Day 30 – Vega de Valcarce to Fonfria (June 25)

Map: Day 30

Mornings in the albergues can be interesting. There are some people that get up super early and fumble around in the darkness with their headlamps while trying to get everything packed up. There are others that like to sleep “late” (i.e after 7). And there are those that feel that 6:20 is an appropriate time for everyone to get up and just turn the lights on. Heather and I have been among the early risers only a couple of times, the late risers a few times but most of the time, we are amongst the middle risers and aren’t the ones turning on the lights.

This morning was very very foggy and we set out on our way by 7:00. We stopped for breakfast at a bar in Herrerias. Heather asked if they had eggs. He said “No, only toast and coffee.” About 5 minutes after we were sitting there eating our toast, he comes to tell us the kitchen is now open and we could have eggs. The only reason we could think of for him not telling us this when we asked for eggs was he didn’t know when the cook would show up. It’s just a very different way of living in Spain.

After breakfast, we started the climb. It wasn’t quite as steep as the mountain on the first and second day and we’re in a bit better shape so it was manageable. It helped that there was a town every 2.5-3 kilometers. I’m goal oriented so it was nice to have something measurable to walk towards. Since it was foggy, there wasn’t alot of scenery to look at.

We passed into the Galicia region and stopped for lunch in O’Cebreiro. When we came out of the bar, the sun was starting to peek out….finally! It was a nice walk in the afternoon with some smaller hills. Even though the guidebook shows some smaller hills and a stop that’s called Alto de Poio, I was not prepared for the last hill of the day. We were very tired and it seemed like the hill went straight up! During the last few kilometers, we struck up a conversation with mother/daughter duo Linda and Rebecca from Pennsylvania. It was hugely helpful in making the time go by quicker. The last few kilometers of the day are the most difficult.

We checked into the albergue in Fonfria and had a standard pilgrim afternoon – shower, laundry, bar for drinks and WiFi. There was a big community dinner across the street in a cool looking round building. It had cooled off enough that they had a fire going in the fireplace. The first course of vegetable soup was very warming and delicious! The second course was beef and potatoes. Meh. And we had an amusing Spanish lesson (calor vs caliente and frio vs frio) with the Spanish women sitting around us. When we headed back to the albergue, it was raining. Let’s hope it stops overnight.

Buen Camino!