Jimandi

Walked today: 8.2 mi. Camino’26: 208 mi.

We stopped at our usual bar for breakfast, but their fresh bread had not been delivered, so no tostadas… so we moved on.

We stopped at the next bar and placed our order. The nice barkeep and possibly the owner not only confirmed she had tostadas for us, but when we requested “mantequilla y mermelada” (butter and jelly), she inquired “fresa o melocotón”?(strawberry or peach). Overwhelmed, we said “fresa” and quickly found a seat.

As we climbed the hill out of Campanaraya, we were caught in a wave of 40 high school students taking advantage of the new rule that lets you earn a Compostela by walking 100km anywhere on the Camino Frances as long as you also complete the last stage into Santiago. This was only one of at least 3 similar size groups of Spanish high schoolers we encountered on today’s walk. The process apparently was taking the group 9 days of walking, facilitated by chartered bus transfers between sections that they were walking.

After walking among the noises of the city and motor vehicles for nearly 4 miles, once we cleared Campanaraya and left behind by the high schoolers, the silence on the walk along the path and among the vineyards was wonderfully calming.

We walked past the student group on toward our hostal and stopped for a beverage and break for the groups to pass on through. We thankfully sat down at an outside table, because when we went inside to order, another group of about 40 teenagers had totally occupied the inside.

We sat at our table and enjoyed the wait, since we were 1 hour early for check in. Giving the hoards of youngsters time to move on was a good excuse to get off our feet and into the shade with a breeze for as long as it took.

We were able to check in before noon and our backpacks arrived less than a half-hour later. In addition to our routine’s chores, we took advantage of the washer and dryer available for pilgrims to give a good cleaning to all our clothes.

We took a break at 2:30 to have a main meal in the hostal dining area and filled the remaining time before lights-out by: a game of Hand&Foot, blogging, reading and napping.

Walked today: 3.8 mi. Camino’26: 200 mi.

Today’s walk, although one of our shortest was the toughest. Much of the path was rock laden and washed out, very steep and the flies were brutal.

We climbed from Rabanal (3786 ft.) to Foncebadón (4717 ft). The Cruz de Ferro, the high point of the Camino Frances at 4933 ft., which we stopped short of, was achieved at the beginning of our taxi ride down the mountain.

For mere safety reasons based on prior walking experience (2015, 2017 for Molinaseca) and (2015,2017,2019, 2024) for Acebo) … today we skipped the walk from Foncebadón to Molinaseca. We also extended the taxi ride on to Ponferrada as a bonus, as today was planned to be a “rest day”.

We arrived at Ponferrada Plaza hotel at 11:30 and were able to check in immediately.

We’ve stayed at the “Plaza” our past two caminos. It’s a typical hotel, not expensive and just a block off of the “non-traditional camino” path through Ponferrada.

We began walking this way in 2019. Instead of the traditional path, we continue walking past the drawbridge of the Templar Castle, down the hill, across the bridge and make a left onto Calle Camino de Santiago, which we follow all the way to Companaraya, where it merges with the traditional camino path.

All recovered from our earlier walk, we spent the rest of the afternoon getting our main meal in downtown Ponferrada at a familiar Thai restaurant, reading, blogging and just enjoying our “rest day”.

Walked today: 7.9 mi. Camino’26: 196 mi.

The walk from Astorga (elev. 2864ft) to Santa Catalina del Somoza (elev. 3228 ft) yesterday, resulted in an altitude gain of 365 ft. Today we gained another 538 ft. when we arrived in Rabanal (elev. 3766 ft).

When La Candela appeared to be closed, Jim peered into one of the windows and saw a man at the cash register. The window was partially opened enough to inquired in broken Spanish, “when would they be open?” When the gentleman seemed confused, Jim motioned could he buy a drink. The man motioned everyone was sleeping and Jim motioned with fingers walking. The man came closer to the window and Jim asked if he could buy a drink for he and his wife. The man hesitantly said ok and allowed Jim inside. Jim received and paid for two drinks and thanked the innkeeper profusely. A few minutes later Linda knocked on the closed door and asked to use the restroom, and was also invited to enter. The innkeeper then went back to whatever he was doing before we interrupted. Linda came back outside and we both found a table and chairs on the side of the albergue in the shade and rested the next 30 minutes before proceeding toward our reserved albergue still too early to check in. When subsequently pilgrims passed by and saw us sitting beside the building, we responded, “it’s closed” not wanting to betray the innkeeper’s kindness, and they moved on.

We were able to check in at 12:30. Our room has mid-century style furnishings which mix well with old floors and ceilings and doors. The exception is the bathroom which is modern with a large well equipped walk-in shower.

We ordered our main meal for 3:00 from a sister property’s kitchen, which was delivered to a very rustic dining area just off the Casa Indie reception area.

Today’s walk has typically been a challenge for us. However, the cool air/low sun made the initial 4 miles of our walk fairly easy. But the combination of the brighter sun warming up and the increasing elevation gain in the last mile or so left us more tired than at the end of yesterday’s walk.

Tonight we attended a vespers service with Gregorian chant at Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción. The service was a first for us and though its spiritual impact was limited due to the language as well as our lack of knowledge of the Catholic liturgy, it still added a new perspective for this small chapel that we have visited multiple times before.

A nice way to end another interesting day of Camino 2026.

Walked today: 6.3mi. Camino’26: 188 mi.

With the meseta behind us, today we began the slow, steady climb toward the high point of the Camino Frances.

The trail passes through a region of the Maragato culture, centralized in about 40 villages around Astorga. This mysterious group is rumored to be descended from the Berbers of North Africa, who arrived with the Muslim conquest in the 8th century and later converted to Christianity. Maragato men traditionally worked as muleteers, mule drivers who transported goods (especially fish and gold) around the peninsula.

We found a seat at El Caminante Algergue/Restaurant, tired but not hurting from the walk and increasing temperature.

We ordered drinks and sent a message to Via Avis, requesting an early check in. It was only 9:37 a.m. and normally check in is 2:00 p.m. for the Hostal Rural (similar to a B&B in the U.S.).

After a cool drink and some time to rest off our feet, we received a response from Carlos, the owner, “your room is ready”.

We walked, not ran, the 100 remaining steps to Via Avis, exchanged greetings with Carlos, got the keys and settled in to an extraordinary room and property for the camino, or anywhere.

We always enjoy Via Avis… today was our 4th stay. Chores were accomplished with ease and the restful environment was renewing in its effect on our physical and mental wellbeing.

Another great day on the Camino Frances and Camino 2026.

Walked today: 10.2 mi. Camino’26: 182 mi.

What a difference a day makes!

At 5:34 we walked out of our albergue in the dark and found our way with the aid of headlamps until 1st light.

The initial walk of nearly a mile was on a dirt path through a grain field until it merged with the relatively wide, potentially safe shoulder of busy N-120. There was a narrow dirt path that was the “official” camino “road route” running along beside the shoulder, but was poorly maintained and very narrow/overgrown, so we stayed with the paved shoulder instead.

For the next 5 miles we got off the shoulder and walked on paved, frontage roads that paralleled the national highway, changing sides to stay on the paved path that was unused by any type of vehicle and today was also devoid of other pilgrims. We had it all to ourselves.

We traditionally stop at a gas station for breakfast and restrooms at the halfway point to St Justa de la Vega, but Linda said she never felt so good and suggested we go on to St Justa de la Vegas and Jim concurred.

After some 6.5 miles we reached the cross overlooking St Justa and Astorga in the distance beyond.

After successfully managing the steep descent into the village we stopped at Bar Oasis for breakfast after walking 7.5 miles.

We had a nice 20 minute rest and breakfast, the morning sun was still being subdued by some non-threatening clouds, allowing for near perfect walking conditions, so we continued on to Astorga, our planned destination for the day,

When we reached the top of the stairs, Linda spotted an inviting, empty bench for us to evaluate.

While running our test we noticed some unusual activity on the Plaza in front of Hotel Astur, our home for today & tonight.

The hotel restaurant on the Plaza was still closed, so we took possession of a table in the shade, with a view (of the Padel court.). Jim wandered off looking for drinks which could not be found at nearby closed bars (it being 10:45) and eventually found an open supermarket.

Jim returned with a full shopping bag of drinks, etc. and found Linda now deeply into the apparent Padel tournament and had decided who was gonna win. We began to embibe some of our purchases, when a nice young pilgrim approached us and asked if we had a knife. Jim dug into his day pack and pulled out his Swiss Army knife and offered it to Fritz, a pilgrim Germany.

When Fritz returned the knife, we chatted for a bit and he educated us on the game we were watching called Padel, which is becoming the most popular game in Europe, much like Pickleball is on the U.S. As he headed back to his table for lunch and to continue on the camino, Jim gave him one of our “Blog cards” asked him to contact us next time he was in South Carolina.

The Padel players were between sets and even though we were very early for the normal hotel check in time of 3:00, Jim walked to the lobby and identified himself and was informed that our room was ready. While checking in, the hotel computer system went down, so the receptionist gave us our room keys and said we could do the check in later.

So, by 11:30, we were in our second floor room, with a balcony, overlooking the Padel court with a dilemma. Do we rest, start our routine (showers, blog, etc) find a place to eat or watch the Padel tourney from our air conditioned room or balcony.

So, unlike yesterday, when things started going to pot and we didn’t have a lot of options … today everything went as good or better than expected. The Camino sometimes gives and sometimes takes away.

For the rest of the day, we actually did a bit of everything, including eating our main meal at 2:30 only a few steps from Hotel Exe Astur Plaza.

We hand washed a couple of dirty clothes items and hung them on a hanger in the room closet. They were bone dry in less than 2 hours. The air in Northern Spain is incredibly dry. We love it.

We talked about how we felt strong throughout today’s 10 mile walk and we both recovered quickly after we finished. It’s a really positive feeling for us, that the walks seem to be getting easier with each passing day regardless of the distance or difficulty in terrain.

Today was a really good one!

Buen Camino!

Walked today: 2.6 mi. Camino’26: 172 mi.

Today’s plan includes only short walking distances, but allows us to advance along the camino another 32 km (20 miles) via autobus.

Our bus is scheduled to depart at 11:30 this morning. After placing our backpacks (for transport) at the apartment pickup point at 8:00, we did a short reconnaissance walk near our apartment and found the usual breakfast choices closed on this Sunday morning.

Consequently, we returned to our apartment and decided to exit with our remaining belongings and walk to the bus station, planning to stop along the way for breakfast. (As a rule when we’re constrained by a schedule, we try to shift possible unforeseen delays to near the destination with respect to time and distance).

We walked the same route into Leon and to our apartment that we traveled yesterday, only in reverse.

Looking for a place for breakfast along the way, we were not surprised to find everything closed on this Sunday morning.

We finally stopped at… you guessed it? Cafe Duma just a few steps from the bus station.

Once at Cafe Duma we decided to hang out in the comfortable terrace for our 2+hour wait rather than at the bus station. So we relaxed and literally “ate away” the next 90 minutes.

We walked the final steps and found a seat at the bus station. Our bus, as usual, was on time so we settled in for the final 45 minute wait to “move on down the camino”.

As it turned out, the horse made it to the barn but never made it to our stall! Without going into the gruesome details, while we were trying to get on the wrong bus, our bus pulled out of the loading dock and left without us!

All our best made plans went downhill from there. The next bus required another 90 minute wait, with no assurance a seat would be available for both of us. So we gave up and walked outside to summon a taxi. A couple of minutes later we were on our way to Hospital de Órbigo in our 55€ taxi ride with 2, now worthless 4.30€ bus tickets in a trash can on the way out of the bus station.

Our taxi driver was pleasant enough, as best we could tell, as he spoke only just enough English to get us to our destination.

It took us a few minutes to get re-oriented to Hospital de Órbigo, since our last time to walk through the village was in 2019. Since then, we have walked an alternate route to avoid the village.

We found our albergue and expected to be checked in immediately. It was 12:50 and the check-in time was 12:00, but the note on the very securely locked door said check in time today was 1:00!

Meanwhile, it was 93F, but Linda found a shady bench in a park a few hundred yards away, with a breeze. It served as our command point until we understood our options and reestablished some level of control.

Jim walked back to the albergue as the door was opened at 1:20 and checked in. He was informed that the albergue only offered a vegan meal at 7:00 p.m.with an uncertain menu… (to go along with its rather rustic ambiance and state of repair). We decided to spare the depressing photos of this 70€/night property.

Sensing more downside, and before retrieving Linda from the bench, Jim further discovered that only 2 restaurants were serving food today and both were fully booked with local family reservations, it being Sunday afternoon.

So, Jim pleaded with the first restaurant for any seating we could use and was totally rejected. We went to the other restaurant that was just beginning to open and the owner said they had no lunch menu. Jim asked “What do you have?” to which he responded by handing Jim an a-la-carte menu. We immediately asked for a table and found a single table for two on the porch and sat down and within 5 minutes a waiter took our order.

Our meal was delicious and became our first positive experience in this crummy little excuse for a village that could do a much better job of supporting pilgrims walking the camino.

We walked back to our room just as our backpacks arrived, did our chores and made our plans to walk to Astorga in the morning before the 95F heat settles in.

Today was interesting, but on balance still a good day on the Camino Frances and was made extra special by Father’s Day greetings received via text this afternoon as Jim worked on today’s post.

Our wifi is very weak and intermittent, so if photos don’t make it or other distortions occur on your emailed version, apologies are offered in advance and a good version will ultimately be available on jimandi.blog.