Day 24 Villafranca del Bierza a La Laguna

I lef the albergue early today for one of the hardest climb on the Camino, the climb of O´Cebreiro. I plan to walk to La Laguna, a place just before O´Cebeiro. This is the last village in the province of Leon. Today we climb to the highest altitude in Leon some 1300 meters from 600m in Villafranca. The distance today is some 29 kms. Today is a walk with stunning views, and the camera does not do any justice to what we are seeing. We travel through small vineyards and chestnuts farms. Whilst I stop in some villages for a coffee the farmers take their cows through the main street to a different area. It is a wonderful and interesting thing to see and experience. Quite clearly this is the area where many pilgrims decide to start ¨their Camino experience¨ as their number increases greatly from this area onwards. For those who have ankle or knee problems this stage is not recommended as there are many loose stones and the climb is extemely challenging in some parts. I arrive at the albergue La Escuela around 1.30 pm. This is a small and great albergue. 3 of us decided to have the Peregrino menu for lunch at the restaurant at the albergue. We try the speciality of Galicia - caldo gallego - galician soup, then beef stew and for dessert galician cheese and quince jam. We met again with Karl, an American from Pensylvania who is doing the Camino and is also seeking information about how to get to Madrid once he finishes his Camino. Three of us decided to call a taxi to visit O´Cebreiro - some 1.7 kms up the mountain - to see this village and ancient church. Attended peregrino mass which was said in many languages. Today I was really tired so early to bed for our journey to Triacastela tomorrow a distance of some 26kms. Bye for now. Jose