Day 21: Villafranca del Bierzo – O Cebreiro 28 km, 700m ascent.

Today I slept in. For some reason, I’ve been waking up really early almost as long as I’ve been doing this. Three times now. We go to bed early. Sleep at ten. But today I’m lazy, I sleep till after half seven. When I awake, it’s still dark, mind. It’s 4C outside. Once I’m ready, there’s some coffee waiting downstairs. Then I’m off into the cold morning air.

I’m heading up the mountain pass into Galicia today. There’s a long walk along a road today. I’m worried about space in my hostel, so I have a pace on, around 5.5km/h for about 20km. Along the way I pass people from my hostel, and end up walking with a Geordie called Andrew. We have a similar pace, and walk the rest of the day together. He’s in the bunk below me as I type this. Walking with someone with a similar pace has many benefits, distracting yourself from your aches and pains not least.

After the 20km mark, we start to climb. 700m doesn’t sound like a lot, but it isn’t nothing. The plus side being some spectacular views. We chat to a couple halfway up. A Belgian and an American lady. They met some years ago em route. He daughter and his friend fell in love during the walk. As did they. They’re doing their fifth walk together, for the first time, back towards the start.

We hurry a bit through the pass, with some amazing scenery behind us. O Cebreiro has one municipal hostel with 100 beds. When we arrive there’s hardly anybody there. I feel a bit guilty racing an elderly Mexican gentleman for my space. I needn’t have.

We spend the afternoon relaxing in the sun on a terrace, drinking wine, sharing stories. It’s a beautiful finish to the day. Probably the best of my trip so far. Two more days to the 100km point, Sarria. The end is in sight.