Saturday, October 6, 2018

Day 6 - Casabelos to Alto do Poio, España, October 6, 2018

We were the last to leave the albergue at 9 am.  The two bed rooms run all the way around the church and there are communal bathrooms in the middle.  It was a great place to stay for $7.50-


Some walkers are so crazy they're on the road at 5:30 when it's still dark and very cold.  Last night it went down to +2.  On bikes, we have to wait for daylight because if we're on the highway, we don't want to be hit by a car and if we're on the path, we have to be able to see its dips and rocks.  I don't mind getting away later anyway.  

We stopped in Villafranca Del Bierzo for breakfast and had our bikes washed and greased.  My bike seemed to glide a lot better after that although it didn't help me go up the hills....

What a day!  We went 45 km on our bikes and entered a new province-



We also went 4.5 km in a taxi!  From Villafranca Del Bierzo, it was a long, long climb and when we got to the last turn, we stopped for lunch.  It started to rain/sleet and blow so we stayed in a cafe for awhile and then called a taxi to take us the last 4.5 km which thank God we did because it was all uphill, in the rain and wind.  Today was also the first day we shipped our panniers ahead of us to avoid the weight on the ascent, so we weren't really dressed for the weather and we had nothing to put on.  We got to O'Cebreiro and tried to get a room in the albergue but apparently cyclists need to travel at least 50 km / day, rain or shine and we hadn't come far enough so there was no room for us in the inn!  We went to a nearby restaurant/hotel and were told there wasn't a bed to be had in the whole village!  And the rain continued to fall and the wind to howl-


Luckily, the waitress phoned a place in Alto do Poio, 10 km away and they had room but that meant we had to bike there.  It was not fun and I ended up walking most of what turned out to be uphill, I think because I was completely exhausted from the big climb earlier in the day.  Along the way-


It's hard to see the incline but it's there-


Now, we've eaten, had a few drinks, are nice, warm and dry so things are good.  The forecast looks awesome for the next 4 days so here's hoping!

P.S.




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