreiro, where the modern revival of the Camino first began in the last quarter of the XXth Century. The Camino crests the hill near this wall, which encloses a small courtyard and continues on to a car park. You will often see buses – including group […]

This iconic marker stands at the border between Castilla y León and Galicia. We have now crossed into the final region of the Camino. At some point after this photo was taken, but before we returned in 2016, the marker was painted in a probably vain effort to thwart the graffiti. Check out the 2016 photo for contrast. Date: 25 […]

The long climb that morning revealed amazing vistas of the hill country as the Camino ascends from the valley of El Bierzo into the Galician highlands. We were very nearly at the border now. Date: 25 April 2013Place: between Laguna de Castilla and O Cebreiro (Region of El Bierzo, Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: Vega de Valcarce […]

We’ve come to the undulating portion of today’s terrain. I took quite a lot of photos of the hill country between La Faba and Laguna de Castilla, but this is the one I think best captures both the terrain and the weather. It was about to get worse. Date: 25 April 2013Place: between La Faba and Laguna de Castilla (Region […]

As we enter the village of La Faba – the penultimate village before the Galician border – two things are apparent from this photo: it’s hot and sunny, and it’s all uphill. Just how steep is the climb? There’s a stables here that makes their living renting out horses to pilgrims for the last push up to O Cebreiro. Date: […]

The Camino climbs out of the great valley of El Bierzo towards the Galician border. In my journal, I noted that I reckoned this the second biggest climb of the Camino Francés, after crossing the Pyrenees. Of course, after weeks of walking, pilgrims tend to be in much better shape than they were on day one, when they made the […]

Down by the banks of the rather grandly named Río das Lamas, we come to a refreshing place to stop for some water and a sit. I love these little spots. We are still very much within the bounds of the village of Las Herrerías. In fact, although we see a meadow in front of us, behind us are the […]

As the Camino approaches the Galician border, we pass through a series of small hill villages and hamlets separated by increasingly steep uphill roads and paths. This particularly delightful building is near the start of the long, strung-out village of Las Herrerías. Once you get a little past this place, there’s a long section along the road where the village […]