It was foggy when we left Pintin at 7:45.We picked up the Camino as it morphed from the farm road to the dirt path through the forest.We emerged from the forest after a mile or so and walked on a dirt path along the road on the way to Sarria.We walked a couple more miles parallel to the road until making a brief breakfast stop just outside of Sarria. A relatively newly renovated bridge in Sarria and picturesque view of town center along the Rio Sarria.
We continued through Sarria taking an alternate route, discovered several Caminos ago. Rather than climb up the steps on the traditionally marked route and reaching the peak where several important churches were disappointedly inaccessible (locked) and then descending to the opposite side of town to the Roman bridge…
The beginning of the steps and incline of the Camino through Sarria center.
… we merely walked around the base of the hill and joined panting pilgrims at the Roman bridge on the way out of town.
walking around around the base of the hill through Sarria town center.Arriving at the Roman bridge to exit Sarria.The Camino went through some pretty corn fields and along the railroad track.Newly planted corn was an interesting change for our first spring Camino. When we’ve walked previous Caminos, these fields had corn 6-8 ft tall!The Camino headed into a chestnut forest. Here Linda is crossing a pretty stream at the base of a steep climb up the side of the mountain.A steep gradeHuge chestnut trees… ” one foot in front of the other” to make it up the steep climb.Finally, reaching the top and a welcome switchback onto relatively level ground again.We walked another half mile through some recently mowed fields and into the hamlet of Barbadelo.
There is not much to Barbadelo. We’re staying at Casa das Airas, an extension of the only albergue and only available restaurant in the hamlet.
We waited until 1:30 to be checked-in, had a light lunch from the breakfast menu and crashed in our rather bizarre private 4 bedroom accommodation with a private, unattached bathroom. The bathroom water was not drinkable, according to the posted warning sign in the bathroom and the electric sockets were difficult to access… among other issues.
We made the best of it, looking forward to the much nicer accommodation reserved for tomorrow.
Linda walking out of Casa Nuñez this morning.Rejoining the Camino dirt path as we left Fonfria.A few minutes beyond Fonfria, raindrops began to fall from the threatening clouds above us. Linda put on her rain gear but Jim guessed (hoped) it might blow over.The raindrops were non-committal and we continued walking. These handsome cattle seemed to not be aware that there was a decision to be made… one way or the other.We arrived at Biduedo (pop.31) and our traditional breakfast stop was open.Breakfast at Casa Quiroga was predictably good.Linda decided to re-pack her rain gear due to still non-committal raindrops, as we completed our rest stop.We also made our traditional photo op at the Camino’s smallest church, before leaving the small farming village.
Keep in mind, since Cebrerio, we’ve been walking along the top of several Galician mountain ranges in the range of 4000-4500 feet above sea level. Once we walked out of Biduedo, it became apparent how high we were and the challenge we faced today.
Our first view as we walked out of Biduedo.And then even more was revealed.We walked along a ridge for over a mile.Our view off to the right was breathtaking.It was a perfect day for viewing for miles Last year, all we saw was fog… today the view was revealed in it’s entirety.We walked, stopped, then looked, walked, then stopped and looked some more. Each view seemed more captivating that the last.… we didn’t forget to look away from the views occasionally to enjoy the colors along the path.…more colors…… more color and even a bee!Finally, we were reminded we had hard work still ahead, as the path turned downward.Heading down.and down…and down….Two dimensional photos can’t show how steep this was, requiring poles in places to keep from falling forward. Triacastela, our destination, can be seen in the center of the photo, still off in the distance and another 1000 ft below.At an elevation of 3120 ft, we reached Fillobal for a break and a snack and hopefully to greet a friend.The only eatery in Fillobal and, arguably, the best tortillas on the Camino and offering other delicious specialties of the house, we highly recommend “Aira do Camino”.Rosa, our host and friend for multiple Caminos and owner/operator of “aira do camino”.Rejoining the dirt path after Fillobal, we walked among the roots!Continuing down …crossing the road then returning to the path… continuing down from the mountain.…Making way for bovine residents changing pastures in As Pasantes.As we passed through Pasantes, the heavens finally and without warning opened up.Linda quickly geared up for it and Jim, balked, deciding instead to move from one chestnut tree canopy to the next and managed to stay relatively dry as the downpour subsided after less than 5 minutes.Stubbornly, still not wearing rain gear.We gave our regards to the 800 year old chestnut tree in Ramil and continued on to Triacastela.Another feeble attempt by Jim at a selfie as we arrived in Triacastela (elev. 2184)
We stopped at a bar/restaurant/pención for our final stop, called for a taxi to take us to Pintin and Casa Cines, our destination for the day. This saved us an additional walk of 7.2 miles, enabling us to walk another day (tomorrow) after today’s downhill walk… descending over 2000 ft.
We were welcomed like family when we walked into Casa Cines and enjoyed our 7th visit with this nice family and welcoming, generous hosts.
Their traditionally good food and restful atmosphere helped us recoup from our strenuous morning and made for another satisfying day on the Camino Frances.
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 view looking north from O Cebrerio as we rejoined the Camino.The dirt path leaving from O Cebrerio.
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.
A downhill sectionAn uphill sectionUphill…… and relatively flat…This is the Casa Rural Jaime at Liñares. It’s also is a good rest stop and has a store with something for everyone, if it’s open. It has been closed on our previous two Caminos, It was, thankfully, open today.Shortly after Liñares, we left the paved road and climbed up the steep dirt/concrete path up to Alto San Roque, Elev. 4170ft.The retaining wall and paved road show the path degree of incline near the top.The Pilgrim statue at the Alto de San Rogue.Scenery after walking past Alto de San Roque.Walking toward Hospital de la CondesaWalking into Hospital and approaching the back door to one of our favorite breakfast stops.Tostadas and cafe con leche at Cafe/Bar 0’Tear
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 reached the base of the very steep path leading up to Alto Do Poio (elev. 4373) and struggled up the hill together, and reaching the top, exhausted.Recovering and enjoying our reward of fresh squeezed OJ after conquering the hill to Alto Do Poio and crashing at the Albergue del Puerto Bar.
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.
Beginning our main meal with a great Mencía wine.A delicious ” a la carte” meal at our home for the afternoon and evening, Albergue A Reboleira & Casa Rural Nuñez, Fonfria.
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.
Dessert (postre) was a chocolate almond cake. (We got the recipe for making it when we return home!!)
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!
Walking through Trabadelo, (pop. 456).The main/only street through Trabadelo extended for nearly a half mile with a mixture of very old, old renovated and ruins residences. Few businesses existed other than albergues, a small grocery store and private rentals like Casa Rurals and the like.A relatively modern, large home with working family garden.A cute house just before leaving the village, note the doll in the dormer.The Camino looked like this as we left town….… until minutes later we walked under the ever-present elevated expressway……. and rejoined the concrete barrier walkway once again.The road/Camino snaked through the mountain pass following the Valcarce river. We crossed the river on bridges like this one over a dozen times in less than a two mile stretch.The Valcarce River was visible below at each crossing.
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.)
The Valcarce complex located just before Portela de Varcarce (pop.37).New discovery for Camino breakfast! Toasted croissants with butter and jam, to go with cafe-con-leche.Entering A Portela de VarcarceThe church in A PortelaWe’re thinking of replacing our driveway pots at home with these two statutes.Two blinks and we were walking out of A Portela de Varcarce. Quarters among pilgrims and vehicles were a bit tight.Tight walking space continued until we reached Ambasmestas, where it didn’t improve, so we had to pay attention. Most of the traffic was “thru” for this hamlet with 46 inhabitants.Hotel Ambasmestas, our accommodation.18th century stone church Nuestra Señora del Carmen of Ambasmestas.Interior of Nuestra Señora del Carmen
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.
One of our pilgrim friends from Louisiana that we met in León 11 days ago.
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.
No tourists, locals or pilgrims in the Plaza Mayor when we left El Campano and walked through old Villafranca del Bierzo at 7:30 this morning.We finally passed a pilgrim going slower than us as we crossed the Rio Buria.Looking back on Villafranca and the Rio Burbia.Walking by the Rio Valcarce as we left Villafranca and began the walk through the mountain pass.Old section and new section (added in 2024) to make Camino safer for pilgrims for the 1 mile section from here to the motor vehicle barrier section of paved walkway to Trabadelo.This is what it looked like as we walked along the motor vehicle barrier to Trabadelo (~5 miles).
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.
Rio Valcarce
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.
Las Coronas in Pereje – bar/restrooms on right, terrace service across the streetNew interior of Bar Las Coronas in PerejeRio Valcarce and bridge just past PerejeVery old chestnut trees along the walk into Trabadelo.Our Hostal in Trabdelo: Novaruta
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.
Ensalada rusa for Linda, Garbanzo stew for Jim. Paired with an excellent Bierzo/Mencía wine.Roasted marinated chicken for Linda, Braised pork knuckles for Jim.
We finished our main meal in the dining room around 3:00, then spent a restful afternoon and evening.
Two storks were up bright and early as we walked out of La Gallaga and passed by Iglesía de Santa María.A few more steps and we left Cacabelos as we crossed the bridge over the Rio Cúe.Next was the town’s unusual pilgrim albergue, the Santuario de las Angustias, a hermitage with individual rooms in a circle around the base of the building.Several pilgrims checking out of the albergue.
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.
We took a right here, which is easy to find if you are looking for it.A few hundred yards on a paved road…… then a left turn onto a dirt road into the vineyards, toward Valtuille de Arriba (pop139).vineyards in all directions.
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 paved road through the village ran out as we moved into the vineyards.
The following are scenes we enjoyed as we walked through the vineyards:
Villafranca del Bierzo in the distance.
We left the vineyards and followed a paved road the entered Villafranca at the Iglesía de Santiago.
Iglesía de Santiago and its Puerta de Perdón a doorway for pilgrims who were too sick to continue to Santiago. Pilgrims could walk through the door (Puerta del Perdón) in lieu of completing the pilgrimage and receive the same indulgences in a Jubilee year.The imposing Castle at the entrance to Villafranca. Can’t go inside… privately owned…no one seems to know what’s inside.
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.
our new breakfast stop
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.
Our hostal, El Campano, (white building on left)
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 