Spirituality
The Hardest Day on the Camino (Storm Miguel Story)
Twelve hours of horizontal rain on the climb to O Cebreiro. The day I learned what the Camino actually asks of you.
November 22, 2025 · 8 min read
Storm Miguel hit Galicia on the morning we were due to climb from Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro. 1,300 metres of climbing, 28 kilometres, in winds that bent trees flat.
I left at 5:30 AM. By 7 the rain was horizontal. By 9 my 'waterproof' jacket had given up and water was running down inside my trousers and into my shoes.
There were five of us walking together by then — three Germans, a Korean, and me. Nobody spoke. Just the sound of poles on wet stone and our own breath.
The albergue at La Faba, halfway up, was full. The hospitalero made us tea anyway. We dried our gloves on the radiator. We didn't quit.
The last 6 km up to O Cebreiro is a steep stone path that becomes a stream in heavy rain. We got there at 4 PM, ten and a half hours after starting. The Korean pilgrim cried in the dormitory. So did one of the Germans. Then we ate caldo gallego and laughed for an hour straight.
I learned something that day I couldn't have learned in any easier way. The Camino doesn't promise you sunshine. It promises you the company of people who are also choosing not to quit.
If you're reading this on a hard day on your own Camino: you're not alone. Keep walking. The albergue is closer than you think.
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