Walked: 6.3 mi. Camino2025: 186 mi.
We walked on nice, wide sidewalks to just beyond the town limits, then uphill on a small dirt path along the edge of the highway. We quickly passed Pieros (pop.35), then a winery before making the choice to get off the highway path and go into vineyards.
Valtuille appears to be a village that has bottomed out but may be on the way back. Most of the buildings and residences seem abandoned and are in various stages of ruin. However, some are undergoing renovations and appear quite livable. A common site is a home that is half renovated with residents while the other half is still in ruins. We took some representative photos as we walked through the village.
The following are scenes we enjoyed as we walked through the vineyards:
We left the vineyards and followed a paved road the entered Villafranca at the Iglesía de Santiago.
One of the most beautiful towns on the Camino, Villafranca del Bierzo has retained much of its medieval and Renaissance character in spite of an increase of modern hotels and buildings. Several Roman castrum have been found in the area, with the strategic location at the confluence of the rivers Burbio and Valcarce and just below the mountain pass. This location later drew merchants from all over, giving the city its names (literally “city of the Franks” but more accurately, of the “foreigners.”) Villafranca marks the end of the 10th stage in the Codex Calixtinus and was home to numerous pilgrim hospitals.
Life wasn’t all that easy for the people of Villafranca, who suffered an outbreak of plague in 1589 and destruction by flood in 1715. In the Peninsular Wars of the early 19th century, French soldiers overtook the city only to be driven back by British soldiers who ravaged Villafranca, destroying the castle and stealing from churches.
Our traditional breakfast spot was closed on this Sunday morning, so we walked to the main plaza and found a new breakfast spot that met all our needs: cafe-con-leche, tostadas and restrooms.
After breakfast we tapped into a nearby ATM to restore our Euro stash. Linda found a comfortable bench in the warm sun, while Jim made a survey of opening hours of various services for meals and snacks for the day. Jim also found a shop with farm supplies and purchased some padrón pepper seeds to insure a future supply at home in the U.S. for his favorite peppers.
We killed some additional time at a potential main meal place with a late morning snack of colacao.
At 1:00, we went to our hostal, El Campano, hoping to get in before the normal 2:00 p.m. checkin.
We were in luck and got into our room without delay, then returned to the main plaza for our main meal at Bar/Restaurant Sevilla. The Sevilla is a favorite eatery for us and locals. On this pleasant, sunny, Sunday afternoon the locals far outnumbered the pilgrims making for a crowded but quite enjoyable experience.
Jimandi 