#o cebreiro

[jkrikis]

camino frances / o cebreiro

© 2023  Yiannis Krikis

[eopederson]

Palloza, O Cebreiro, 2011.

The round stone building topped with a straw roof is a traditional building type in the mountainous areas of northwestern Spain.

[eopederson3]

Cruz en la colina sobre O Cebreiro, día lluvioso - Cruzar no outeiro do Cebreiro, día de chuvia, 2001.

[agustivm]

6ª Etapa. Villafranca del Bierzo a Cebreiro. 32-33 km. 14 de abril de 2022

De Villafranca del Bierzo a Cebrreiro. Día espléndido de luz     Subiendo el Cebreiro  

[slowroadtosantiago]

Day 36 - Las Herrerias to Fonfria

Today was the last of our big hill days. Over the course of the day our ascent has been 1039m, with the first 678m climbed in the first few hours. My phone is showing over 14 miles. Nonetheless, we’re not feeling too bad at the moment!

We set off about 20 past 7 and we could see low cloud ahead. We were hoping that we would climb above it rather than it hanging around throughout the whole climb. Leaving the village in the early morning light we initially walked uphill on the road up through some lovely green countryside before the path started to climb on a dirt path. It reminded me very much of walking our local tracks in Wales.

Up and up we went to the first village. It was still early so we pushed on to the next village for breakfast. The path left the woodlands and came out into an open area where we were indeed rewarded with amazing views with the cloud below us.

A final push to the next village and we found a cafe open for breakfast. The last part of the climb was relatively mild in comparison to the first two sections, we even had a mountain biker pass us huffing and puffing away.

We finally emerged at the top and O Cebreiro. The views back down were tremendous. O Cebreiro is also a very quirky place, there are quite a few thatched houses which we hadn’t seen before. According to the book it’s also where more people start the Camino from, but we didn’t find it too busy.

The countryside on the other side of the hill looked so Welsh! Even the hedgerow flowers reminded us of home - dandelions, buttercups, forgetmenots, daisies and the odd bluebell. The fields were full of wild flowers and the paths undulated by the side of a very quiet main road.

We stopped for coffee at a place that was also the village shop. Shortly afterwards, at the top of a rise, we came across a statue of a pilgrim heading west. Someone had left an envelope for pilgrims to open, so we did and there was a sweet note inside.

A few more kilometres later at the end of a nasty climb and with our stomachs starting to rumble we came across a cafe where we ate a huge slab of tortilla each. As we were sitting outside a group of horse riders arrived, de mounted and had a beer which the resident dog objected noisily to.

Also pecking about under the tables were some hens and a cockerel!

According to the map, it would all downhill from there, and it was more or less. A couple of miles later we arrived at our Albergue.

It’s a fab place. There is a great hangout area with comfy sofas, we both have bottom bunks in a large well spaced out bunk room complete with real sheets (not the usual paper ones), and duvets. We’ve got little bedside lights and cupboards with electric points in. When we arrived the lady on reception saw our stamp for Casa Susi where we were a few days ago and said that they were all friends. I could see why as even though this place is very much bigger, it has a similar vibe.

After showers and washing through my smalls I sat and worked out how many miles my phone has walked. It’s showing 424 miles at the moment (it’ll also include post walk wanders).

Jane went off to have a drink with Deiter, one of the Germans we met a while back, while I did some admin. I joined Jane a bit later and she was sat talking to two Americans, Rick and Richard, who work in the wine industry.

At 7 we went for the communal meal. It was held in a separate traditional round building like the ones in O Cebreiro. The food was fabulous and very much traditional to the area, starting with a vegetable broth, then a really tender beef stew with rice, followed by a local cake that tasted like it had ground almonds in.

As we left the dining hall the neighbouring farm was bringing the cows in for the night.

We’re now back chilling in our bunks. Tomorrow will be shorter at 11.5 miles. It will still be a bit undulating but nothing compared to today!

[bonsoirs37]

23/05 étape 49 Ambasmestas - Triacastela

Le petit déj n'est servi qu'à 7h30, trop tard pour nous, mais il ne faut pas partir trop, on risque une non ouverture au prochain village. Tout est dans le timing. Donc départ 6h30.

C'est toujours avec plaisir que je me lève chaque matin pour effectuer l'étape du jour. Je me demande déjà comment je vais faire quand je vais revenir à la maison...

Après les 900 m de dénivelé positif (cumulé) parcourus hier, nous allons dépasser les 1100 m aujourd'hui, les montées ça va , mais les descentes me paraissent plus difficiles. Sur 35 km c'est gérable, surtout que les derniers km sont en descente, sur ces derniers km nous imprimons un bon rythme ( comme si nous venions de commencer).

Les paysages et les traversées de villages sont très agréables , surtout le passage en Galice avec ce premier village : O Cebreiro qui nous accueille avec de la musique celtique...J'ADORRRRE. Village avec des toits de chaume, boutiques en rapport avec , bien-sûr, el Camino, mais aussi avec la culture celte. Je résiste et attends la fin du voyage pour faire les emplettes. (C'est stratégique : j'évite de porter des objets sur les 5 derniers jours...oui vous lisez bien..5 jours, dingue comme ça passe vite).

Depuis le début de la Galice, nous avons toujours de beaux paysages ( comme d'ailleurs depuis Astorga), on a envie de rester là et d'admirer sans fin ces lieux authentiques et très peu transformés par l'humain.

Nous essayons avec JP de prévoir le cheminement depuis les sommets que nous "gravitons", mais souvent il y a un changement de vallée et nous sommes à côté de la plaque. Peu importe, nous apprécions chaque mètre dans notre évolution.

Pour les Pèlerins français...? Toujours aussi peu présent. J'ai parfois l'impression d'être en Corée ou en Chine.

[rizomaticamente]

O valor dos nosos argumentos dependerá da súa capacidade para mostrar até que punto certas prácticas alternativas, que ben poderiamos denominar biopoéticas, son quen de liberar a noción de vida do estrito dominio da xestión económica e político-admisitrativa do Estado.

María do Cebreiro

[borderpaolino]

Santiago d.C. 2009, dodicesimo giorno.

Martedì, 12 maggio. Pedrafita do Cebreiro – Santiago de Compostela Pioggia forte per tutta la notte, oggi potrebbe essere il giorno di Santiago. Salvo complicazioni. Dormire molto o poco non ha più importanza. Preparo le cose con dovizia. Scendo per la colazione, al bar. Una coppia di pellegrini si rifocilla. Pago il conto, la Tv è accesa, meteo pessimo. Sella Mattutina è rimasta in una specie…

[onthesameplanet]

《騎馬》法國之路 - Day 26

In Liñares616.0 km completed.156.9 km to go.0530-1330 昨天還發文說天氣好熱，睡覺時連睡袋都懶得打開，誰知昨晚就凍醒了，但由於睡在上格床，又懶得走上走落，最後縮左一團繼續睡到五時起床。 由 Trabadelo 去 Liñares，要爬過前往 Santiago 的最後一個山脈。Liñares 剛好是這一段路線的最高點，加上 Liñares 在朝聖之路前的一個城市O Cebreiro…

[pilgrimguyanne]

The lonely Londoner

The hardest part of walking 377km isn't the walking. I mean, the walking can get hard, but it's not the hardest part. The hardest part is walking alone.

People like to wax philosophical and say every Camino is walked alone and, while that's technically true, it's also not. Moreover, it's not meant to be true if you undertake to do a Camino with others.

I set off for this Camino with two others, and I thought it would work because I'd done a Camino with my friend before. He's taller and faster but on our last Camino it worked fine. We would walk the first 5km or so together, stop for a break, and then he would walk ahead and I would walk at my pace and we'd meet up for lunch or a break or at our accommodation, and I assumed it would be like that this time. But you know what the old people say about assuming.

By the third day, I'd looked into the possibility of returning to England- it was cheap and practical. I felt that like the other two were on a separate journey, like I was lagging behind, always running to catch up, like I was extra, a third wheel. I tried to address this, but you can't really get people to change how they walk, nor did I want to. They, for their part, tried to convince me that it was all in my mind, that I wasn't extra, but every day I would meet new people and they would pose the question: are you walking alone? It was saddening, because it made me realise I was perceived as being alone, although I wasn't. It also made me sad that lots of times, there would be a challenging bit of mountain or global warming induced fire rays, and days later other people would check in on me, but not the actual people I was on pilgrimage with, because we hadn't shared those moments. And I hadn't shared moments with them.

There were some days that were better. My best and worst quality is that I will say exactly what makes me unhappy, even if no one wants to hear it. I did this twice (making me the whinger), and even though it was difficult and uncomfortable, things definitely improved. Walking to O Cebreiro and the Cruz de Ferro, my friend walked with me, and that's something I am thankful for, because I didn't want to experience the big moments of the Camino on my own. Another day, heading in to Arzua, I asked if we could walk together, thinking we'd do maybe 2km. But in the end it was more like 8. We walked to Monto de Gozo together and entered Santiago together. Don't get me wrong: I've walked the Camino on my own, but that wasn't what I set out to do this time round. And so, even though in total it's less than 30km, my favourite part of the Camino Frances were the distances I didn't walk alone.

I also came to appreciate the fellowship of the other pilgrims: my three older ladies from California; two couples- one from Austria, one from I don't know- who would see me days later and greet me with, "we were wondering about you"; Marie from France whose nephew is dating a Trini and is currently visiting Trinidad; Clare from Fulham; Jennifer from Kentucky; random German boy who offered me cigarettes; group of 40 teenagers from Basque who overtook me 2x a day and greeted me afresh each day; Spanish couple praying rosary through speakers. They reminded me that I'm a person other people want to spend time with, even if I didn't feel like that most of the time.

Arriving in Santiago, we were able to spend more time together. But the joy of the Camino is in the journey, and there's a bittersweet feeling that the chance for bonding along the way was lost.

I am happy I finished this Camino- I'd always wanted to walk from Leon (we started a bit before), but I also regret it. We sort of have this belief that we have to finish everything we started, as though life is a plate of vegetables that will do us good in the long run. But some things- bad books, unhappy holidays, miserable relationships- should be cut short. I know that now.

And yet, and yet. I don't regret getting to spend time with my friend. I treasure our approximately 25km, and all the meal times and breaks. Living in a different country makes quality time a challenge and I don't think we'll ever have another opportunity to spend 3 weeks together. It's a delicate balance, and easy to fall.

Until next time, walk good.

(all pics in this post are selfies, or taken by randoms along the way)

[camfrancs]

¿Hay que ser creyente para hacer el Camino de Santiago?

Hay creyentes y no creyentes, cristianos y personas de otras confesiones: lo que une a todos los que emprenden la ruta de camino de santiago es el deseo de vivir una experiencia que les permita redescubrir la verdadera naturaleza del hombre ("aplastado" por el frenesí y la ansiedad de nuestro tiempo), lo más profundo de su corazón, de su alma… También están los que se mueven por la búsqueda de lo trascendente y los que se ponen en camino a causa de acontecimientos o pruebas que la vida les ha puesto delante: una enfermedad, un dolor, una pérdida, pero también una gran alegría que ha llegado de forma inesperada.

¿Cuántos kilómetros tiene el Camino de Santiago?

Recorrer todo el Camino de Santiago (aquí nos referimos a la ruta más conocida para los que vienen de fuera de la Península Ibérica, también conocida como Camino Francés y de unos 800 km de longitud), desde los Pirineos hasta Galicia (región del extremo noroeste de España donde se encuentra la ciudad del apóstol) lleva una media de un mes.

Cada uno tiene su propio ritmo: no es una empresa deportiva, para disfrutar y enriquecerse con una experiencia tan única hay que encontrar el propio ritmo biológico y espiritual (para quien crea en él) y seguirlo (tan frecuentemente violado en la vida cotidiana). En mi humilde opinión, sería bueno, para entrar de lleno en todo esto, poder disponer de al menos diez días, si no dos semanas, para dedicar a la caminata, haciendo la mayor parte posible.

Camino de Santiago: los lugares y etapas más sugerentes Las regiones que atraviesa la ruta compostelana son: Navarra (y Aragón para los que entren en España por el puerto de Somport en lugar de Roncesvalles), La Rioja, tierra de vinos de renombre, Castilla-León con sus inmensas mesetas (mesetas esteparias), Galicia, tierra de siemprevivas y de cultura celta.

Los lugares más evocadores son muchos, pero algunos lo son especialmente por estar ligados a leyendas o milagros ocurridos en ellos; Roncesvalles (vinculado a las hazañas de los Paladines de Orlando (o Roldán), Santo Domingo de la Calzada, con la única catedral del mundo que tiene en su interior una jaula con dos gallinas vivas, San Juan de Ortega, antiguo monasterio perdido en un robledal a 1.000 metros de altitud, O Cebreiro, lugar de cuento y misterioso a 1.300 metros en la cordillera galaico-cantábrica, puerta de Galicia, vinculado a un milagro eucarístico (como Bolsena).

[jkrikis]

camino frances / o cebreiro

© 2023 Yiannis Krikis

[eopederson]

Paisaje gallego cerca de O Cebreiro, Lugo - Paisaxe galega preto do Cebreiro, Lugo, Galicia, 2011.

[eopederson3]

Iglesia y busto de Elías Valiña Sampedro (extremo izquierdo en el centro), O Cebreiro, 2011.

"Elías Valiña Sampedro, conocido por el cura del Cebreiro (o en gallego, O cura do Cebreiro)" was responsible for making contemporary pilgrimage to Santiago feasible by encouraging the marking of the route with the yellow arrow. In the way that Santo Domingo de la Calzada was made a saint for his contribution to the pilgrimage, it would seem only fitting that Valiña be nominated for sainthood.

[camifrances]

Camino de Santiago - Camino Francés

El Camino Francés

Hablaremos sobre El Camino Frances Etapas y Mapa comienza en los Pirineos y avanza por dos variantes que corresponden a dos puntos de entrada diferentes: Roncesvalles (en Navarra) y Somport (en Aragón). Las rutas se unen en Puente la Reina y luego se dirigen hacia Galicia a través de los territorios de La Rioja y Castilla y León. Pero no olvide Santo Domingo de la Calzada, con la única catedral del mundo que tiene una jaula con dos gallinas vivas en su interior, San Juan de Ortega, el antiguo monasterio perdido en un robledal a 1.000 metros de altitud, O Cebreiro, la puerta de Galicia. Y a lo largo de la ruta hay muchas ciudades importantes e incluso interesantes para visitar con tiempo: Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, Astorga.

El Camino del Norte El Camino del Norte (Ribadeo-Santiago) fue utilizado durante casi toda la Edad Media por los gobernantes europeos para llegar con seguridad a Santiago y atrae a los peregrinos por la belleza de sus paisajes. Es la mejor opción para quienes quieran vivir la esencia de esta ruta de una forma intensa y auténtica. Puede descubrir el Monasterio de Santo Toribio de Liébana en Cantabria o la Catedral de San Salvador en Oviedo. Lugares sagrados que albergan algunas de las reliquias más preciadas y veneradas por toda la comunidad cristiana.

El Camino Primitivo El Camino Primitivo (Alto do Acevedo-Santiago) recorre la ruta que siguió el rey Alfonso II el Casto en el siglo IX para visitar la tumba del apóstol Santiago descubierta durante su reinado. Comienza en Oviedo, atraviesa los bosques y valles de Asturias y enlaza con el Camino Francés en Palas de Rei.

[slowroadtosantiago]

Day 35 - Trabadelo to Las Herrerías

It’s now the end of our 5th week and we’ve just got 9 days walking left! 376 miles covered and just over 100 miles to go!

Despite our best intentions to sleep on late as we only had a short day today, we were still on the road by 10 to 8.

We both had a good night’s sleep, which is why we naturally woke about 6:45. The rest of the dorm were up and some already out the door. We had breakfast at the Albergue and it was nice to have yoghurt and cereal for a change.

We only had 10k to walk today so stopped at several cafes on the way, firstly for coffee, then for orange juice, then at a chemist and a supermarket, wasting time as we couldn’t check in until 1.

The path followed a side road along a valley floor all the way, seemingly in between a main road and the motorway which was perched high above us.

Every now and then we’d get the smell of blossom and it turned out to be huge jasmine bushes.

There were many small villages on the way, one with a very defensive goose squawking away.

We passed a set of allotments where the vegetables had been sown in the shapes of a heart and an arrow.

We arrived at our hotel in a very sleepy quiet Las Herrerias about 11:30. They wouldn’t let us in so we had a coffee waiting for the rest to arrive. Across the road was a field of curious cows.

Ernest turned up first, having walked from Villafranca. The girls (Nicole, Alex, Janet, and Jude) were going to come by taxi and Tim was walking in later. We eventually got our key then went for lunch with Ernest at the cafe down the road.

We ordered sandwiches and Ernest had the menu. As we were finishing the girls turned up and it was great to see them again. Also in the cafe we met our very first Welshman, a young man called Dave from Bala. Apparently he and a few other of the young ones had brought instruments and had been jamming together. Dave has now sent his guitar on but Rio (we think that was his name) still has his ukelele so we may get some music later. Tim turned up as well and we had a pleasant hour catching up.

After a shower and chill we made our way downstairs to hear the awful news that the Birthday girl was ill. She has a gluten intolerance and even though was told at lunchtime that her meal was OK, it obviously wasn’t as she was being sick.

The rest of us gathered (including Laura and Ashley by now). Alex had got a cloth hat that we all signed, and a Happy Birthday light-up hair band. Janet did some Happy Birthday and Get Well signs that we posed with and sent them up to Nicole via WhatsApp.

We started on our food and Nicole felt well enough to join us for a while which we were really happy about.

It was a lovely evening, we’ll see some of them again in Santiago but had to say goodbye to others.

Jane and I are now packed up ready for tomorrow. We’ve got a 12.5 mile day and a big climb up the last mountain to O Cebreiro.