Day 22 (6/2) Herrerias to Fonfria

(written 6/5) 

Happy Birthday, Mama G! I love you and appreciate you.

This day might be my favorite day on the Camino based on the beauty of the walk and the novelty of the towns we visit. We left las Herrerías fairly early because the walk is pretty burly in terms of elevation gain.

Kellie: "Cory, help me write this blog post."
Cory: "It was like...moist that morning. From the rain."

I think we have the beginnings of the next great American novel.

One of these days I'll actually post the elevation profiles and maps of the various stages of the Camino, but today is not that day.

We climbed up and up and up and up until we reached O Cebreiro. Like 2024, there was someone playing the bagpipes to usher us into town, which is a very fun way to reach O Cebreiro. From CaminoWays:

Perched at 1,300 metres above sea level, this charming spot marks the gateway from the region of El Bierzo into Galicia. O Cebreiro is a small yet remarkable village, full of character and history.

Nestled between the O Courel and Os Ancares mountain ranges, O Cebreiro is home to traditional mountain dwellings called ‘pallozas’. These unique pre-Roman homes can only be found in this part of Galicia

‘Pallozas’ are circular or oval, with granite or slate walls up to 1.70 meters high and thatched roofs. These houses are examples of Celtic design and offer a glimpse into ancient life in the region.

By the early 20th century, O Cebreiro’s church and inn were in ruins, while locals still lived in ‘pallozas’. The priest of O Cebreiro, Don Elías Valiña Sampedro, secured funding to restore the church and village. They built new houses, rehabilitated the ‘pallozas,’ and transformed one into a folk museum.

Today, nine ‘pallozas’ are preserved there. Four are managed by Galicia’s Cultural Council and function as an ethnological museum.

It's definitely got some tourist kitsch to it, but kind of the perfect amount of kitsch. Our group easily spent 90 minutes to 2 hours enjoying the town. One of the highlights is a traditional soup from the area: Caldo de Gallego.

After O Cebreiro, we continued to walk toward Fonfria, where we stayed at the same great albergue that we did in 2024. I believe the owner of this albergue (Miguel?) is the president or holds some sort of leadership position within the association or private albergues. He runs a great establishment. We got to have some Gallecian cheese, and Cory played a song/guitar duet with one of the employees (from the Philippines) who requested Wild Mountain Thyme to practice his singing and his English.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a witch ceremony this year, but we DID get a dinner concert from the bagpiper. It was rowdy and fun and there was much rejoicing.