Molinaseca to O Cebreiro

Approaching O Cebeiro

Camino January 2026

Monday January 26, 2026

Molinaseca to Vilafranca – 18.5 miles

I think I was the only pilgrim who was in Molinaseca last night. There were only 5 of us in Rabanal and no one in Fonebadon the night before. The two guys from the Netherlands both went on to Ponferrada and Korea and mom stopped in Foncebadon. They were nervous about going all the way over the ridge. Today they did get over and are now in Molinaseca tonight. I think the two guys are in Vilafranca tonight as well, but they are staying in an albergue. I have a private room in town. Everyone else I know of are either behind or ahead. It will be interesting to see who I run into over the next few days.

I got an early start today, 7:50. Sunrise is now 8:47. The forecast was for rain all day, but heavier after 9:30. The goal was to get some miles in before the heavy rain started. 5 miles in, I stopped in Ponferrada to get some breakfast, a fresh OJ and a chocolate croissant. When I went back outside the rain had picked up. The terrain was fairly flat, with quite a bit of walking along the side of a road. After Ponferrada there was more road walking in the rain. I am at a much lower elevation now (1,700’), so temperatures were in the mid 40s. There were several small towns today, so that breaks up the hike. 10 miles in there was a Dia grocery store. They are my favorite Spanish chain of grocery store. Typically they all have a fresh orange juice machine and a fresh bakery. This one had both. I bought a couple things and sat on the floor near the entrance and enjoyed 15 minutes of being out of the rain. With the heavy rain I did not take any pictures after Ponferrada.

Leaving the store, I got to thinking about an alternate route that is a mile shorter. The Camino has many alternates, which we have typically enjoyed taking. Normally they are longer and more remote. This alternate required a 1 mile road walk before heading off on a dirt path. I was soaked and figured 18.5 miles in the rain was better than 19.5.

While moving, I was fine temperature wise, but I was surprised how soaked I was when I arrived at my destination. I showered and changed into dry clothes. Everything in my pack stays dry, no problems there. Then it was off to the laundromat, mostly to dry everything. My rain pants and rain jacket were both soaked. The one restaurant in town closed their kitchen at 4 (reopens for dinner at 8) and it was after that when I got there, so after laundry it was off to the grocery store. Where I am staying has an oven, so for 3 euro I bought a fresh pizza that just needed to be baked. It was actually very good.

Tomorrow is also supposed to rain. I am headed up to O Cebreiro where it will be snow. I made a reservation this morning for a room tomorrow night.

Tuesday January 27, 2026

Villafranca to O Cebreiro – 17.5 miles

Another long day today. I left Villafranca a little after 8 so I would not need to hike with a headlamp. The first 13+ miles was on roads or sidewalks. It rained off and on. Not a heavy rain like yesterday. BTW – Villafranca got over 2” of rain yesterday. The rivers were very full today. It was a gradual climb all morning. About half way there is a 24 hour truck stop. The path basically parallels a major highway for a large portion of today’s walk. I stopped at the truck stop and had a nice breakfast. It was nice to sit in a warm dry spot for 30 minutes.

I thought I may see one of the Netherlands guys, but no pilgrim sightings today. In a couple days I will be in Sarria, so the number of pilgrims should increase. Like I said a few days ago, I think there are fewer people and more places to stay, so it seems quite a bit quieter than last year.

I am now seeing animals instead of crop fields. There will be even more animals coming up.

In the photos you will see where the water was going across a road. There was no other option than to just get the feet wet and walk across. I basically skipped keeping my heels up stream, so the water would splash against the bottom of my shoes. It sort of worked. My feet were still pretty dry at that point. Not so dry after the hike up the hill.

Once I reached the town of Las Herrerias, the real climbing began. The rain switched to snow as I went up. The trail was very wet and was really a steam with the water coming down the path. When I was about 3 miles from O Cebreiro, it was all snow and the ground was turning white. When I reached the top there was about 4 to 6 inches of new snow. It is beautiful with low winds and the snow hanging on all the branches. The temperature up top is about 30, so not very cold.

I arrived a little after 3PM, called the place I am staying, so I could drop my stuff and put on dry clothes. It is a Casa Rural – small hotel with 5 rooms. I then headed over to the Hotel O Cebreiro, the only open restaurant up here. The kitchen closed at 4, but I ordered at 3:55. Perfect. Otherwise, no real food till 8PM tonight. I had a salad and a pork knuckle. It was roasted pork. There are quite a few tourists here, probably to see the snow. They do a great job plowing the road through here. I will probably start on the road down in the morning, then get on the trail once there is less snow.

Travel is the perfect catalyst for tolerance and acceptance. – Author unknown