Media (37)
Climb to O Cebreiro: hard road, important clarifications, and birthday eve.
July 9: from La Portela de Valcarce toward O Cebreiro, with a considered passage via Vega de Valcarce and high-altitude arrival in late afternoon.
July 9 was one of those days when the Camino changes face several times. Midday I was stopped in La Portela de Valcarce, with the initial idea of closing the stage in Vega de Valcarce. The road was not great: lots of asphalt, traffic nearby, less poetry than other stretches. Catherine too, who was farther back in Pereje area, confirmed the same feeling: route not very exciting.
Exactly for this reason, instead of closing early, I chose to relaunch: aim for O Cebreiro. I was happy to be able to reach it, because I had heard from everyone it was very beautiful. I knew it was more demanding and that I would have to push, but I felt that climb would put me back into the real Camino. Meanwhile Andrius was already farther ahead and we stayed aligned at distance with location and messages: at one point he wrote that he had found space at the pilgrims’ albergue and sent me the exact point, telling me to keep going because beds were still available. That kind of help, when you are climbing tired, weighs hugely on the positive side.
At the top a beautiful sunset was waiting too. It would have been great if Catherine had managed to reach us to live it together, but that day she stopped about 10 km earlier.
In that stretch another point was also clear to me: there was no longer hope of seeing the Italian group again (Stefano, Maddalena, Antonella, Matteo, and the others). They had passed O Cebreiro about a week earlier, they were far ahead, and it had become realistically impossible to meet again. On the same day I also heard from Thomas: he had already reached Finisterre and returned to Santiago; I confirmed to him I had moved my flight to the 24th and was taking it more slowly, precisely to avoid losing people along the road.
During the afternoon there was a deeper conversation with Catherine. She wrote that seeing me go ahead to O Cebreiro could look like running away, while I explained that was not it: I had caught the signals that she needed some space, and at the same time I wanted to use the day to reach the others before my birthday, so we could all meet again and then spend the next day together. She later confirmed it herself: she needed to be a bit alone and agreed on not forcing anything and following the flow, but since she could not read my mind she had thought I was escaping from her. I clarified that was not the case.
We told each other things directly: she said she struggled to “guess” my thoughts and preferred more clarity; I said I was not running away and that I wanted to keep sharing the Camino with her, without forcing. In the end we realigned on the simplest principle: go with the flow, impose nothing but stay open. It was an important, human clarification that put things back in order without drama.
Meanwhile I kept climbing, she kept a calmer pace, but with a clear perspective: meet the next day in O Cebreiro.
Once in O Cebreiro, quick shower and then evening with Andrius and Carla. The atmosphere was completely different from the valley floor: cooler air, sharper light, threshold feeling. In group chats early wishes were already starting to arrive, and at sunset I shared a video of O Cebreiro: it was my birthday eve and the place seemed perfect to close the day, offering drinks to Carla and Andrius, who were with me that evening.
Later I also heard from Francesco: he had done a very long stage, almost a personal record. Talking about Andrius, a detail came out that struck me: he had lost his glasses along the route, had gone back, and in the end found them. In the evening, though, the best thing was another: at dinner Andrius was present, smiling, inside conversations, without hiding in his phone. Small signs, but strong.
The fatigue of the final climb, the air cooling as you go up, and then the high-altitude sunset: one of those endings that empties your legs but fills your head.
There are days when arriving is not enough: you also need to clarify, choose, realign. And when you do, the destination weighs less and is worth more.
If reading this diary makes you feel the Camino might be calling you, but you still need to clarify a few things, start with the free guide.
Day notes