Enjoying God's Goodness: Fairy Tale Hamlet

This morning we left our Albergue in a light rain at 7:45. Fortunately when we got to the end of the town, it stopped raining and didn't rain the rest of the time that we walked. It was a sweet grace gift from God because it was a long steep climb today and would have been dangerous in the rain. We had breakfast on the porch before leaving but then stopped in the very modern and upscale town of Vega de Valcarce about 1 1/2 miles later for coffee. We were really impressed with the classy little place we found. Several very nice homes in town were built in such a way to allow for a neat cafe in the basement....complete with bathrooms, large ovens for baking bread and upscale gift shops.

We walked through several little picturesque little towns and villages. In the last little hamlet before the steep hike (Herrerias) there was a farmer who offered horse rides up the mountain. Sounded very cool but when we got there, the group for the morning had already left. We could only enjoy the horse droppings along the path! All along the way to Herrerias we were walking along the River Valcarce.

We saw lots of cows, horses, sheep, and chickens along the way. There were patches of pumpkins, some quite large.

Beyond Herrerias we were in woods for quite a ways. It was cool and very pretty, but the paths were full of rocks. Again it took a lot of concentration to watch your step and climb the steep terrain at the same time. In one town I saw a cool cafe that was named OMEGA. It brought to mind a song from my childhood:

God can do anything, anything, anything...God can do anything but fail.

He can save, He can keep, Satisfy with joy complete.

God can do anything but fail.

He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End

He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

God can do anything, anything, anything....God can do anything but fail.

I sang it, hummed it, and thought it all day...and He proved himself faithful.

He could keep the rain from falling all day while we walked even when the skies were black with clouds.

He could give us the strength we needed and provide safely as we walked.

He could create the most beautiful views - mountains, valleys, sunshine throughout the rain in the distance, a rainbow...it was endless and stunning. I think I fell behind Andy walking because I had to stop and enjoy the beauty every little bit...and take pictures, too.

Often I really wanted to break out signing "The hills are alive with the sound of music."

The steep incline (one of the steepest of the whole pilgrimage) went on for 5 to 6 km. We were rewarded with the 360 degree views of the Valcarce Valley. Then at the very top to top off the day was the little fairy tale town of O'Cebreiro. It was just amazing...little cottages with thatched roofs, old stone buildings all in the same stone and style, and a wonderful church which is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Camino. I cannot say enough about how cool it was. All the streets were cobblestone. Just the neatest little town so far on the Camino. It looked like it could have been built as a movie set! I am told the stone buildings were originally part of the monastic settlement dating back to the 11th century.

The church is also the resting place of Don Elias Valina Sampedro, the parish priest (lived 1929 to 1989) who did so much to restore and preserve the integrity of the Camino route. It was his idea to mark the route with yellow arrows to guide the Pilgrims. Now the stone buildings are gift shops, restaurants, a grocery store, and hotels.

We stayed in a Muni Albergue named Xunta. Late in the afternoon high winds whipped across the mountaintop and rain fell for quite a while. Fog set in....was kind of eerie. We have been told that weather will be unpredictable from now on...unexpected storms and westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean, along with the mountain fog are common. Soups for warmth are common in this region of Galicia where we are now walking.

After dinner in a quaint restaurant we went to the Pilgrim's service and blessing at the church. Here it is so very old and authentic and it has a large wide screen Tv monitor with song words in English! That's a first for us along the Camino. It was a fitting way to end a good day on the Camino!