A Nacho to the Rescue

Camino Day 6 Trabadelo- O’cebreiro
17 kms ALL UPHILL

Today was cold. A ‘Scotland in the morning’ cold; a see your breath and wish that maybe you had brought your mittens cold. Kathryn was turning purple so Ruth pulled out wool socks that her mom had bought in Ireland and Kathryn wore them on her hands. We stopped at an amazing artisan bakery in the morning where we had chocolate buns and hot-chocolate and it took us a really long time to leave because it was so great. A pelegrino who we had met at the hostal in Ponferadda who I know only as “Miriam’s Friend” rubbed Kathryn’s hands until they warmed up, so sweet.

We entered this day with forboding because we would be climbing to O’cebreo…the highest incline of the Camino. All we could do was keep going not knowing how the day would turn-out but I can admit that after climbing up to Foncebadon I was facing the day with fear. We biked a huge climb and took a break in La Faba where we ate with an eighty-year-old pilgrim from germany. On the wall beside us it advertized that if we wanted to take the next section by mule it would provide the way…(To get your pilgrim passport at the end of the Camino the only three legit ways to get there are by walking, biking or Donkey!)…we knew we were in trouble. Then we tried to climb and it was completely impossible. We looked in Ruth’s guidebook and it warned “Beware the road to La Faba” which meant that we had to backtrack down 2K’s to find the next steep route of death.

Oh, if only we had found a mule. Instead we were climbing in the mid-day heat up a mountain that deserved the fear we had projected. The elevation was steep enough that we all had to walk our bikes and the incline kept going up and up and up. Just when we thought we couldn’t do it we were saved by Miguel and Javier. They were two Spaniards who got off their speed-bikes to walk my bike and Rob’s bike for about half-an-hour. When they were spent we thanked them and told them we’d buy them a drink at the top. We had another angel of mercy in Spandex offer help. This guy was right out of the tour de France with the no-body-fat biker build and made biking that mountain look possible. We had just had help from Javier and Miguel so we told Tour de France man that we were okay, and even though he pleaded to help us we sent him on his way and took a break with the kids under the one shade tree to have some lunch. We prayed that Simeon wouldn’t careen down the mountain ledge.

We had just started our slow and cumbersome ascent again when we saw a truck coming down the mountain. The truck slowed down and out jumbped the Tour de France guy! He took my bike, put Kathryn on the back and biked her up the steepest part of the mountain for 10K’s! I rode Ruth’s bike up and Ruth pushed Rob’s trailer as he biked. We found out from Kathryn that Tour de France man’s name was “Nacho”. You could hear them counting from uno to dos in spanish each time the incline got unbearable. We got up the most difficult part until Nacho reached his bike again. We all took pictures and Kathryn yelled “I love you Nacho” as Nacho pedaled into the distance.

We finished the ride up to O’Cebreiro with Kathryn singing “She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes” on repeat. Was it worth the trip up O’Cebreiro? You’ll have to ask me when I can move my legs again…but to be on the top of world and see the view of your life and be surrounded by little thatched huts that are dug into the ground like hobbit’s homes was pretty incomparable. Dinner was also great. Salad, pasta, pork chops, fries and wine for 9 Euro’s. The only problem is we are now in Galacia. Tuna fish country!