Day 25 - Vega de Valcarce to Alto do Poio

     Today was a long and rewarding day.  It was a hill climb of >1000m of incline (700m net elevation gain), mostly in the first half of our 13+ miles today.  

    We woke up early to avoid the afternoon heat, and left our Albergue at 6:30 AM, after a good breakfast.  The first part of our walk continued to follow the river upstream, but then veered into a number of switchbacks until we reached the spine of the mountain-range.  We walked along the spine for a few miles - frequently having simultaneous views of the valleys both to the East and West, until a very sharp rise up to our stay in Alto do Poio (which, translated from Galician, seems to mean "Poio hill", and not "high chicken").

    The day started cool, and as we walked up through the valley we were in the shade of the adjacent hillsides and mountains.  As we got closer to the top, we got out of the shadow, and suddenly the temperature seemed to spike 20 degrees.  We even saw this in the insect-life - we went from zero butterflies and bees to insects in a frenzy that wouldn't bother to sit still - all in an instant.
    The going was (as predicted) slow.  We stopped at a number of towns/villages along the way for another Aquarius or Coca-cola, or for a bit of time in the shade.  Or just to rest on the way to the top.

    It was interesting (at least to me) watching the trees and plants and wildlife change as we went from river-forest to plains, and succulents (on the dry-side of the mountain) to ferns and grasses (on the wet-side of the mountain).

    After arriving at our 'home' for the night - at about 2:30PM - we got ourselves cleaned up, turned in our laundry for 'professional' service, and went across the street for a 3-course pilgrim meal (with a bottle of wine included).
    The restaurant came with a Big Dog.  A very good dog.  Must have been 150-180 lbs.  We are friends.  I have pictures.  

    We are both feeling physically fine, outside of normal end-of-day aches.  Tomorrow is going to have a long downhill - poles will be required.  Downhill can be hard on the knees (and other parts if you don't stay upright).

    Birds were good today with the changes in climate zones.  33 species (a number of the 'urban' birds were not seen today), and 4 of them were new, with pictures of two of them.
    Similarly for plants and insects.

    On to the photos!

    An early start, at 6:30AM to try to avoid some of the afternoon heat.  Light enough to see, but about 30min before sunrise (assuming you are not hiding in some shadowed valley):

    Hiking up the little-used road, following the river upstream:

    And as we follow one of the tributaries to Valcarce upwards, the river keeps shrinking:

    This is the reason this stretch of road is nearly empty of any traffic - the freeway above has diverted all of the traffic.  The town on the old route seem to be now almost entirely reliant on farming and the Camino.

    An early morning Gray Wagtail not performing its normal Wagtail dance:

    A Great Tit hanging out at the corner of a church:

    There are fountains all along the Camino.  In this section, where the water is presumably pumped directly from the river, they have signs (remember the wading cow from yesterday's update)?

    The tributary continues to narrow:

    I finally got a good photo of a Song Thrush, even though he is partially obscured by some grasses.  Kind of a big guy.  Lots of spots.  It has quite a song-repertoire - which pretty much matches the 5-phase car-alarm anthem of the late 1980s.  After taking a couple of photos, and me trying to get a bit of a better angle, it did a vertical take-off:

   More upstream cattle.  Here you can start to see the elevation changing from gradual increase to some serious steepening:

    No regular poppies today.  There were some small ones.  This is a Long-Headed poppy, about 1/4 the diameter of a regular one:

    Jana working her way up the hill.  It is 800, and we are getting our first beam of sunlight - which will disappear again as we work through valley switchbacks.

    Now on a dirt path, the trees and bushes are thick.  Half-way up on the right side, you can see a small section of upcoming trail, which is significantly elevated from our current posiiton:

    This was our last view of the tributary - an embryonic version of what flowed into the Vlacarce, and the subsequent rivers of yesterday:

    We passed this cooler a couple of miles in.  With peanuts and carrots and drinks and snacks for Camino walkers.  The message seemed to imply it is supplied in memory of a prior Pilgrim.

    Much of this section was in deep shadow.  In one of the lighter spots, we encountered a Eurpean Robin, with an unusual white patch.

    Switchbacks and inclines continue:

    If you look closely at the tree below, you will find a friend:

    Eventually, we came out at the town of La Faba.  We took a short detour to visit the small and unassuming old 12th century Church of Saint Andrew, that has been a place of worship/rest for pilgrims for centuries.  The statue out front resembles many of the pilgrims that just completed the first portion of the climb for the day.

    Oregon is not the only place to find giant slugs:

    As the elevation continued to rise, the vegetation started to change.  A new wildflower (to me), Common Kidneyvetch started to appear, with chunky/thick florets.  And Purple loosestrife.

    And the thick forest has now given way to grassland and yellow Spanish Broom:

       From here, we got our first good view from the valley where we started our morning.

   This is kind of a throwaway photo.  When we left the dark/dense forest of the valley, and into this grassland, the temp spiked.  We went from having almost no insect activity to the butterflies/bees going frenetic, and not sitting still for any photo.  And trying to catch these guys in flight is not a simple task - the camera is focusing on the background, so the odds of getting anything useful is small.  In the bottom portion of the photo (just under the flowers), you can see the blur of the butterfly I was trying to catch.  I was successful, I guess, but the result is a not very useful photo.

    And the plains birds returned.  A Greater Whitethroat chattering away:

    A Bumblebee working at a thistle:

    As the elevation continued to rise, succulents started to appear again:

    And in contrast to the Lady-Finger plant, the bells on this flower are tiny tiny tiny.  How tiny?  This tiny:

    Contrast that with some 'smaller' Lady-fingers we found a bit higher on the trail:

    And then there were these orchid-like flowers.  Also tiny.

    I chirping Dunnock - another plains critter:

    Umm....

    A look into the valley below:

    A Eurasian Linnet, partially obscured by the grass:

    161km - that's about 100 miles, right?

    European Stonechats always like to pose:

    The climb continues:

    After a desperate attempt to zoom-in and find this bird in the field-of-view, I caught it as it was taking off with maybe a grub?  After doing my research, I believe this is a Western Orphean Warbler.  A new one for us:

    Another look into the valley:

    Crossing into the province of Galicia: 

    A scurrying Field Cricket:

    And a tiny beetle - an emerald green Swollen-Thighed Beetle:

    We finally reached the town of O Cebreiro, which sits on the spine of the mountain range.  A view from where we started the day, over the shoulder of a statue:

    There is a lot of Gaelic connection here, as can be seen in the local shops (not to mention the bagpipe playing):

    And the first Western view of the divide.  Where we will descend tomorrow.

    This car drove by, with a trailer holding bells.  Haven't seen that before.

    This side of the range must get a lot more rain.  The vegetation is thick with ferns and wildflowers:

    The path from here was close to the spine of the mountain, frequently just a bit to the Western side:

    A Cardinal Beetle:

    Whoever did the surveying for this project did a darned good job:

    We got a snack at a shop in a small shop a few km from our 'home' for the evening.  One of the products sold is pictured below.  Depending on where the accents fall... Oh, I see why it is not sold in the US.

    A lot of bugs up here.  Maybe half the bugs from the entire Camino were today.  The one below is a Sphaerophoria Hoverfly: 

    And about 10 different wildflowers just within the two images below:

    A landmark statue on the Camino near Pedrafita do Cebeiro:

    This section of our walk was on the exact spine of the range (Jana is leading in the distance).  We could see the valleys on both sides:

    I caught this Tree Pipit in flight, and it then alighted on a power line:

    A bit of a nerdy bird thing here.  Each day, the Merlin app challenges you with a bird-of-the-day, largely based on the location you are at when the clock strikes midnight (somewhere).  The bird I got was a Eurasian Jay.  I have never heard/seen one before, and thought this was a throwaway loss, especially since we were going to be climbing into a different eco-zone.  And the bird descriptor includes: "Typically rather shy and difficult to see well, but sometimes feeds out on open ground; often scene flying across roads.
    I saw an unusual bird land in a field with a bunch of magpies - the field had just been cut for hay and the farmer had just moved to the next field, so there must have been a whole lot of disturbed bugs.  I took a number of photos (most of which were just a blob on the ground) trying to figure out what that bird was.  But this one photo of it taking a short hop/flight about 20 feet to another part of the field...  Unmistakably, with all colors exposed, a Eurasian Jay.

    A very pretty butterfly with a not so pretty name - a Common Blue butterfly:

    So may wildflowers:

    A butterfly with a somewhat more interesting name - a Common Brimstone butterfly,, and the moment it leaves the flower:

    We hit a point called "Vista Point".  Jana took a panorama:

    One more look at the valley where we will descend tomorrow:

    One last big climb up to our 'home'.  While stopping in some shade to take a breather, caught this guy flitting from branch to branch and behind leaves, after multiple attempts.  A Short-Toed Treecreeper (hanging upside down near the top center).

    Finally at the top.  We checked in, and walked across the street to the pub for a big meal (late 2nd lunch / early dinner).  The place was equipped with two giant dogs, one on a chain and one free (the free one and I became friends).  He can comfortably rest his head on the tops of the tables.  And there were chickens about, perhaps appropriate for Poio.

    I know the length was long... But today was a long and beautiful day.  We are looking forward to tomorrow.