Thursday, 9/28: We depart Villafranca del Bierzo to begin our trip to O Cebreiro. As we begin the ascent the views of the valley and mountains around us are spectacular.
The weather was perfect as we headed out in the low 60’s, with the sun shining.
The ascent was steady and steep with grades of a minimum of 10% most of the way and unexpectedly we reach a plateau with the most amazing view on a clear day.
Then the path leads us to a plaza of what looks to be an ancient church and we’ve arrived in O Cebreiro. Here we officially arrive in the region of Galicia, with its own dialect that combines spanish and portuguese.
The origins of this small village trace back to the “celtiberians”: Celt settlers that historians deemed lived in the area as early as the Bronze age (9th century B.C.). The celtiberians applied their building practices for the harsh weather they faced in the sierras of O Courel and Os Ancares. Their villages were comprised of buildings called pallozas. It is no coincidence that as I walked through this restored village with pallozas, hearing traditional Galician folk music playing in the background, I felt I might have walked through a time-travel portal to an Scottish village in the Highlands. And from every vantage point there are amazing views.
That evening there was a full moon that lit the view over the eastern horizon almost like a bright sun.
A perfect view for this mystical and ancient place.