i´m writing you from o´cebreiro, which feels like the top of the world.  it was so exhiliarating climbing up here.  the views have been spectacular, and it really does feel like i can see all the way to your house, wherever that may be, from here!

i started the day by missing the turnoff i was looking for.  leaving villafranca, my guide book said that i would have a choice of which road to take.  i wanted to take the road that went through the countryside, but is much more difficult, but instead, i ended up walking next to a road.  i really don´t like walking close to cars.  there´s the danger, of course, but also the spanish seem a bit more lax about emission controls, if you know what i mean.  every time a car passes, you have a long breeze of exhaust air.  it was made worse knowing that i could have been walking through orchards and vineyards, if i hadn´t missed the turn off. 

well somewhere in the middle of all of that, i started feeling like a little voice inside of me was saying ó´cebreiero´ .  i couldn´t figure it out, because i had made a choice of a village about 10 km before o´cebreiro.  but i kept hearing it over and over as i walked.  finally, i decided, okay, i will walk to o´cebreiro.  i was thrilled today to have an entire day without any aches and pains, so the extra kms seemed very do-able.

after i walked by the village i had planned to stay at, the camino changed.  it went off the road, now only on an earthen track.  as the silence deepened, and the birds once again began singing the soundtrack of the camino, assisted by a stream, i felt my body relax.  after about an hour, the camino changed again, this time twisting and turning in a steep uphill climb.  as i turned around, i literally gasped as i saw the valley spread out below me, all the shades of green blending together in an exuisite (sp?) feast of green, scenting the air into pure heaven in my lungs. ´´it was here all along!¨ i thought!  the peace, the beauty, the love, it was all here all along!  i was next to the road, breathing the fumes, but this was always here.  silently here, patiently waiting for me to find it.  i am so glad i followed that voice that kept telling me to get to o´cebreiro tonight.  that is part of my lesson from dalana(see other post if  you don´t know what i´m talking about).  when she gave me my magical mystical mirror box  she looked me in the eye and  told me to always follow that voice, just the way she had when she had bought the box.  i did today, so thank you dalana!  it was so wonderful to end the day in peace and relaxation, being nourished by nature´s astounding beauty. 

i am absolutely exhausted, so i think i am going to sign off with that.  but i feel that today was so important.  just knowing that all that beauty was there all the time, that is something i want to bring home with me.  i want to remember this specifically, and also in a general way.  whatever is going on at any time, the beauty, the stillness, the silence and the birdsong, is there.  it is always there, just waiting for me to climb whatever hill i must climb to get to it.

sending you all the beauty i saw and heard and felt climbing up here to o´cebreiro. 
peace and blessings-
a