Leaving Las Herrerías this year was a lot nicer than in 2024, mainly because it wasn’t pissing down with rain. It also made us wonder how we managed it back then, because the steep ascent went on for a considerable time – at least 30 minutes for the first part and 20 minutes for the next – thankfully broken up by a couple of bars to provide much-needed drinks.

The first bar opened about five minutes after we arrived, and also provided some relief in the form of playful kittens and goats 🐈‍⬛ 🐐 😊.

Continuing up for around an hour, we crossed over from Castilla y Leôn into Galicia – with not much fanfare other than a stone monument. The quality of the paths also improved marginally, and the way markers had far less graffiti on them.

Another 20 minutes saw us arrive in O Cebreiro, which is home to a bust of Dr. Elías Veliña Sampedro – widely considered to be the saviour of the Camino de Santiago. What was once an almost-forgotten mediæval route has become the popular trail it is today thanks to his system of yellow arrows and the first modern route guide.

We eventually made our way up to Alto do Poio, which sits at the top of probably the steepest section of the entire route. Thankfully, it only takes 5-10 or so minutes to get up it, but it works you really hard in that time, especially in the nearly-30°C heat.

We stayed the night in Fillobal at Albergue O Solpor – a place known for good cheesecake. Frustratingly, since visiting in 2024 (and for Jeff in 2025), it appears to have become overrun with flies (three of which were served to me in my Caldo Galego soup!), and so we didn’t bother trying the cheesecake – and also made a swift exit the next morning.

We decided to avoid the Camino-tourist-heavy (and stage end) town of Sarria and walk on for an hour or so to a place out of town. Sarria is where lazy people get bussed in wearing brand new shiny clothes and inappropriate footwear, in order to start walking the last 100km to get their compostela certificate without actually putting in the work. Going on for another hour also meant we weren’t walking with a larger crowd the following morning.

After passing the 100km-to-go marker, we also chose to walk through Portomarín – another stage end – for much the same reason: to avoid a larger crowd the following morning.

Today saw a – thankfully – slightly shorter day, ending in the tiny hamlet of Ponte Campaña that seems to consist of two houses and one hotel. As luck would have it, the hostel owner cooked well and has a well-stocked bar – so we didn’t miss not having any amenities.

Tomorrow we start the last three days of our walk… well, of our first walk. More on that later 😀.