Day 8 - La Faba

We walked 17 kms today up and over Cebreiro mountain. We left Angela's albergue in Fonfria at around 9 or so in the drizzling rain but no wind. It was so wonderful to see Angela again. Since I saw her last May a year ago, she met Pedro salsa dancing in Ponferrada (she said that dancing is her passion) and two months ago, they got married. She seems so happy. In her words, she goes to sleep dancing and wakes up dancing.

Today was a great day of walking. After taking an easy day yesterday that included a taxi from Samos to Triacastela and only walking 9 kms up to Fonfria, both my legs and feet (blisters on my right foot pinky toe) as well as Sharon's left leg and right knee are starting to feel a lot better. It turns out that my skin rash on my shins was a sign of overwalking, not enough cushion in my boots, and needing to use poles. Since buying poles in Sarria and using them for the past 50 or so kms, plus making sure that I was taking ibuprofen, my legs have been feeling better and better. I am still a little swollen after walking, but I am learning to put my legs up whenever I can.

Already this Camino is so different from my first one, on so many levels. Last time, no blisters, no leg issues and warm sunshine after getting out of the mountains. This time, blisters, leg issues, lots of rain and cloudy overcast skies everyday. I expected it to be different, of course, but you really never know exactly how.

Today is also the last full day of walking "Al contrairio" of what I walked last year. Tomorrow our plan is to get up and finish walking down the mountain and have tea at Vega del Valcarce, where I stepped onto the Camino a year ago. I am both excited and nervous to step completely into the new and unknown.

Even with having walked this part of the path before, it can still be challenging to walk in this direction. In the little villages, it can be unclear which path is the Camino. Two days ago, our intention was to walk from Sarria to Samos. Somehow (and I still don't understand quite what happened) we ended up on the path that went directly to Triacastela, without going via Samos. In the little village of Montan, we asked which was the path to Samos. An older woman carrying a homemade bottle of "vino tinto" (red wine) took us down the hill, with tears in her eyes as she talked to us about the convent in Samos. She pointed us in the direction of Samos and watched us as we walked up the hill. Only when we walked a kilometer or two did I put it all together and realize that we had actually been on the path to Triacastela and not on the road to Samos at all. No wonder I didn't remember the 9th century pre-Romanesque church we walked by. I had never seen it before!

We ended up walking a quiet cross road to Samos for at least 6 or 7 kilometers. Beautiful, but not the Camino and it was all walking on asphalt. It was so hard on our feet and legs. This was when my leg hurt the most and it took everything I had to just keep walking. I sang "joyfully, easily, lovingly and gracefully" in a random order for many kilometers. We wanted to go to Samos to stay at the monastery, but ended staying in the hotel across the street with our own private bathroom and room. After our expedition, we both just needed to quietly regroup and tend to our feet and legs.

This is why we ended up taking a taxi to Triacastela!
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