Starting out from Requejo this morning, fortified by ample coffee and a slice of tortilla española, the official Camino path follows a rural path alongside small fields inhabited by longhorn cattle. After a short distance on the flat we had to make our way up to the N525 road, along which we walked a good proportion of the rest of the morning's walk. Being on the roadside meant that the ascent was gradual, but it is somewhat monotonous walking on tarmac, even if the road is hardly used by traffic any more. Not long before the summit, as the motorway enters a tunnel through the mountain, we went off the road back onto a path which joined a service road which took us to the top of the Padornelo pass. At 1350m this is the highest point on the Camino between Seville and Santiago. A large concrete/stone cross erected at this point provided a good opportunity to take a photo to mark the occasion.
Today was a day of beautiful countryside. The view down the valley back towards Requejo with the high speed rail line cutting through it was impressive, together with the refreshing sounds of the River Pedro gushing down from near its source into the valley below. On either side of the valley were the mountains which were, because of the variety of heathers, purple headed, reminding me of the hymn that we've all known all our lives. Today we were accompanied less by the grasshoppers of yesterday and more by the sound of birds including a few cuckoos. Sanabria certainly has a wealth of natural life.
Padornelo is a village on top of a hill with a bar, a church, a hotel, a petrol station and a little bar among the few dwellings. This bar, like so many in Sanabria, doubles up as a shop selling a wealth of local produce. This bar s had a huge array of tasty pork products - ham, chorizo, salchichón, and more - a range of cheeses, and sweet biscuits made locally. We stopped off for a bite to eat and were treated to a huge plate of cheese and a similarly enormous serving of chorizo. It was a friendly place and a great place for some respite.
The second part of today's stage was downhill for most of the way, losing almost all the height gained in the first part of the day. Rather than the monotony of the roadside, we were soon directed by the Camino waymarking down a path which became a shaded green lane. The water coming off the hills was directed into channels running by the side of the path, which meant the constant accompaniment of the flow of water which complemented the warmth of the sun which became quite hot mid-afternoon. Past a farm with beehives we soon reached the village of Aciberos. This village was always on the traditional Camino path, but diversions because of the construction of the high-speed train line meant that since 2016 the Camino had been diverted away. It seems it is back on the official Camino again, though the path which, shortly before the village, becomes a stream would be difficult in less clement weather. The village itself is very pleasant, bucking the trend towards decay of most of the villages in these parts. There was a great deal of reconstruction of traditional houses and many which had already been restored. Still...no bar!
The final part of today's stage continued downhill, in some parts quite steeply, along the shaded green lane. Crossing the river again over an ancient bridge under the newly constructed railway line juxtaposed new and old in a way which didn't clash too much. The last kilometer was a climb up to the village of Lubián, the last in Castilla-León before we enter Galicia tomorrow. Again we have a rented little house with a bar nearby, both owned and run by a friendly man who lived in Valladolid quite near the English College. It was like meeting an old neighbour!
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