Pedrafita do Cebreiro, Spain

We set out at 8 in drizzly weather a bit unsettled because our hosts were unavailable. We just put the keys in the room and our packs in the hall entrance and left. It was a bit of a lesson in trust since usually we say goodbye to someone at the front desk when we go. We found coffee and toast just down the lane, but the bread here is so chewy that it hurts my jaw. Let’s just say I suffered breakfast. We had planned a short 14 km today because we are ascending a mountain about 2300 feet gain in altitude. The landscape as we hiked was gorgeous! We saw lots of flowers such as heather, forget me nots, and mountain flora and there was a chorus of birds. We avoided the muddier steeper route by walking the carretera or highway. It was not well travelled so quite peaceful. Most of the pilgrims took the muddier trail so we had lots of time on our own. We hiked alongside a family with mom, dad, son, and baby in a perambulator for part of the way. We had lunch at La Escuela where the views were fantastic. There we had lentil soup and dawdled over our coffee because the rain had become more intense. Despite my efforts to dress for rain, I got soaked. Norm, on the other hand, was feeling good and dry in his pricy Marmot raincoat. When we finally reached the mountain top it was a magical feeling to enter the Elven village. With just a little wandering we located our new hotel, our packs were waiting. We enjoyed a nap then wandered the village before we even settled our business. We are now reserving our rooms two days in advance because it’s getting crowded on the Camino. So our business each day is to find our next hotel and reserve a room. Then we call Jacotrans, who manage our luggage transport, to let them know our updated plan. The village on top of the mountain was really different because it’s Celtic. The gift shops had Celtic jewelry which I coveted, but didn’t buy because we are still walking. There were also a lot of tourists who weren’t hiking the Camino. It gave us a hint as to what lies ahead.