My Journey to Santiago de Compostela Part XXVII
I left Trabadelo around 8:00 am and headed west towards Galicia. I was excited to finally be in the province where I would end my journey. With no place to have breakfast in Liñares, I was walking fast (in spite of the pain on my ankle) because I was eager for a cup of coffee and something to eat. I found the best place ever for breakfast! A small albergue held by a gentleman from San Francisco and his wife from Denmark. The only thing they served for breakfast was “churros con chocolate”!!!! When it came to pay, it was up to us since they only accepted donations.
While on a very steep climb, I ran into two ladies walking ahead of me, one of them had two tiny snickers tied to her backpack. As I passed her, I asked her to whom these belonged and she told me they were her grandson’s who died a year ago. He was the reason she and her daughter were on the Camino. I caught up with the daughter at the top of the hill and approached her. I told her that I was sorry for her loss and we both embraced in tears. She wore a tee-shirt with his picture and told me his name was Carter. He was six years-old when he passed away. After I left her, I kept walking silently crying and praying for Carter’s soul.
By 1:30 pm, I crossed the border into Galicia and now was less than 160 kms away from Santiago! In theory just five days to go!
After climbing a few more slopes, I reached O Cebreiro and met with Tomoko. She was able to get into the municipal albergue but I could not find a bed in town. I would have loved to spend the night there but I had to walk another three kilometers to Liñares where I could get a bed at a private albergue.
Liñares turned out to be a very small town of just twenty-four souls. The owner of the albergue had a eight-year old daughter who had no other child her age in town to play with. She had to go to school and ride a bus to the next village every day. There was no food at the albergue and no restaurant in town. Just a general store across the street where you could get stuff to make sandwiches and eat with a glass of wine. That is where I met Ellie, from the UK and we sat for a chat before going back to the albergue and hit the sack.
