Wednesday we passed through the village of O’Cebreiro (pronounced oh theh BRAY roh). It is a hilly, damp, green region in northwest Spain that feels a little Irish. It gets some of Spain’s harshest weather, so the houses are made of stone with very small windows. The village almost has a hobbit feel to it. We were excited to reach the church here because it is supposedly the oldest church on the entire French Road of the Camino de Santiago. The building is actually embedded into the ground, with sunken floors that add protection against winter storms. The church was founded in the year 836. Also at the church we saw a Historial Miracle which happened in the 12th century. There is a chalice and reliquary of significant importance. Here is the story: A peasant from a nearby village braved a fierce winter storm to come to this church for Eucharist. The priest scoffed at his devotion, only to find that the host and wine had physically turned to the body and blood of Christ, staining the linens beneath them, which are now on display in the silver box. At the same time the statue of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child bowed her head to witness the miracle.

The hiking has been difficult going through our third mountain range. We spend most days hiking up dry creek beds, hopping slabs of shale, and going down steep, rocky pathways. But beauty continues to surround us and we quickly forget the distance traveled.

Today (Thursday) we walked past a man carrying a large wooden cross and dressed in traditional clothing.

We are now in Sarria and look who we met up with!!! Yea! Vance and Francesca (Deb’s son and his girlfriend) are walking the last 100 kilometers with us to Santiago.

We have 71.6 miles to Santiago. We can’t believe it!🌍🙏🏻🌍