Month: June 2025

Walked: 7.8 mi. Camino2025: 205 mi

A taxi met us at the front door of the Hotel Ambasmestas (elev. 2985ft) at 7:30 and within 15 minutes let us off at the Iglesía de Santa María in the village of O Cebreiro (elev. 4250ft), advancing our Camino by some 8 miles and increasing our elevation by 1265 ft.

It was cool, the sky was cloudless and the air was dry at 50% humidity, making for great walking conditions as we left the Bierzo region behind and began walking in the autonomous community of Galicia which extends west to the Atlantic Ocean and whose capital is Santiago de Compostela.

The path from O Cebrerio to Liñares was about 2 miles and was much like a roller coaster… not much change in elevation but endless undulations of short duration but more taxing than a more level path.

Shortly after breakfast we met and hopscotched with two Russian pilgrims, currently living in Washington State. The were both equipped with umbrellas attached to their packs to giving them perpetual shade.

We recovered, somewhat, from the hill climb enough to continue on to Fonfria. The walk was mostly, gently downhill and mercifully, occasionally shaded along the final mile and a half, as the almost noon sun was beginning to move the temperature toward 80F in spite of the lingering cool mountain breeze..

We arrived in Fonfria (elev. 4236ft) at 12:30, checkin was immediate and we were taken to our double room with an ensuite bathroom giving us the full afternoon and evening to recover from a challenging but satisfying walk.

We had our main meal in the dining area around 2:30 and rather than go for the typical evening menu, chose instead to create our own menu from individual items that were available all day long… an option not frequently available on the Camino.

To go with our outstanding wine, we both had tuna and tomato salad. Jim had a lentil soup and Linda had fresh local cheese with honey.

Other than enjoying some delicious food and wine. we washed and dried our dirty clothes and spent the afternoon in our spacious, modern room.

This was our 7th visit to Fonfria and our 2nd visit to Casa Nuñez. We would highly recommend it for pilgrims or tourists!

Walked: 5.3 mi. Camino2025: 197 mi.

We reached the Hotel Valcarce complex in time for breakfast. Valcarce appears to be a major truck stop company the has locations on major highways all over Spain. (Sorry about the photo quality, sun was in the wrong place when we arrived.)

We arrived early, as usual, so we explored this small burg, walked through and a half mile beyond it and found it had one bar (no food) and an albergue with a “Hippie” atmosphere and cuisine. (We booked dinner in our hotel for 6 p.m. as that was the earliest food they had available).

So, we hung out at the Hippie place until our room was ready. In the meantime we had OJ and chocolate cake and later went back and had an omelette and wine.

With OJ in hand, we discovered a serene garden area with an opening to a area for meditation and contemplation beside a babbling brook. Jim’s curiosity led him to walk through the opening and was surprised to encounter the two ladies we met in the León Train station 11 days ago. We chatted for a while before they proceeded to finish their walk for the day to Herrerías. They plan to ride horseback tomorrow from Herrerías, up the mountain to O Cebreiro.

Needless to say, we spent a quiet afternoon in the hotel doing our usual, had an adequate evening meal at 6:00, then made our preparations for tomorrow’s walk and called it a day.

Walked: 6.2 miles. Camino2025: 192 mi.

The next 5 miles can be unappealing if the focus is on the barrier, traffic seamingly endless switchbacks through the pass. Today we focused on the scenery only, to make it more interesting.

We walked through Pereje and were plesantly surprised to see Las Coronas open once again after being closed for nearly 5 years. It’s a great stop 3.5 miles from Villafranca and the only services until Trabadelo.

It being our 4 visit to Novaruta, our hosts recognized us and shortly had our room available before noon, vs the normal 2:00 p.m, checkin.

We finished our main meal in the dining room around 3:00, then spent a restful afternoon and evening.

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.

Walked: 7.5 mi. Camino2025: 179 mi.

The walk from Camponaraya to Cacabelos is normally a challenge in the summer heat. Today, however, was overcast and cool and we walked and talked with a group of Canadians (Montreal) and Cristina, from Estonia, which made the time pass much faster and the walk much easier.

We arrived in Cacabelos a half-hour before checkin. We waited in s nearby eatery and improved our hydration with OJ, Sangria and gazpacho.

After checkin, we had lunch in a familiar nearby restaurant and spent the rest of the day washing/drying clothes, blogging, reading and napping.

It wad a very nice day on the Camino Frances.

Walked: 5.6 mi. Camino2025: 172 mi.

We decided to give ourselves a gift today by employing a taxi to help us skip the section between Foncebadón and Molinaseca. Although the scenery is extraordinary “top-of-the-world”, the potential for Camino ending injury trying to navigate the paths (actually washes) down into El Acebo, for us, far outweighs the reward. We confirmed this assessment when we walked this section last year, after skipping it for several previous Caminos.

Further, having walked from El Acebo to Molinaseca 3 times before deciding the risk/reward ratio on that section was too high… we have skipped it the last 4 Caminos, including today.

So, we had breakfast at La Posada del Druida in Foncebadón first, then met the taxi at our door and made the very scenic ride down the mountain through El Acebo…

… then continued on to the Roman bridge going into Molinaseca, where the taxi driver let us out.

We walked across the bridge, stopped for an OJ, then began walking toward Ponferrada.

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.

The Templar Castle 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.

We didn’t spend any time at the old city or the castle, having visited many times before today. We continued on into the modern city looking for a place to have lunch before walking on to our hotel for the evening.

We paced ourselves today after a strenuous day yesterday and a longer than usual walk planned for tomorrow. The first half of our walk is through the city and suburbs of Ponferrada with the second half through vineyards and countryside. We’re looking forward to it!