O Cebreiro: a village of 12 inhabitants that counts pilgrims by the hundreds

Ana Martinez

Pedrafita do Cebreiro (Lugo), Aug 5 (EFE).- 160 kilometers from Santiago and 1,293 meters above sea level is O Cebreiro, a village that, with just a dozen inhabitants, counts hundreds of pilgrims that this 2022 receives daily . If long ago subsistence agriculture was predominant, today everyone in this small Galician town lives off the Camino.

It is reached by the LU-633. The car must be parked outside. Two swings preside over the entrance of a town crossed only by three cobbled streets where it is possible to hear people talking in English, German, Italian…

If in the 1970s three wanderers came to this enclave, and with luck, the now called “universal village” has definitely become an unavoidable transfer point.

There are pilgrims moved by spirituality; others who start walking for sport, and the most, those who seek to find a way to solve internal problems and give a change to their existence.

Those who make the French stage, the Jacobean itinerary with the greatest historical tradition, will see that at the first stop when entering the Galician community there are inns, restaurants, grocery stores, a public hostel, laundry and a modest tourist office where they are received by Digon Star.

Frequently asked questions, this woman tells Efe, are bus schedules, where to sleep, where to eat best and also questions such as how far away is the nearest pharmacy or health center.

“This is because of the peculiarities of the area,” he says. The pharmacy is five kilometers away, it works until eight in the evening and on Sundays it is closed. If someone needs something outside of those hours, they should go to another twenty kilometers away. And the office is not a 24-hour emergency room.

A long-suffering walker who walks in, and is tired and sweaty, wants to take a shower. She explains the way and which door to knock on. “I’ve been here for a few years now. They come from people on their own, to groups, and families with children.”

Francisco Javier Castro Miramontes, “Fray Paco”, is the man from Compostela who guards Santa María, a pre-Romanesque jewel where he gives the pilgrim’s blessing and, depending on the circumstances, can even act as a lifeguard.

More than once, during the winters, this Franciscan born in 1971 has gone out to retrieve someone trapped in the snow.

“Welcome to one of the most emblematic places of the Camino de Santiago. More than a thousand years of history contemplate us. This is where the Camino resurfaced in the 20th century thanks to the predecessor Elías Valiña, who had the brilliant idea of ​​the yellow arrow, the official anagram”.

It is his jovial presentation. And “may kindness be your mark in this life” her repeated advice.

Let this friar see his trade, his manners, and he speaks with emotion of the deceased parish priest Valiña, originally from the Lugo municipality of Sarria, who had so much merit, because when he began to fulfill his desire to promote the ancient road, the so-called French Way was at some points totally impassable.

It was not an obstacle. He delimited sections, convinced priests and mayors, and involved associations. He used Valiña employee paint cans in the 20th century to mark the roads, hence, among other reasons, the yellow color.

The locals remember a curious anecdote that this visionary starred in the Pyrenees where, after being stopped by the Civil Guard while he was in the middle of drawing arrows, he answered the query about what he was doing at the border crossing in the following way: preparing a great invasion from France. They took him to the barracks, where, after the initial brawl, everything was cleared up.

He died in 1989, aged 60. Fray Paco shows his tomb inside the basilica. And outside there is a statue that pays homage to him.

In the surroundings of the sanctuary are the “pallozas”, one of them converted into a museum. They are typical dwellings of the mountainous areas of the peninsular northwest, Bierzo and part of Lugo, with a stone facade, thatched roof and oval floor plan, adapted to the climate. Manuel González, the guide, gives a good account of these details and many others of interest.

Between backpacks, shells, written messages and guided tours, there is time to taste tortillas, eggs, octopus and the local cheese, that white, soft and grainy paste that is shaped like a mushroom or a chef’s hat. O Cebreiro is home to a low-production cheese with an intense flavor.

With the provisioning resolved, at the top of this natural barrier between Galicia and Castilla y León, the panoramic view is worth it: the greenery of the fields skillfully intermingles with the ocher tones of the leafy trees.

With such a poster, such a place of respite, loaded with symbolism, is well worth a stop along the way. EFE

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O Cebreiro: a village of 12 inhabitants that counts pilgrims by the hundreds