A taxi picked us up at 7:00 at our albergue in Trabadelo and dropped us off in the village of O’Cebrerio about 25 minutes later at daybreak. This saved us 2 days of walking at our pace and keeps us on schedule to arrive in Santiago 12 days from now.
looking back on where we’ve beenstarting off on the path leaving O Cebreiro (1300 meters altitude = 4265 ft)looking back at this morning’s sunrisea look at the typical Camino path for the first 2 miles from O Cebreiro … like a roller coaster going both up and down around 4000 ft elevation.a short stretch on pavement then ……back onto the dirt path and up a steep section to Alto de San Roque (1270 meters = 4167 ft)Pilgrim statue at Alto de San Roque close-up of the pilgrim leaning into the wind (it was only 12 mph with gusts of 30 mph this morning)approaching the village of Hospital, hopeful that its sole bar will be open for a rest stop and breakfast after walking 4 miles.It’s Open!!! Yeah!!local art in the bar, depicting Galícian musicians… note the bagpipes.an old loom, off in the corner of a dining areaback on the road/ pathbeautiful scenery was plentiful all morning in the unusually fogless, rainless conditionsafter a diversion from the main road, smaller road, then back onto a dirt path heading upward
This next relatively short section of the Camino is, in Jim’s opinion, the steepest of all. Photos can not show how really steep this really is, but here’s our best attempt to give you an idea.
We’ve been thinking about this ” hill” all morning and now here it is. Note the size of the two pigrims on the bend of the path at top center of this photo. The next photo looking down was taken from this same bend.looking back at the beginning of the incline, the slight curve shown here. This photo was taken on the last bend about 200 feet from the top. To help put it in perspective, note the size of the 3 pilgrims on bikes below in front of the first building in right-center of photo above.
Below is is a series of shots we took on the way up. Start at the bottom left then right, move up to the next row, left then right etc., finishing at top right.
Once we reached to top, exhausted, we stopped at the bar, conveniently located at the top and had an OJ.
A popular rest stop after the ” hill”
We then walked the final 2 miles of the day into the village of Fonfria (pop. 41).
the path paralleled the highway for the two miles into Fonfria.we were greeted by this bovine delegation upon entering “main street” Fonfria.
We checked-in at Casa Lucas, collected our transported backpacks and were shown to our room. This is our 4th stay at Casa Lucas.
We had a light lunch shortly after arriving at Casa Lucas, prepared by the owner, manager and cook. Linda had this “specialty” of our host last Camino: fresh tomatoes & olives with fresh cheese. When Linda heard it was being offered today… well, her expression says it all.
After a relaxing afternoon, mostly in our room, we had our main meal at 7:00. It was prepared by the owner in the small dining room next to the kitchen.
1st course: Galícian soup (chickpeas, potatoes and collards) for Jim. Ist Course: Ensalada mixta for Linda… tomatoes were bursting with flavor!2nd course: Pork chops and fries for Linda, Fried Chicken, fries and. medley of mushrooms, carrots, peppers and chicken bits for Jim.
We had a nice local Galícian wine with the meal and coffee ice cream for dessert.
At dinner tonight in addition to good food we met 4 twenty- something pilgrims from Germany, Belgium, Great Britain and Sweden. At another table we met a nice lady who had started in SjPDP but will be returning home before she can walk to Santiago, because she didn’t have enough vacation time left. She was from St. Martin and lives only a short distance from our rental apartment in Orient Beach! We’re practically neighbors but we met on the Camino!
Walking out the front gate of Viña Femita at 6:45.Villafranca del Bierzo is a charming, historic but well maintained town… even in the dark.a modern (1999) pilgrim statue on the bridge leaving Villafranca.color and silhouettes of Villafranca at first lightA new sidewalk for pilgrims has been added since our last Camino, making for a safer way up through the mountain gap.the new walk ended after half-a-mile at the junction of the secondary road and the auto viatunnel through the mountain to the leftthe Camino taking us along the national highway with a crash barrier for pilgrim protectionwinding our way through the gap along the national highway and occasional overpasses of the autovia.more of the same for most of this morning’s walk the gap is about 1500 feet below the surrounding mountains, but still around 1600 ft above sea level.The entrance to Perejé (pop. 39) suggested this small hamlet might have re-opened a favorite breakfast stop at the halfway point of the Villafranca to Trabadelo walk… which has been closed since the pandemic. The disappointment continued today as the cerrado (closed) sign was still on the front door and the chairs/tables across the street were still chained up, preventing use.the stacked logs tells us we are nearing the saw mill in Trabadelo and we walked among the 400 year old chestnut tree forest.walking into Trabadelo and our albergue dominance of both sides of the road.entrances of Bar/ restaurant/ albergerelatively new addition of private rooms and owner’s residenceview of our building from rearthe double windows on ground floor is our room, overlooking the poolinteriors of our double room, retro decor1950’s decor, typical of many Camino “habitacions”
Our first choice to stay in Trabadelo was Nova Ruta, a small hotel nearby where we have stayed the past 3 Caminos. However, it was booked when we were doing our planning in March, so Os Arroxos was our second choice.
Nevertheless, we had breakfast at Nova Ruta when we arrived in Trabadelo this morning and were immediately recognized by the owner of Nova Ruta. We explained why we were not staying with her and she understood. Jim asked if they still had pork cheeks on the menu and she confirmed and reserved a table for us for lunch.
1st Course at Nova Ruta: Ensalada Rusa2nd Course: Baked Chicken for Linda, Carillera (Iberian Pork Cheeks) for Jim
We enjoyed our meal, said farewell to our friends and headed back to our albergue/room and chilled for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
P.S.: The water in the pool was very chilly due to the 50F nights, so we decided not to indulge, inspite of it being right outside our room.
P.P.S: As the sun got hotter, Jim was eventually overcome with the temptation to take the plunge.
As day was breaking, we walked past this large winery with nearby vineyards on the way out of Cacabelos.we left the road and began walking through the vineyards…. Villafranca del Bierzo (our goal for today) and the mountains (our goal for the next several days) were off in the distance.vineyards all around
We made a right turn off the main road and the pavement continued a few hundred yards, before we took another left into a dirt road that headed into the vineyards.
In our previous Caminos, we’ve taken the recommended route that is 75% pavement and somewhat risky with small or no shoulders along the way.
Today, just to be different, we took the alternate route through the vineyards which was slightly longer but definitely more interesting and less boring than the road. It took us through the village of Valtuille de Arriba, (pop. 82), which had some restored homes but the majority if the buildings were in various states of ruin. A couple of the houses had been about 50% renovated, while the other half of the house was still in ruins.
some partial reno on a residenceruinous structures in town centerthis house was in bad shapeanother half-renovated residence structures barely standingtown centerwalking out of the village into a gathering of strangely leaning treespretty vineyard scenerymore pretty scenery the dirt path became a narrow paved road passing some homes and small farms/vineyards on the way into Villafranca del Bierzothe Iglesia de Santiago
As we entered the town we faced the Iglesia de Santiago with its Puerta 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.
Puerta del Perdónthe Castillo
The Villafranca del Bierzo Castle was built in 1515 over the remains of a previous fortification. Its first owner was Don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo (second marques of Villafranca) and since 1850 by Don Joaquin Caro y Alvarez.
More of a fortified-palance than a castle, it was ransacked in 1809 by the English and in 1815 and 1819 by the French during the Independence War.
It’s under private ownership, not open to the public and we’ve never seen the inside.
The streets and steps into Villafranca del Bierzo mid-town are very steep. Jim did a little dance after missing a step near the bottom of this run and amazingly remained on his feet the final steps into the street without incident… but he was clearly much more cautious the rest if the day.
our second breakfast, while waiting for checkinour albergueview of the street from our final waiting spot to checkinLinda waiting
We finally checked in to Viña Femita at 1:00.
had our best pizzas of the Camino today with a glass of Mencia wine.
Tonight we had a light dinner, cooked by the Juan’s mother. Viña Femita was built on the site of the family home, which burned when Juan was a child. In it’s place, Juan has built a very nice albergue/hotel… and is continuing to add to it, including a new section of 7 additional rooms which should be open for guests in the next month.
Jim and Juan
Juan’s dad grows Mencia grapes in his vineyards and produces some very nice red wine, as evidenced by the bottle Linda and I had with tonight’s dinner.
Our dinner wine (Mencia)
You’ll notice from the photo, the bottle has no label. It was selected from Juan’s collection especially for us.
We had a delicious vegetable soup and Jim had a portion of very tender breaded fried chicken breast. It was more than we should have eaten after our late lunch pizza, but we’ll get a chance to walk it off tomorrow on the way up into the mountains.
It was a nice ending for a delightful day in Villafranca del Bierzo for Camino2023.
We continued on city/suburb sidewalks for the first half of today’s walkthe pretty sky behind us… almost forgot to look.As we walked through a town called Bierzo this morning, Jim said, ” I’ve never owned a tractor, never needed a tractor, but if I ever did want a tractor it would be this one!”We nearly panicked when the sidewalk and building began to run out and our usual breakfast stops were all closed. And then, this one, which has always been closed, was OPEN! the tostados and jam was especially gooddon’t need to know Spanish to tell this is a hardware store.strange location for this cute little churchAs we left Camponaraya, we walked past this statue honoring Lydia Valentín Pérez, Women’s Olympic Weightlifter from this part of Spain.and now a break from all those sidewalks!heading out into the vineyards and toward the mountainsthe path wound among the vineyards and an occasional forestthe gravel path and the cool morning air made it a relatively easy walk.the paved road or pathway, pilgrims choice, into Cacabelos.
On the way into Cacabelos, we stopped at a bar for a glass of fresh squeezed OJ and chatted briefly with Susie, a nice young lady from Ireland, currently living in Oxford, England. She was walking on to Trabadelo, another 10 miles to go. She asked for some ideas about places to stay the next few days and we offered some suggestions and she was soon on her way again.
We finished our juice and walked on into town center to our home for the rest of the day. ly Once again, we were able to check-in early to our hotel room when we arrived at 10:30!
our unusual, but very comfortable roomour hotel , Siglo XIX, in Cacabelos.
We followed our routine, had lunch in the hotel restaurant and had a leisurely afternoon blogging, reading and napping.
Looking back as we walked past the Pilgrim statue on our way out of Molinasaca.
Today we walked the entire way on sidewalks! It was a pleasant walk, before the sun got too high in the sky and even then, we were able to find shade if we picked the sidewalk on the correct side of the street.
sidewalk leaving Molinasecasidewalk between Molinaseca and Ponferradasidewalk leading into Ponferrada (in background)
Ponferrada started off as a Celtic settlement, followed by a Roman mining town. The city was destroyed first by the Visigoths and then Muslim invaders. After the Reconquista, Bishop Osmundo of Astorga commissioned a pilgrim bridge here, which was unusually constructed with steel beams, giving the city its modern name. Ponferrada was a booming pilgrimage town, with diverse merchants including Franks and Jews, who were protected during a 15th-century restriction that called for segregating communities. The railroad came to the city in 1882 and in the 1940s the town grew with the coal industry.
walking past Templar Castle just prior to walking over the steel reinforced bridge.
The Templar Castile was built in the 13th century over a destroyed Visigoth fort, which was built over a Roman fort, which was built over a pre-Roman castro. Soon after its completion, the Templars were banished.
Downtown Ponferrada is modern and features beautiful walkways in the center as well as on both sides.looking back as we began to leave town center with mountains surrounding Ponferrada in background.another example of Spanish exterior wall murals, here on two adjacent building adding color to an otherwise drab parking lot.side walk leaving Ponferradaour hotel in the Ponferrada surburb of Cuatro Vientosour hotel is located on a busy intersection (circle)our view across the street: a modern church and a supermarket.
Our room (48€) was ready when we arrived at this small hotel at 10:42. Our transported backpacks arrived a hour later. We had our main meal in the hotel “comidor” (dining room). With the exception of Jim doing some shopping for snacks and bottled water in the supermarket across the street. we spent the rest of the day doing our usual routine.
Nice breakfast left for us this morning by our Via Avis hosts and their sweet farewell note.
We were overwhelmed this morning by the very nice breakfast prepared for us as we departed early this morning, before breakfast. It was so thoughtful and typical of the hospitality of our hosts.
We failed to mention in yesterday’s blog that we arrived at Via Avis at 10:00 am and rang the doorbell, fully expecting to be turned away, as with most other properties, until the standard checkin time of 2:00. We were instead greeted cheerfully by Daina and welcomed inside and taken to our room.
Throughout the day, whenever we had a question about something, like, is there a place to hang out clothes to dry, Daina or Carlos would respond cheerfully, taking care of our needs, like we were a house guest, not just someone passing through.
Our less than 24 hour encounter with this delightful couple will be among our fondest, positive experiences of all of our Caminos.
the initial few miles from Santa Catalina to Rabanal del Camino looked like this.Albergue ” Indian Way” off to the right at entry to Ganzo, pop. 30.Iglesia Santiago at village center in Ganzo (never been inside! door always locked)having breakfast at only open bar in Ganzo.Camino parallel to the road from Ganzo to Rabanal del Camino.Foncebadon near the top of mountain in background… Rabanal at mid-right at church steeple.Decision time: go right through the rocks, roots and steep (up and down) path through the forest Camino OR go left on the parallel, more gradual inclined paved road with little or no traffic (bikes or cars)The road 2 votes, the Camino path through the forest 0 votesfinal mile into Rabanal del CaminoWe stopped at this bar/albergue just outside of Rabanalwaiting for our taxi just outside of Rabanal del Camino
After walking the 7 plus miles to Rabanal, we asked the barkeep to call a taxi (only two cars serve this area) to take us up, over and down the mountain into Molinaseca, our lodging place for the night. The first taxi service was totally booked for the day but the other one could pick us up in 30 minutes.
The ride up to Cruz Ferro and the incredibly beautiful 7 mile section along the mountain ridge on this clear morning was as we remembered from our three previous walks in 2015 and 2017 and 2019.
Admittedly, we didn’t miss some of the treacherous downhill sections into El Acebo and later into Molinaseca which we have avoided via taxi since 2019.
Had we been able to reserve a place to stay at Foncebadón that matched our Camino2023 plan, we could have walked the ridge again, but it was not to be. But thankfully the memories and some incredible photos of those prior walks will be forever ingrained among our Camino experiences.
The medieval Puente del Peregrino crossing into Molinaseca over the Rio Meruela … note swimmers cooling off from hot summer sun.Iglesia de San Nicolas de Bari (Santa Claus)the interior of Iglesia de San Nicolas the statue of San Nicolas on the retablo (altarpiece)statue of Santiago just after a church worker had finished polishing it Enjoying the shade, cool breeze and view while perusing the menu for lunch1st course: Calamari for Linda, Ensalada Rusa for Jim
Jimandi 