My father, when we'd go out for pizza or Chinese food, or when Terry would make her signature walnut pie, would regularly say, in complete seriousness, "This is the best I've ever tasted!" His enthusiasm trumped objectivity. It was one of his most endearing traits and is one of my fondest memories of him. Well, at the risk of similarly losing whatever credibility regarding objectivity I have left after too many superlatives, today just might have been the most beautiful day of the Camino.

The spectacular views started when I walked out the door at 6:30 AM and continued all the way into Triacastela. The village of O'Cebreiro, essentially a small cluster of stone buildings, some with slate roofs and some with complex thatching, and with the oldest extant church on the pilgrimage route (9th century), is perched high on a mountaintop with grand views of the surrounding valleys. Clouds had rolled into the valleys overnight, leaving the peaks visible and the subtle early morning light made it seem like they were islands floating in the sea. As I walked, the sun eventually rose above the mountains and bathed everything in a golden light. Eventually the clouds burned off and the sun created stark and long shadows. For most of the day I took the little-travelled winding mountain road instead of the path because I've learned that's the best way to save my feet. It made the walk 15 miles long instead of 13, but a byproduct of it was that I had unobstructed views almost the entire day. I would be in awe of the view of one valley, walk another mile or so, round a curve, and an entirely different wonderful view would appear.

I've been so lucky with the weather recently. Constant sun. A couple of days have been somewhat humid, which I don't like, and a couple days quite hot, but that doesn't bother me much, though a lot of other folks complain. But today was like many of the previous days, cool in the morning and dry and sunny as the day wore on. Perfect for walking.

The scene in O'Cebreiro may not bode well for what I'm going to run into soon. It was packed with both pilgrims and tourists and all of the available rooms were taken. Luckily I had reserved one beforehand, as I try to do most days. Everyone's talking about how crowded the pilgrimage gets towards the end. Apparently in order to get a certificate saying you've done the Camino you have to have your pilgrim passport stamped for the last 120 km. Personally I don't really care much about a certificate, but to many folks it's very important. Curiously, a Spanish man with whom I was talking said that it's an important thing for young people to put on their resumes! Apparently employers look favorably on people who have done the Camino. At first it sounded far-fetched to me, but he spoke authoritatively. Tomorrow I'll walk to Sarria, supposedly where the crowds start getting bad. We'll see. Meanwhile I've showered, my wash is on the line, and it's time to be horizontal and rest these muscles for a while.