Day 45 through 47, Baby Jesus draws to an inside straight and up our last mountain

July 1st through 3rd, Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo, to Vega de Valcarce, to O´Cebreiro

166km from Santiago, 786km from start

Distance: 23km, 20km, 11km

We had lots of ground to cover on Sunday, but we had our hotel set for the evening so we took our time heading out.  Skies were gray but clearing, and most of the morning we had at least some sun.  It was the kind of hike I generally enjoy, all on country tracks of small lanes with villages every few kilometers.

In the town of Cacabelos, the Sanctuario de la Quinta Angusta has an unusual  altar panel.  It shows the baby Jesus playing cards with St. Anthony of Padua.  You don´t see that everyday.

We finished at Villafranca de Bierzo an hour later. It´s the center of a regional wine district with lots of history.  It was Sunday and most sights were closed, so we had to settle for the wine part.  Pleasant afternoon; good dinner.

Monday began a two-day segment over the last mountains between us and Santiago.  The Cordillera Cantrabica also separates the province of Leon from Gallacia.  Today´s hike of 20km involved more distance but less altitude.  The climb for the day was at the start and barely 100m after we left town, we headed sharply up.  We felt pretty fresh and we crested after an hour and enjoyed great views into the valley. Along the way, the skies turned blue and the rest of the walk was great.

The evening in Vega de  Valcarce was supposed to be in an albergue.  We got there an hour before it opened, so, thinking mostly about getting a beer, I asked Marie to save our place while I explored.  I didn´t find beer, but came to a bakery that also rented rooms.  I scored a nice one and went back to get Marie.  I was a hero!!

The bakery was run by a very nice family and also served sandwiches and drinks so we had lunch and enjoyed the sun.  The owner showed us a place to hand wash our clothes.  A great bonus.  We spent the rest of the afternoon walking the town and relaxing.

Tuesday was clouds, fog, and rain right from the start.  We don´t like that stuff much but because were entering Galicia that day, it seemed right.  Galicia is in the extreme northwest corner of Spain.  It gets a lot of wind and rain from off the Atlantic all year round.

3000 years ago, the Celts populated much of western Europe.  As the Romans and others grabbed the best land, the Celts hung on to the more remote parts: Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and....Galicia.  If there´s any doubt about their Celtic origins, spend five minutes listening to bagpipe music in just about any bar....and you´ll be convinced.

Anyway, the hike was short but the trip cold, rainy, and steep.  We felt good though. While wet and foggy....saw very green pastureland with lots of yellow flowers undiscouraged by the weather and in full bloom.

We got into O´Cebreiro around 11am.  It´s a small gray stone village at the top of this stage, with an old church and several traditional buildings.  It´s a classic Galician spot and unfortunately well visitied by the coach bus tourists.  No offense, but after getting into town thoroughly drenched, competing for a spot at a bar to get warm with lots of dry, loud Germans  . . . takes the experience down a notch or two.

Nowhere to stay in O´Cebreiro (tourist driven as well) so we took a taxi to a small town off the camino to find a spot.  It rained all day so after a big traditional lunch, we just hung out at the hotel and hoped for the weather to turn.