The rain had stopped when we left Fonfria at 8:00. We were bundled up and carrying rain gear as a deterrent, in spite of the forecast for 0% precipitation, again.
Cold and windy and fog, but thankfully, no rain.
Fonfria is in the mountains, at an elevation of 4200 ft. Our walk today was almost 95% downhill to Triacastela at 2200 ft. most of the descent occurring in the middle 3 miles.
The views from the top and on the descent are usually awesome but unfortunately all we could see this morning was fog.
Nothing but fog, at 3900 ft.Still, nothing but fog at 3300 ft.Finally, the sun breaking through at 3200ftNow, something to look at…
Pretty Galícian landscapes abound in every direction.
moreanother landscapeAira do Camino bar/restaurant in the tiny mountain village of Filloval, a break and orange juice stop at the halfway point.
The path became less steep as we passed through several hamlets leading into Triacastela.
cattle being shifted between fields800 year old chestnut tree… a group of tree hugging pilgrims trying to reach around its over 25 ft circumference.
modern farm equipment housed in not-so-modern structure, but obviously still very functional.
final section of path prior to entering Triacastela.
It was almost noon when we got to our destination, do we decided to stop at a favorite restaurant for lunch.
Our lunch: Roasted vegetables for Linda, ensalada mixta for Jim and our first opportunity on Camino2022 for Padron peppers!!!
After lunch we checked into Hostal Vilasante and spent the rest of the afternoon doing chores, reading, blogging and eating a light supper before turning in early.
We decided to invoke Camino 2022 guidelines this morning by pacing ourselves, taking a taxi up the mountain to O’ Cebreiro and began our walk from there at 8:20.
O’ Cebreiro was cold, with thick fog and 15 mph winds.leaving O’Cebreiro into the fogthe path was a nice walking surface but like a roller coaster for 2 miles
The weather forecast for this morning was 0% chance of rain. So we didn’t bring our heavy duty rain gear. The dirt/gravel path ended at Liñares and we stopped for a cup of hot chocolate and a break.
Liñaresnice, warm, thick, hot chocolate
As we walked out of Liñares, it began to rain… the wind increased and it got colder. We scrambled for hats, gloves, buffs, put phones, wallets, credentials in plastic bags, etc and kept walking.
The rain continued to a greater or lesser extent for the remaining 5 miles.
Steep climbs, rain, wind, cold… otherwise a great day!?The rain paused for a few minutes as we walked past Hospital, but the wind kept blowing… no sign of the sun.The rain paused again, mercifully, just a few minutes before our climb to a stop for 🍊 juice.We think this is the steepest climb on the entire Camino Frances…. short duration but very, very steep.Last photo Jim took before the rain began to pour again.Casa Lucas… one of our favorites.warm fire never felt so good!A delicious salad for lunch, our table by the fireplace, prepared by our hostess.Our room at Casa Lucas ( 2017, 2019 and 2022.)
Our internet service was on and off tonight, so we’ll wrap this up and send when we get a better signal tomorrow.
We slept in and didn’t begin our walk until 8:00. It was a chilly 54F with wind blowing 16mph…
picking up the Camino just after leaving Viña Femita at 8:00.
….but the wind died down as soon as we began following the gap in the mountain along the Valcarce River… that defined our walk this morning.
Here’s a pictorial account of 5 miles of our 6 mile walk:
Walking into the Valcarce Valleya quick look back at Villafranca del Bierzo
The walk through the valley was very monotonous this morning. You can follow us along for nearly each bend in the road. Each photo is in sequence: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right.
This albergue/bar is at the halfway point of this morning’s walk and would have provided a break, breakfast … but it was closed and has been for several months ……. and based on the sign on the door, may be permanently closed. So we moved on to more monotony.Finally getting off the highway for the final mile into Trabadelo
We breathed a sigh of relief when we reached this point. If you followed each of the photos in sequence and it seemed monotonous to you, you get an idea of what it was like to do it for 5 miles and nearly two hours!!
Whew! Finally a change in scenery.A very old Chestnut? tree we think… but huge and majestic looks like a lumber mill is nearbypretty garden… and the lumber millOur Hotel Rural, Nova Ruta, in Trabadelo. A-6, Salida 415, We have a nice large room (45€), meant for a small family, we think. We stayed in this same room in 2019.Also, nice bathroom… and great shower!! (even large bar of designer soap included)
We had lunch in the hotel dining room at 3:30…
We forgot both 1st and 2nd course photos until nearly consumed (must have been hungry). Chicken broth-pasta soup for Linda and Garbonzo ensalada mixta for Jim. Breaded chicken breast for Linda and stewed pig’s knuckle for Jim.… and another nice Bierzo vino tinto .
… and napped, blogged and read for the rest of the afternoon. We opted to split a bocadillo for supper and call it a day.
We left in the dark again and crossed this bridge on the way out of town… the name of the river escaped us.
We walked on or slightly off the main road for the first couple of miles. We’re in the heart of the Bierzo region which specializes in very nice, smooth, flavorful wines made from mencía grapes. The fragrance of grape juice was ever present as vineyards are all around us and we’re in the middle of their harvest season.
Villafranca in the backgroundno path here at alltight quarters along the road, but luckily, traffic was lightstopping to take in the view
About a mile out of Villafranca, we finally got off the road and began walking through the vineyards on a rather steep road. Cars and vans carrying grape pickers passed us and fanned out into different areas, followed by small tractors with carts full of empty, bushel-size containers for the grapes.
“Plantings for the future”… many of the producing grape vines are over 50 years old.leaving the vineyards and walking the final half mile into Villafranca del Bierzo
Villafranca del Bierzo is one of the most beautiful towns on the Camino, retaining much of its medieval and Renaissance character in spite of an increase of modern hotels and buildings. This location drew merchants from all over, giving the city its names (literally “city of the Franks” but more accurately, of the “foreigners.”)
Iglesia de Santiago to the with its Puerto del Perdón, a doorway for pilgrims who were too sick to continue to Santiago. They could walk through the door in lieu of completing the pilgrimage and receive the same indulgences.Puerto del PerdónThe 16th century castile, was actually more of a fortified palace for the Marquises of Villafranca.Iglesia de San Nicolás el Real, houses an albergue where we stayed in 2019.Viña Femita albergue, destroyed totally by fire in 2012, is evolving but currently has rooms for pilgrims, including us.our very nice room with great shower
We had a pilgrim dinner in the town square for lunch. We talked with Elaina, from Fayetteville, Georgia, seated at an adjacent table. On the way back to our room, we picked up some snacks and a bottle of mencía wine.
Our mencía wine (5.45€) for afternoon/dinner
At 7:00 we had a one course dinner for “cena” in our albergue, to go with our remaining wine, prepared by the owner’s mother.
spaghetti for Lindaensalada mixta for Jim
We spent the afternoon planning and reserving rooms for the next three weeks, booking rooms in Santiago and Madrid and changing our flight date for returning home to correspond with completing Camino2022.
It was a full and productive day and our tummies are full. Life is good!
Street lights made it easy to find the way ftom Hotel Los Templarios back to the Camino. Our plan today is to walk straight out of Ponferrada on the Calle Camino de Santiago and merge with the “traditional” version of the Camino at about the half way point to Cacabelos.
Having gone the traditional route our first two times out of Ponferrada, we tried today’s route in 2019 and found it preferable for several reasons: (1) it was two miles shorter (2) it gave us a broader perspective of the environs of Ponferrada (3) it was more upbeat and interesting than the tired, run down environs of the “traditional” route (4) it is mostly flat, easier walking (5) there are more services along the way
Odd shaped skyscraper, not in center city with other tall buildings, silhouetted against the early morning sky as we walked out of Ponferrada on the Calle Camino de Santiago.our walking environment for the first 3 miles
After walking for about 2 miles, just before 8 a.m., we found a bar open and stopped for a break and a light breakfast.
Breakfast #1
We continued our walk which was along this main conduit into the city from what appeared to be high-density residential communities and a “motor-mile” or two in between. But the experience was still quite pleasant as the sidewalks were well maintained and very wide creating a safe, non-intimidating environment for walking.
a suburb of Ponferrada… sidewalks on both sides wider than the road
For the next hour we observed parents carpooling kids to school, groups of older kids catching city buses to school all adorned with backpacks like any other town/city one might observe this time of year.
The streets and sidewalks gradually narrowed as we neared our merge point with the “ traditional” Camino, but still were interesting as the houses became more traditional of the region with slate roofs and brick and stone exteriors that made each structure somewhat unique in appearance. And colorful flowers were common in window boxes and front yards and gardens,
colorful garden in front of a residence, just before breakfast number 2, caught our attention
Near the end of our “non-traditional” Camino walk, we stopped for a more traditional breakfast #2 and break before rejoining the Camino in Camponayara.
Breakfast #2… back on the official Camino as we walked through CamponarayaWine collective as we exited Camponaraya.nice section of path on the way out of Camponarayaentering the vineyards with Cacabelos in the background Mencia grapes on both sides of the path, most of these had already been harvestedharvesting grapes the old fashion waya little shade and some trees amid the vineyards leaving the dirt path and walking on pavement the final half-mile into Cacabelosalmost in CacabelosSuspected wine baron home on outskirts of Cacabeloswalking toward our albergue in Cacabelos
When we checked-in at 11:00, our transported knapsacks had not arrived, so our routine chores came to a screeching halt. We decided to stop by the Iglesia de Santa Maria to get our credential stamped then get some lunch.
Iglesia de Santa Maríainside Iglesia de Santa María
In 2019 on our way out of Cacabelos, we stopped for breakfast at Hostal Restaurante Siglo XIX. Our waiter performed some impressive art on our cafe con leches.
Today, when we ordered lunch at the same place, we were pleasantly surprised to recognize the same young man as our waiter. We showed him a photo we took of his creation and he was surprised that we remembered.
Our lunch was delicious: ensalada mixta for Linda, ensalada rusa for Jim and Solomillo de cerdo con salsa pimienta (pork tenderloin with a wonderful brown sauce) for both of us.
pork tenderloin with frites and green saladour lunch wine: very nice
After a delicious cheesecake dessert our waiter asked if we’d like coffee and Jim ordered 1 cafe con leche, which arrived with a smiling waiter and some new art to remember.
2019 art (top left), Today’s art (bottom left)
Our backpacks finally arrived at 2:30 and we washed clothes in the albergue machine for 4€, hung them out to dry (took about 2 hrs), then got a snack supper, blogged and read until bedtime.
Camino2022 has gone well so far and we want to keep it that way. Our paced approach today is to not take on the remaining 1200 ft climb to Foncebadón and Cruz de Ferro or to brave either the treacherous downhill section going into Acebo or the very rough, rocky surfaces on the trail between Acebo and Molinaseca.
We walked both of these routes in 2015 and 2017, with full backpacks, but skipped the Acebo to Molinaseca section in 2019. So nothing to prove today.
our “ultimate” overnight stay in Rabanal (left), Cason Rabanal Oca.the main street through Rabanalwalking down to El Tesín this morning to meet Luis
At 9:00 our taxi driver, Luis, met us at Albergue El Tesín in Rabanal. He was the same driver who picked us up in Acebo in 2019, rescuing us from the walk into Molinaseca.
Luis used the road that sorta parallels and crisscrosses the Camino from Rabanal to Molinaseca (a 30 minute ride). The sky was clear, so we were able to enjoy many of the beautiful and breathtaking views that we enjoyed when we walked this section on previous Caminos.
We recognized the place we stayed in Foncebadón in 2015, and stopped briefly to snap a photo of the Cruz de Ferro today, where we left a shell signed by each of our 14 grandchildren in 2017.
Cruz de Ferro, the second highest point on the Camino at 1505 meters (4918 ft). It is reputed to be an ancient monument, first erected by the ancient Celts, then dedicated by the Romans to their god Mercury (protector of travelers) and later crowned by the cross and renamed as a Christian site by the 9th-century hermit Guacelmo.
We continued along the summit of the Itago mountain range for several miles and recognized the expansive views in all directions. On the way down, we drove through Acebo, where we stayed in 2015 and 2017, then continued down the mountain to the bridge entering Molinaseca, where Luis wished us “Buen Camino”, and let us out to begin our 5 mile walk into Ponferrada, our destination for the night.
the medieval Puente del Peregrino into Molinasecacrossing the beautiful medieval bridgethe XVII century Iglesia de San Nicolás seen from the bridge upon entering Molinasecamain street in old Molinasecaexiting Molinasecathe Camino becomes a sidewalk from Molinaseca to Ponferrada just outside Ponferrada, walking through an upscale residential area
Shortly after taking the above photo, Rolfe and Ann, pilgrims friends from Sarasota, Florida caught up to us and we walked together for a half-mile or so, then went our separate ways to different places for the night in Ponferrada. Even though we are walking different distances each day and using different strategies for our Caminos, we keep bumping into each other in stores, in bus stations, in albergues, etc. We said our good-byes/ buen Caminos for the umpteenth time today, but somehow, it may not be our last!
Surprise!!! For the past several weeks, we have continued to cross each other’s paths. Is the Camino trying to tell us something?
We ate sparingly today, never seeming to find a place with food when we were hungry. Tomorrow the problem will lessen as smaller towns along the Camino cater more to pilgrims and not vice versa.
Most of the afternoon was spent trying to find places to stay over the next few weeks… and blogging. A longer walk coming up tomorrow, so pleasant dreams to all!
Jimandi 