day 47 – draft Sunday, 22 October 2017 Cacabelos to La Faba

day 47  – draft
Sunday, 22 October 2017
Cacabelos (Kakabayloss says a local) to La Faba
32 km today - 521 km on Camino Frances – 1,356 km from Le Puy - 163 to Santiago

Breakfast is at 08h and I am away by 08h30.  With sun rise at 09h it is light.  There are some ups and downs but nothing strenuous for the 8 km to Villafranca del Bierzo where I have two Zumo de Naranja Natural, por favor (fresh orange juice, please) and a loo stop. 

I have looked at my guide and map.  Here I have a choice of going up a hill and steeply down the other side (and a further 2 km) or follow the road.  I choose the latter and how to get back to the N-VI (formerly the N-120) and away I go.  All is well until I start a left turn towards the highway when two old biddies on my left start talking loudly and pointing to go ahead.  I am saved by a younger man on my right talking to them and waving in the direction I have preferred.  In no time I am beside the N-VI and facing a tunnel.  It is a wide tunnel with a signs saying what can pass through.  I see cars, bicycles, people and other stuff.  So I proceed: the tunnel is well lit but I still put my headlight on and 415 metres later I am at exiting.

From here for 9 km to Trabadelo the road follows beside a river and is flat.  And there is a paved path beside the road with a concrete barrier.  Suddenly, it seems, there is an attractive woman striding alone side of me.  She has also started from Cacabelos and is headed for Vega de Valcarce (Valcarchay is my take): this is Janine from Alaska.  I learn she has four boys (who learn to shoot at about 12 to be safe from marauding wild life) and lots of other stuff.  She wants to know which island I live on.  Remembering James Cooks map of 1770 I reply Te Ika a Maui and tell the story of why it is called the Fish of Maui and that I live near the mouth of the fish of Maui (Wellington Harbour) and also the story of the waka of Maui and his brothers: after all we have more than an hour to use up.  We stop at the entrance to Trabadelo: me for a Zumo etc and her for an early lunch.

I move on the 9 km to Vega del Valcarce for my late lunch after 27 km of walking.

The guide says 6.5 km to La Faba and about 300 metres of elevation increase.  The walk along the river valley is pleasant enough but no significant rise in elevation.  The hills loom up either side and to my right I can see the A-6 motorway bridges: these remind me of the stairs in Tyve’s dream house in Fiddler on the Roof – one for coming down and one (at a much higher elevation, it seems) just for going up.  And in this valley I keep hearing bells tinkling.  First I see a small flock of sheep with a good growth on them: it takes a while to spot the ram and even longer for him to do a quarter turn so I can see the bell under his neck.  Then small groups of cows with the sound of a bell coming across the stream.  There is no doubt this is dairying country from the cow pats on the road.

After a lovely 4 km of this the climb starts and after more than 30 km so far I am in no mood for the sudden rise: 250 metres in 2 km – you’ve got to be joking.  But I don’t wont to do the entire hill in the morning.  I am saved by the sound of a car and I am quick enough to put my thumb out in time.  The driver needs to hop out to open the passenger door and we are away.  We have quite a long chat so it must have been more than 2 km (or so it seems).  And she takes me to the Parish albergue run by a German group dedicated to Jacobsweg (Jacob or James’ way).

The hospitalera is welcoming and efficient: she tells me she spends a fortnight each year opening the albergue and the final two weeks of October before closing it for the year and that she has done this for 14 years.  The kitchen and eating room is a pleasure: the furniture is of pine or similar wood and looks as though one bench was bespoke made to fit the angles of the walls.  I first cook some porridge and later go to the tienda (think small narrow bedroom) for some food for dinner.  The downstairs dorm sleeps about 28 (14 bunks) and there are about 20 of us and we all work in together using the kitchen.

While I hog one of the two power sockets in the dining room my recharger can take 4 devices.  I catch up on Monday’s DomPost and the other news sites I watch.     

And so to bed.