I left my American friends to cycle their route to Ponferrada, but I needed to make up some time and distance, especially considering that there were some serious climbs on the route to Ponferrada, then to be followed by even more hard core climbs up to O Cebreiro where I needed to be that night in order to stay on track.  So, I entrusted myself to the 0752 Renfe train from Astorga to Ponferrada, which took me through some spectacular mountains with wonderful views of mist laden valleys and very rural villages and hamlets.  I still had 50 miles or so to do from Ponferrada to O Cebreiro, the highest point on the Camino.  Boy, was the climb tough, going up 3000 feet / 1000 meters in less than 10 miles in the final stretch to O Cebreira.  I had the added pressure of the guest house I was booked to stay telling me that check in needed to be before 6 pm because there was nobody there after that time, although the lady did eventually say she would leave a key for me under a stone !  The gradient up to O’Cebriero was serious stuff, and cycling was well nigh impossible on some sections.  So Shank’s pony it had to be. The little hamlet of O Cebriero is uber cool Camino territory.  Very hip, full of lithe long haired and bearded Australians on their gap year, lots from China, Korea and Japan, young and old , who probably haven’t got a clue what the whole thing is about or where they are but know it’s something that ‘with it’ people do, and a whole variety of the world’s walkers and pilgrims. Including me.  I had pulpo / octopus (a very Galician thing) and some kind of pig’s cheek, which was not what I am used to for pig’s cheek, which was all grizzly and cartilage crunchy and not to my liking.  Well, they say people like the Spaniards eat every bit of the pig !  The views from O Cebreiro are amazing, and the sunset spectacular.  It was chilly up there in the evening, even chillier the next morning !