We stayed at the Posada Real Paraiso del Bierzo, a 4 star hotel that was previously a butter factory but has been converted very tastefully and has a good (by pilgrim standards) restaurant and bar on site.
There was no view from my room as the roof window was small and too high to get to, but the view from the patio was lovely (we spotted a Beech Martin hunting in the field last night). The room was well air conditioned with a very comfortable (and large) bed. As we left, we took one last look at the hotel in its surrounds and had a glimpse of a little hamlet called San Julien nestling in the hills.
Today would be a very short walk of 8km, but we would climb over 600m during that time. Thankfully the path was very reasonable and although steep, not too steep. We began the ascent through woodland and shade, the sun was out full bore so the shade was very appreciated when available.
As we emerged from the wooded area, the views opened up around us and gave reason to stop and catch our breath frequently. We were stalled for a few minutes as a little family of cows was herded down the hill. I moved to the side to let them pass but the “mum” just plodded straight to where I was standing and didn’t look like changing her trajectory so I did the sensible thing and moved aside.
Not much else to report as it was such a short walk, so here is a view back eastwards. Crazy to think we come over 630 km from that direction already.
As we topped the hill and rounded a bed we crossed into Galicia, which feels like a “Celtic influenced” region of Spain. One evidence of this was the bagpipe player at the entrance to O Cebreiro. Interestingly, although Galego and Spanish are Romance languages (derived from Latin), Galego is more closely related to Portuguese and has 7 vowels rather than the usual 5 found in Spanish. A quick look at the Church of Santa María of O Cebreiro and its serene interior and we were done for the day.
