Somewhere around day 33 of a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, one hiker had the kind of day that explains why people keep coming back to this route. Writing for The Trek, Marley Kreiser set off from her hostel before 6am, inspired by the quiet kindness of the property's caretaker, and climbed into the mountains in the dark to catch sunrise at Cruz del Ferro — the famous iron cross atop a cairn where pilgrims traditionally leave stones carried from home.
Walking the ridgeline by moonlight, she describes a stillness that felt almost ceremonial, then forced herself to stop filming, stop writing, and simply watch the sun come up. The takeaway she keeps circling back to: presence. Words couldn't capture it, so she sang, cried a little, and let the moment be what it was.
The day kept giving. She reconnected with an Argentinian walking companion she calls her brother, who produced wild-foraged pears and apples from his pack, and the two fell into a long Spanish-language conversation that doubles as language school — one of the underrated perks of walking with people from other countries.
After splitting up for the afternoon, came the hardest climb since day one: roughly two hours of relentless uphill before the ridge finally revealed Galicia, the lush green region pilgrims cross in the final stretch before Santiago de Compostela. She spent the night in O Cebreiro, a tiny stone village perched on a mountaintop that feels plucked from another century — Celtic symbols, bagpipe music drifting from inside buildings, and sunset views on every side. Lodging was the municipal Xunta de Galicia pilgrims' hostel, and dinner was burgers with new friends, interrupted mid-meal so everyone could sprint outside to watch the sky change colour.
The emotional core of the entry is a familiar one for anyone who has walked a long trail: with roughly ten days left, the temporary family you build on the Camino starts to feel like it's ending before you're ready. Her companions' reminder — it's not the end yet — is as practical as it is sentimental. Savour the remaining days; the finish line will arrive on its own.
Why care as a traveller? This stretch of the French Way between León and Santiago is arguably the trail's most atmospheric chapter. Cruz del Ferro rewards an early start with one of the best sunrises on the route, O Cebreiro marks a dramatic entry into green, Celtic-flavoured Galicia, and the albergue-to-albergue rhythm means every day delivers a small village, a café stop, and strangers who become friends. You don't need to be religious to feel it — just willing to get up before dawn.
