Amazing how quickly a week passes when walking the Camino! That is especially true with three difficult days in a row: 1. The steep downhill from Foncebadon to Molinaseca; 2. The long slog through Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo; and 3. The exhilirating but exhausting climb to O Cebreiro. Those are behind me, and now all that remains is the final week through Galicia into Santiago.
It was distressing to se what a tourist trap O Cebreiro has become. Trinket sellers and overpriced food places (4 Euros for a breakfast consisting of a cafe con leche and 2 piece of toast) dominate, and three tour busses with guides speaking English arrived when I was having a beer. It is a lovely village with my favorite church on the Camino. Sadly, it cannot be reserved just for peregrinos.
The weather remains warm to outright hot as it is this afternoon. The Camino remains crowded with albergues full or nearly so. There seems always to be a peregrino or two in sight ahead, and a turn shows one just behind. The mixture of people walking is fascinatibg. Geographically the Spanish, French, and others from the Continent are most numerous, and half the population of Ireland seem to be walking, but the relative absence of those from the US is puzzling.
Canadians are numerous, I have met a dozen or more from BC and even a half dozen from New Brunswick. Many French-Canadians are also on the route. In contrast I have met fewer than a dozen from the US since leaving Pamplona. A great thesis topic would be the mix of nationalities on the Camino.
This began as a blog on the general topic of pilgrimage with postings including examples of pilgrimages, photos and musings on various matters related to that topic. It was abandoned in 2012. I am now Reviving it after abandoning tumblr. From January 2019 it will be more general with coverage of thoughts and travels, though pilgrimage will remain an important element.
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