O Cebreiro to Sarria

My friend from Italy leading the way

“I have a restless spirit. The need to roam and explore is in my soul.” – Unknown

O Cebreiro to Triacastela – 14.6 miles

January 28, 2025

Last night the winds blew hard all night long. We did not get much new snow during the night. There was probably about 6” on the ground when I headed out at 9:30. It was just starting to snow hard again. The plows were doing a great job keeping the road clear. There were no prints on the actual Camino path, a dirt road through the woods. Everyone (3 sets of prints before me) took the road. The road and path follow each other and staying on the road was way easier walking. Seeing the footprints was my connection to something in the white out of walking. Then a plow would go by and I would be “alone” in the wintery world. After about 15 minutes I would see tracks again, so I knew “they” were still there ahead of me. About 4 miles in I thought I heard my name called. I had my hood up and the wind was quite noisy, but I stopped to look around. Sure enough, Italy was hidden between two buildings to get out of the wind to have a cigarette. We walked together for about 30 minutes when we came to an open café. In the café were the 2 Korean young ladies. So all 3 sets of footprints were now known. After a snack and a hot chocolate (Cola Cao), the shop keeper from Larrasoana walked in. It was fun seeing him again. He did another quick video saying hi to Cooper. I had told him we were all at his store last May. This time I was prepared with pictures. He is a great guy. He wants to buy an Albergue, so he can host the social dinners.

I forgot to mention. I got a message from Florida this morning. He is in Rabanal (just below Foncebadon and the cruz de ferro) They had 7” of new snow and their winds were 30 mph. He was very nervous about going over that ridgeline in this weather. I don’t blame him. The trouble is, the weather tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat of today.

It was tough putting wet stuff back on to head out into the blowing snow. The Koreans had taken off before me and someone had gone by while we were in the café, so still 3 sets of tracks. Italy was slow getting going, so he was now behind me. About a mile later there was a car stuck on the side of the road. Another car came up from behind with a shovel and started moving snow away, then the two of us pushed to get the car back on to the plowed roadway. My good deed for the day. The driver and the shovel guy both thanked me for helping.

The road is about a mile longer than walking the Camino for the final decent in to Tiacastela. When I got to that intersection, I debated taking the Camino, but there was still a lot of snow, so stayed on the road. About half way down the final decent I saw a side road that headed over to the Camino, but decided to stay on the main road. As I am walking into Triacastela I caught up with Italy again. He did take that dirt road back over to the Camino, that is how he got ahead of me.

At the place I am staying there is a German guy here. He started in Pamplona, but is basically walking 25 mile days since he doesn’t have much time. I have 6 days left, he has 4. Today he went up and over the mountain. That is a tough day in this weather.

I went to the laundromat and put my wet clothes in the dryer. This morning I had to put damp clothes on to start my day. I debated wearing my dry clothes, but then I would not have any dry clothes as I only have two sets. It all worked out. Tonight’s room is warm and dry. Tomorrow’s forecast is for another inch of rain. Pretty crazy. It is only 11.7 miles to Sarria, my shortest day of this trip. The only open restaurant in town is .4 miles away. I went to the market and bought stuff for dinner and breakfast. I got snacks for tomorrow as well since there probably won’t be any cafes open along the way tomorrow.

I have not been really focusing on where I have been staying. I have been treating myself to private rooms. I did touch on it a few posts ago. With the cold and wet it sure is nice to have the space to lay out my stuff. I actually rented a triple room for tonight. It was $5 more, but twice the floor space. You will see in the photo that it is nice to spread out, and no competition for the heater. Everything will be nice and dry to start tomorrow. When I am in a town I have stayed in before, I am choosing a new place. I have only stayed in a familiar spot twice this entire trip.

January 29, 2025

Triacastela to Sarria – 11.7 miles

I am writing this in the morning before taking off. It is raining now and is supposed to let up after 10. I don’t know if I can wait that long to start. My brain just likes to move forward each day. On the AT I gave up on trying to figure out the weather. Only 1 day (out of 120 days of walking) did I change my start time because of a forecast. Then it was severe thunderstorm warnings and we were about to head up above tree line. Here it is just rain and I have walked in it the past several days. One thing I am very disappointed in, is my jacket. I paid big money for a high end Arcteryx rain coat and it is no better than my inexpensive REI jacket. I never got to test it since we don’t get many all day cold rains in Phoenix. Oh well, today should be the last of the hard rains. The forecast for the next week is good. Plus, I am at lower elevations now so temps should be above 40.

I ended up taking off at 9:30 in a hard rain. The wind forecast was 20mph with gusts to 40mph. I had my rain pants on to start. The rains did let up every now and then. The forecast was for light rain on and off for the day. At the first break I took my rain pants off assuming the hard rains were done. That was not a good strategy. The hard rains did return, and I was on a ridge, exposed to the winds and nowhere to escape. My pants were soaked in seconds. Oh well. Most of the time I was protected from the wind, so I could use the umbrella. I passed Larrasoana as we climbed. It really is a beautiful walk today through typical Galician farmlands. Being January there were no cafes open today. The only place was a donativo rest stop. We have stopped there every year and last May Cooper and Chelsea ended up staying there for a few hours, hanging out, taking a yoga class, etc. Today there was a hostess, 2 Spanish guys I have seen and Italy. I had a couple crackers but moved on before I got cold. It wasn’t raining at the time and it is outside, so nowhere to get away from the cold.

As I approached Sarria the sun actually came out. I stopped and sat on a rock. I put dry inserts into my sneakers and put on dry socks for the 2+ miles remaining. I thought the rain was done for my walking day. It did start raining again when I reached the edge of town. It is supposed to rain on and off till tomorrow morning. I don’t think I have ever looked at the weather forecast as much as I have the past 5 days. The weather has been on the Spanish news here. While having a late lunch they had pictures of the snow in O Cebreiro. The heavy rain and high winds have been causing problems in this entire region.

I am in a nice hotel just off the Camino. I am in room 9. I think they have 18 rooms. They have a restaurant which is open and laundry in the basement. Jackpot. I am fed and have clean, dry clothes.

Sarria is where typically 50% of the people who walk the Camino Frances start. Normally about 20% start in St Jean with the other 30% starting at the various cities in between. It will be interesting to see if there are more people on the path tomorrow. This stretch is normally very busy, so we always stay away from the primary towns. This year I will be staying in the “busy” towns. Amazing, only 5 more days to Santiago. I have 2 float days with no plans.

Unfortunately, Florida is in Molinaseca, 4 days behind me now. He did make it through the snow over the ridge with the cruz de ferro today. He did not see my wolf friend. I met Florida in St Jean while getting our first stamp at the Pilgrims office there. He is still the only person from an English speaking country I have met besides the Irish woman walking backwards to Barcelona.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzue