The wooden floorboards in the albergue creaks. And since we didn't know how many pilgrims were still asleep in the lower level, we had to tread carefully as we started to get ready for the day. The albergue reminded me of those old houses in Baguio and Vigan, not really in the way it looked but more in the atmosphere and the feel of it. It had a musty smell with muted yellow lights and if you were on the fanciful side, you'd swear it was haunted. But it was pretty and neat and I quite liked staying there.
From Pereje, we set off for La Faba. La Faba is the last town before you start on the climb to O’Cebreiro. It's said that O'Cebrerio is the toughest climb in the Camino Frances. Along the route to La Faba, we saw many signages offering horse rental services for the climb. I have to say, this worried me a bit. The last time I had a very tough climb, I had to get on a donkey part way and I was imagining the same level of difficulty. We had no intention of renting a horse but we took photos of some of those ads anyway, just in case we needed them at some point during the walk.
We took a lunch break at the last town at the foot of the mountain before the ascent to La Faba. Here we saw actual pilgrims on horseback and this worried me even more, so I started conditioning my mind for the challenge. And it was challenging for me, but instead of worrying about the whole route, I took the climb one bend at a time. It helped that there were other pilgrims also struggling with the route so I didn't feel so alone. I was able to get to the albergue early enough that they haven't started letting the pilgrims into the rooms yet. I had time to catch my breath and look around before we had to queue for a bed.
We chose to take a rest in La Faba because it was already a few hundred meters up the mountain. That means it cuts the climb we had to take the following day to about half. And as it's about halfway up already, it gave me a much needed shot of confidence. Having experienced part of the terrain already, I was reasonably certain I can get up to O'Cebreiro on my own steam, without the help of a horse.So yeah, getting there made me feel good, body aches and pain notwithstanding.
I have to say that the albergue in La Faba is one of the most organized one I have seen along the walk. Definitely, one of my favourites. The kitchen was well-equipped and well-stocked with spices and condiments. Not so big but clean and well-maintained. We decided to cook our usual camino meal of pasta with sardines in oil. As it turns out, everyone also wanted to cook dinner. The kitchen was a fun madhouse with people of different nationalities cooking things as simple as pasta and those making the effort to make their own pizza from scratch.
As we learned later that afternoon, staying turned out to be a good idea since sometime in the evening, some pilgrims arrived. Apparently, they had to turn back after already moving to the next town due to the lack of accommodations.
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