O Cebreiro on the Feast of St. Mark

Only 17.5 km today, but the last 8 km included a rough, rocky climb of almost 700 m as we left El Bierzo behind and entered our fourth Spanish kingdom: Galicia.

We left early and had our second breakfast in Vega de Valcarce. By the time we stopped for a drink at a funky albergue/bar in La Faba called “El Refugio CaminArte”, we were halfway up the mountain. We arrived at the top utterly exhausted, checked into the Xunta albergue, showered, ate, and bought some postcards.

Francine took a nap while Rebecca and I explored the little Disneyesque town. We found Penny here – she arrived in stocking feet, hobbled by severe blisters but still going strong. 

Also at the albergue were the sisters Lauren and Francesca, who we hadn’t seen since León.

I spent some time in the little church here, returning in the evening for Mass.

I was missing those evening Masses that you find in every church (well, it seems like every church) in Navarra and into La Rioja. In Castilla and León, they were nonexistent. In fact, it was difficult to find an open church at all, except for the cathedrals.

I wonder if this has to do with Navarra and Galicia being, essentially, Catholic countries, whereas Castilla and León are secular countries with a Catholic history and tradition.

Or perhaps it is simply different diocesan regulations.

In the church here, I spent some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Enshrined above the tabernacle is a chalice, paten, and six reliquaries containing bloody altar cloths, corporal, and purificators. These are the relics of a Eucharistic miracle that occurred in about the year 1300.