Pilgrims on the Way

Well, the ruins of a castle, anyway. Upon the hill to the left stand the ruins of the Castillo de Sarracín. Despite the similarity of names, the castle has nothing to do with the Saracens, except perhaps that the Moors destroyed the original Christian castle on this site in the year 714. It was rebuilt by (or possibly for) a […]

We had planned to set out just after first light, but it was after 8:30 by the time we were one the road. Vega de Valcarce is a lovely little village, and despite the trouble we had getting there we very much enjoyed it. In fact, Iain and I spent some time in the local bar the previous night hanging […]

Day 24 dawned, and we had our first breakfast in Vega. After yesterday’s heat, we hoped to get to the top of the long coming hill quick as bunnies before lunching in O Cebreiro. We figured that after that, the altitude and forest cover of Galicia would mitigate the sun. Thanks to a good rest and copious amounts of water, […]

It was nearly six in the evening when we arrived at last in our stopping point for the day, the village of Vega de Valcarce. If you look over to the left, you can just see one of the crazy highway flying bridges that jump valleys all over Spain. They always freak me out, particularly being below them. Date: 24 […]

Somewhere past La Portela – I’m guessing in or near Ambasmestas – we saw this exceedingly unhelpful sign showing a sort of London Tube map of the next 60km or so of the Camino. It’s the sort of map that only helps if you already know where you’re going. Date: 24 April 2013Place: between La Portela and Vega de Valcarce […]

This monument stands near the village of La Portela. In addition to being a nice bit of Camino art, it’s multi-functional. It provides the name of the village, and it gives some undoubtedly incorrect version of the distance from here to both Roncesvalles – where I began this Camino – and Santiago our destination. Date: 24 April 2013Place: La Portela […]

Even through the afternoon heat, we pressed on, hoping against hope to find a vacant couple of beds in Vega de Valcarce. After walking the N-VI highway for a bit, the Camino diverges to a much smaller road. This was pleasant enough, but we soon rejoined the highway. Here Francine has just crossed the Rïo Valcarce, a river we’ve skirted […]

After spending almost two hours in Trabadelo, we had to push on. The afternoon was not really much cooler, but we were well-hydrated and determined to make it to Vega de Valcarce today. It was vital that we get as close to the start of the long climb into O Cebreiro as we could tonight, so that we could take […]

We were both suffering from heat exhaustion by the time we arrived here in Trabadelo. We stopped in for a rest and a drink in the cool shade of the bar, and we ended up staying several hours, downing water with abandon as we recovered. This place was a lifesaver. Date: 24 April 2013Place: Trabadelo (Region of El Bierzo, Province […]

After lunch, the day heated up significantly. Our progress slowed to a crawl, and I’m pretty sure both of us suffered from heat exhaustion. The highway walking didn’t help, as there was little shade to be found. We drank water like fishes, but it didn’t seem to help. Our hope was to make it to Trabadelo and then find a […]