Villafranca to O Cebreiro

Always first up, always last to be ready' - this is Tano's judgement of my morning routine and, as ever, he is spot on.

Today I was even worse than usual (sorry Tano!) - maybe I was just high from the great night's sleep I'd had, plus my low mood had finally broken and I was feeling full of energy again.

I woke up to see our Korean friend Sueon doing yogo on her bed (she always takes an 'up' bed so she can do bed yoga in the morning) - I thought maybe I should do some stretching too, but I stopped pretty quickly for fear of some part of me just snapping off - I feel my limbs are only being held together through sheer force of will at the moment.

We knew today was going to be a hard day as there was another big old climb, but the weather was beautiful and I was in the mood to embrace whatever the Camino threw at me.

I stopped for lunch with Susanna, Manon, Ines, Tano and Davide. Davide had found himself a stick for walking and Tano spent time carving it into a smoother version for him. It was gorgeous to watch.

I found out the beautiful wooden poles Tano had been using every day, he'd actually carved himself. I can't tell you how at peace I feel when I hear the 'tap tap tap' of these poles on the ground. Tano keeps us all grounded with his rhythm, he's a natural outdoorsman and is rooted in nature.

We past five barking geese further along - Davide named them Martine, Janne, Manon, Ines and Claire - rude :-)

Then came the 'up'. And what an up - it was baking hot by the time we reached the start of the ascent and for once I didn't need telling twice to get the walking poles out.

Bloody hell, what a climb!

We stopped half way at a cafe, where I downed a coke and read a Spanish children's picture book we found on a table to Davide, who had to keep helping me with my pronunciation (it seems I can't even manage Spanish for babies!) It was about a hungry rat, and there was even a little finger puppet so you could pretend to be the rat!

Storytime over, off we went again - with a promise from the cafe owner that this last section wasn't as bad.

She was right, and as we ascended higher and the trees thinned out, the view became utterly spectacular. I find that beautiful landscapes energise more than anything else and as I motored up the mountain, I couldn't wait to see the rest of the gang and enjoy a beer in this glorious setting.

I arrived at the hostel whooping and holla-ing joyfully - an entrance Martine said Don had predicted :-)

The gang, along with some of the Italian and Spanish guys we'd met along the way, were all sat outside our hostel bar enjoying a beer in the sunshine and I couldn't wait to join them.

It didn't take long for me to switch my poles and backpack for a lovely cold lemon beer, which I devoured along with the view.

That night, with no kitchen, we ate dinner in the bar - the food was really great, the chicken was yummy and Janne didn't eat all hers so I polished that off as well!

During dinner I got chatting to Rick, who told me that when he saw me in the hostel on the night before our first walking day, he thought, 'that is not a girl who walks'.

I loved his honesty! And he was bang on. I wasn't a girl who walked, but now, exactly four weeks into this adventure, I most definitely am. In fact today I totally nailed a massive mountain - go me!

I'd been texting my friend Laura that day, and she asked if she could call me later to tell me some news, so after dinner, I hurried into the bar, keen to catch up.

Laura: 'So you know how you text last week to say that I should definitely do the Camino one day?'
Me: 'Yeah, you so should!'
Laura: 'Well I am, I'm coming out to walk with you on Friday.'
Me: 'What?'
Laura: 'I'm coming out to walk with you on Friday for a few days, is that ok?'
Me: *bursts into tears*

What an end to the day! I knew my best friend Shane was coming on Friday, and now Laura is too! Apparently she booked her flights ages ago but they thought it would be funner not to tell me until the last minute - you guys!

So a perfect end to an incredible day. Well it was almost the end - the actual end was Davide buying me and Janne shots of random liqueurs in the bar - swaying on a bar stool in the company of good friends is not a bad way to round off a really special day.