Sharing the Camino with Cows

 

Day 64 - Triacastela

     Our store bought breakfast from the night before got us going.  We were the last out of the hostel at 8:30.  We did not want to miss any scenery in the dark, and we didn’t have far to go. It is still very hard to get used to the daylight times. (sunrise at 8:30am, with sunset at 8:30 pm).  It makes for a short morning, and long evening.  

  The church at O Cebrello is the oldest church on the Camino, dating back to the ninth century.  Among the curious legends is that one cold wintery night, the bread and wine turned to flesh and blood, which is preserved in the Holy Grail kept in the monastery.  The church has a unique side room with a perimeter lined with red candles illuminating the crucifix.

     The descent down the mountains was a comfortable walk, unlike most descents on the Camino.  The scenery was pastoral and dramatic. We met a crazy guy who is bicycling the Camino with a chicken. He claims that she lays an egg each day.  The cage sits on the front of his bike.  Passing through one farm hamlet, we were caught in a daily cattle run to the day’s pasture.  Because of the narrow roadway shared by cattle and pilgrims, we accompanied the cows for a stretch, each eyeing each other with a bit of awkwardness.  We didn’t get a chance to ‘run with the bulls’ in Pamplona, but we Caminoed with the cows in Galicia.

     Slowing our pace a little to arrive in Sarria tomorrow gave us a long lazy afternoon in Triacastela at the foot of the mountains.  We have a private room in a hotel and a good restaurant. It was fun to reconnect with some pilgrims: the travelintillburies from Canada, the four sisters, and a British lady we stayed with a few nights ago.  She has since taken a face plant fall like mine, breaking her wrist in four places and having five stitches on her face.  But that doesn’t stop her from continuing the Camino.

     We are so excited for tomorrow! Calvin, Sassa and Manny will meet us and will walk part of the Camino with us.  Many of our fellow pilgrims have heard that they are joining us and are anxious to meet them.