Villafranca to O Cebreiro

Hodophile:

“If you’ve got wanderlust, you also qualify as a hodophile. Many words define different aspects of travel, but few come as close to capturing the love of it quite like this one — not least because, in terms of vocabulary, it’s a bit off the beaten path.

Derived from an ancient Greek word (οὐδός) pertaining to roads and journeys, hodophile is a lesser-known travel term. That’s oddly fitting, given that those who exhibit it are known to travel to lesser-known destinations. ” – WordGenius.com

Day 31 – Villafranca to Las Herrerias – 12.4 Miles

June 15

E: I am glad to be in the town where we are tonight, Las Herrerias, population 7, seriously, 7 year- round residents 😋. Others come seasonally or drive here to work. Very rural village, pastures, places to stay and eat.  I have looked forward to today and tomorrow for months. We have never stayed in this town before, but we have walked through here on each of our previous Caminos. I scheduled (2 mos. ago) a horseback ride for tomorrow morning to go five miles to O’Cebreiro. Gary will hike up. 

We have reconnected with some people from the beginning of our trip and have joined them at cafes periodically in the last couple of days. We socialized over dinner tonight. Tracy is from New Zealand living in Australia, Steve is living in Minneapolis and Shane in Kentucky. We had met Shane our first night on the Camino and later connected with the other two. Great conversations and laughter.

We had our laundry done for us today! 12 Euros for the owner to wash and dry it. A dryer! Makes the socks feel better than sundried. They give it back to you folded, in about 4 hours. Gotta love it!! 

Tomorrow is a rest day as the horseback ride is the only thing I am doing. O’Cebreiro is at 4,200+ feet in elevation. Population 1,200 during the Camino season. O’Cebreiro is also a tourist town. More on that tomorrow – well, further down in this journal for you readers! 

Day 32 – Las Herrerias to O Cebreiro – 5.2 miles

June 16, 2023

G: This morning I walked the 5 miles and 2,000+ vertical while Elizabeth rode a horse. As you can see from the photos it is a beautiful climb. We have never taken a rest day where we don’t walk at all. This basically is a rest day since E is not walking and I did only 5 miles and finished before 10AM. I am typing this at an outdoor Cafe in O Cebreiro while E is riding up. She started an hour after me.

I really enjoyed the hike. The first half is through the forest, so the humidity was basically 100%. I passed the Irish sisters part way up. We haven’t seen them in almost a week. I did take a quick break in the first of two, very small, villages to get a fresh squeezed orange juice. As you get higher the trees basically disappear leaving spectacular views. O Cebreiro is at the very top of the hill.

I try and be open minded but I do have a thing against ebikes. I did a brief study yesterday as bike’s went by us. Of the 16 bikes only 5 did not have a motor. Very few bikers carry their belongings with them as well. The ebikes go too fast and my feeling is if you are going to do the Camino you shouldn’t have a motor on your bike. OK, enough complaining.

Elizabeth and her horse possie (4 riders total) arrived a bit after 11. We hung out with Victor (owns the horses) and several friends enjoying pulpo and cervesas till 1. The problem is I didn’t look closely at check in time. We can’t get into our room till 3PM. Oh well. Off to get a geocache, visit the local church, Santa Maria do O Cebreiro. From Wikipedia: “The origin of the church seems to have been a pilgrims’ hostel, which would be the first construction related to the pilgrimage built in O Cebreiro. The church or sanctuary would have been founded and built in the 11th century, originally being a priory dependent on the French house of Aurillac.”

E: Yay! A fabulous day for a ride up the hill. A bit cloudy, cool and the sun came out with a bit of wind at the top. I started my day with a slow roll out bed, sat at the restaurant and enjoyed coffee and toast while Gary ate his eggs, bacon and toast…ok, I had some of his bacon ; )

Gary headed up the hill after we packed my backpack to send up in a van. It only cost 6 euros ($6.50) and I have carried my pack on the horse three times before. It was worth it. More comfortable. I was joined by two from the UK and another American. Victor, the owner of the company you schedule with, walked the 5 miles up 2,000 ft on foot, holding on to my horse’s tail like a rope tow and “pulling” a lead line attached to both rider’s horses behind me – they had never ridden before.

O Cebreiro has stone constructed buildings, most roads in town are large stone, and there are thatched roofs all at 4,200+ feet. One of many websites on the village:

O Cebreiro a Must See on the Camino Frances

We have reconnected with many people we separated from after Leon. The church was full of pilgrims at 6pm for a one hour flute and vocal concert followed by a service at 7. We walked the town and came inside, yet again, for the third time this week, just in time as the heavy, large sized hail, thunder and lighting decided to welcome Friday night guests.

G: We had an interesting comment about how walking the Camino must be difficult for an introvert. E is definitely an extrovert and loves talking with everyone, even if she can’t speak their language. I use my limited Spanish to communicate with locals, but I don’t really talk with other walkers unless they approach me and speak English.

That said, there are more introverts walking than extroverts. Almost everyone has planned and traveled to get here, so they are open to whatever experiences the Camino will provide. We show pictures of groups and we enjoy meeting people so our blog is geared toward a very social experience. There are a lot of single walkers. Last night at dinner there was our group of 5, plus 3 separate tables of a single diner – 2 women and 1 man. Many couples stay pretty much to themselves. The Camino truly offers an experience for everyone, whatever that means to you.

I tend to walk alone, by choice, while Elizabeth enjoys walking with other pilgrims. As far as sleeping arrangements you can get a private room (as we have done this trip) or sleep in bunkrooms with other pilgrims. Your Camino experience can be whatever you want it to be.

“If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question or asked the question wrong.” – Pat Parelli (thought you’d like this quote Mare!…(Gary’s step mom Mary owns a horse)