The Camino Duro (The Hard Way)

"On account of its large height difference the Camino Duro alternative, which is very strenuous, is not advisable at the start (before the ascent to O Cebriro)....of a stage."  - Rother walking guide book

Naturally Sara and I started the day with the Camino Duro alternative and ended the day ascending to O Cebriro. This was one of (if not THE most) challenging but special days we have had on the Camino. From Villafranca there are two routes to continue on The Way. The low road next to the highway and the Ccamino Duro alternative which ascends 480 meters and descends 380 meters. You basically climb a mountain, walk along it and then descend the mountain into Trabadelo. Based on the guide book and our stubbornness, we decided to take the Duro. It was AWESOME. If you ever do the Camino, definitely take the Duro. It's a physical and mental challenge but the reward is well worth it. We had stunning views and hardly any fellow pilgrims on the trail. We were able to see 360 degrees of mountain views, we looked back onto the beautiful village of Villafranca, saw little ant pilgrims on the low road and were ecstatic that we elected this route. An incredible way to start our day.

After descending the mountain, we came across an awesome pilgrims spot that served vegetarian food...El Puente Peregrino. It is the first vegetarian joint we have seen in all of Spain. They have an abundance of vegetables, farming, etc in Spain but don't seem to feel the need to actually eat vegetables. The diet is maddening. Lots of carbs, more bread than you can imagine (it is served with every meal) not many vegetables, lots of red meat. I don't know how this country stays thin. Maybe they just serve the crap to the pilgrims?

After refueling we continued our march towards Santiago. We eventually arrived at Ruitelan, essentially the base of the 600 meter meter climb to O Cebreiro. We stopped and refilled our water bladders, ate some tapas and drank a cafe con leche. We are sufficiently addicted to the coffee here, it is simple yet delicious. The owner of the bar indicated we were "mas tarde" to make the ascent. The guide book indicated this would be a three hour climb and we had just over three hours until nightfall and had already walked a very difficult 25 km with some ascent in the heat. 

We were feeling good and decided to push on. YES we are loco. Sace led the charge up the mountain. After an hour and a half we saw our buddy Jesus at La Laguna who told us we had about 30 mins to the top. We had a quick stop, wolfed down an empanada and refilled the water. This was a moment I will never forget. I had a euphoric feeling unlike anything I had ever felt before. I was physically and emotionally spent, I had emptied my tank, I was in serious pain (my feet in particular) and yet I was full of life and energy. I have only experienced a runners/endorphin high a few times in my life and yet none were like this. It was surreal. I utilized this energy and we pushed ourselves to the top, crossed into Galacia and made it O Cebrario, a town classified as a historical monument.

We completed a three hour climb in just over two hours. An hour after we arrived, the weather severely turned, the fog rolled in and we understood the mas tarde warnings. The weather changes from beautiful to cold to severe fog. We barely made it, but we made it. And I had a feeling I will never forget.

Camino Tip del Dia: While most would consider the iPad a luxury, it has been an incredible asset for the camino. It has kept us in touch, I have been able to blog, Sara can upload and save the pictures, if we have wifi access (pronounced wee-fee and not as prevalent as you would think) we can make calls, look up places to stay and eat, carry multiple movies and books, stay semi in touch with the world. Thank you Apple.

Camino Friends del Dia: Shlomi and Jackie. They are a fascinating couple that currently reside in Dubai but are originally from Israel and England (I think. Maybe it was Holland?), respectively. They are both right around 50 but seem much younger. They are a fun loving couple enjoying the Camino prior to hopping into an RV for 6 months. Good times. Shlomi loves the fact that I am Jewish. Not too many members of the tribe (he loved that expression) out here on the Camino. I met a young group of four Israelis (2 boys, 2 girls) early on in the trip and one American male but that's pretty much the list to date. I'm sure next time I see Shlomi he will have more info on our Jewish pilgrim homies.

Camino Random Observation del Dia: Spain is in the midst of a major recession.  The unemployment rate is 25% for the country and shockingly over 50% for young adults under 25. That is one of the reasons the people of Spain love the Camino. It is big business and is keeping alive hundreds of little Spanish towns along the way that would be in serious trouble otherwise. Apparently there are a lot of similar small towns around Madrid suffering horrible fates because they don't have something like the Camino supporting them. There definitely is a bit of a commercial/business feeling along the Camino.

Camino Song del Dia: During our last climb up to O Cebriro it was time to turn Sara onto the Dead. I had already successfully turned her into a Phish phan on this trip so it was a logical progression, some might even say backwards. She liked both Phish and the Dead before but now she is forced to listen to my iPod for hours on end. For such a special climb, I felt a special show was in order. So we both queued up Cornell 5/8/77 for the climb. This is regarded as one of, and some even say the best, show the Grateful Dead have ever performed. It really fit the beautiful, stunning and majestic climb.