Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that this summer (2019) I’m walking 200km along the Camino de Santiago, from Léon to Sarría in Spain. This is the fourth leg of the Camino which I started in 2016 (if you’re interested, I wrote a Q&A post in response to some of the questions people had asked me along the way that year), I’m completing a leg each summer until 2020. This is Day 33 (other posts linked at the end of this post).
Camino Frances Day 33: Las Herrerías to O’Cebreiro (approx 8 km)
What? ONLY 8 KM today? What’s with that?
This is what’s with that:
See how Las Herrerías starts in the valley? And O’Cebreiro ends on a hill? Uh huh. This was my day according to my Garmin.
Yup. I’ve known about this climb since the start of the Camino. And it’s legendary in that people talk about it and how steep it is. Of course, most people do it at the end of an already long day but I had divided my long day into one long-ish day and one short one. Because I was fully expecting for this to be MUCH harder than it ended up being.
Of course, it WAS steep, there’s no denying that… And it starts right after the flat village of Las Herrerias…
See:
And just continues….
Thankfully for those on two wheels there is an “easier” (i.e. paved) option…
But for those of us on foot, it looked a little bit like this for an hour or so…
With giant slugs to boot…
And just a lot of elevation…
Stopped in pretty La Faba for a coffee…
And pressed onwards and upwards… to be rewarded with spectacular views…
And finally passed into Galicia!
A few more kilometres and a few more views…
And all of a sudden (at 10am!!!!) we were there!
It felt like a bit of an anticlimax, to be honest – the 8km were for sure uphill but hardly strenuous if they were the only kilometres you were walking that day… I spent a long time wandering the tiny village, visited the church and few shops and napped the afternoon away (to be honest, it felt quite luxurious to have all that time!). Splurged on a BIG pilgrim meal that night…
Caldo Gallego (a Galician soup with white beans, potatoes and greens like chard – delicious!), “Egg and Chips with a touch of Chorizo Sausage” and Torta Santiago – an almond cake (I can’t wait to eat more of these next year!).
After all that rest and good food, I was definitely set up for a long day’s walking the next day (penultimate day this year).
Verdict: A strenuous climb but totally do-able if you take it easy and you aren’t doing too many kilometres that day. Glorious views guaranteed!
Stay tuned for the next leg where I arrive in lovely Triacastela!
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Disclosure: I researched Camino trips independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price and customer service. They were, in fact the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trips, they have been a pleasure to deal with and we have been very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more and, in fact, am booking my last Camino walk with them for next summer (the summer I will finally reach Santiago!).
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