August 2025
O Cebreiro is one of those emblematic Camino halts that positively exudes a sense of history. This summer, however, the challenge of knowing what to visit has been replaced by that of navigating the entire revamp of its street paving. The tiny place looks like an archaeological site, full of holes hedged by warning placards, and layers of stony ground traversed by shaky planks. To complicate matters further, relaying the paving is only part of the job: the rest involves renewing the electrical system and installing optical cabling, with the result that for the duration of the street-works, there can be no street lighting. After dark, people move gingerly about by the light of their mobile phones, trying not to twist an ankle as they inch their way back to their vehicles. It reminds me of the way things were back in the 80s. There was no public lighting then either, as in medieval times. The villagers carried lanterns or flashlights, but fear of ‘la Santa Compania’ (the parade of phantoms believed to herald the death of anyone who saw them) kept some of the older ones resolutely indoors at night.
Photos below: As it is now.
As it will be …
It will all be worth it in the end, we are assured. O Cebreiro’s single street is being repaved with horizontally-laid granite setts, with a narrow channel up the middle to carry off rain-water and snowmelt. This is the traditional style of paving so frequently seen in Galicia: handsome, economical, and apt for prevailing conditions. The question on everyone’s lips is whether the work will be finished in time for ‘las Fiestas’, O Cebreiro’s annual patronal feast and harvest-festival, on the 8th and 9th of September. Everyone hopes so, but everyone fears not… so the skilled pavers will be hammering stone blocks into place this weekend and next, right down to the finish-line. Meanwhile, a photo is worth a thousand words, so here’s how things look from a week away.
