Category: Camino 2023

Walked today: 3.4 mi Camino2023: 243 mi

The Rubia Gallega committee was waiting to wish us farewell and “buen Camino” as we walked out the door of Casa Lucas.

We made a rest stop and hot chocolate break in the village of Biduedo (pop. 31) to give the clouds a chance to clear out of the valley below.

The walk along the edge of the mountain and the initial descent offered some extraordinarily views as the clouds lifted and the sun began to highlight the fields and and pastures below. Eventually, the constantly changing weather brought in more clouds that rolled down the mountainsides and worked their way into the valley, forming darker storm makers that began with drizzles and eventually rained more heavily on us.

But the timing was just right, because we had seen and photographed all the good “stuff” and were focused on the descent when the crisp, colorful views disappeared.

Aira do Camiño is one of the best eateries on the Camino. We’ve stopped here on every Camino on our way into Triacastela. Rosa, the owner/manager of the restaurant is very efficient and customer oriented and serves delicious Galícian foods of the region. She also has excellent sweets like homemade cheesecake plus vegan and vegetarian options.

We also have been impressed by the cleanliness of the restaurant, restrooms and outside lounging/eating areas. Thinking that Rosa also managed the albergue, was a reason we chose to stay here for Camino2023.

However, today we learned that the albergue next door is under different ownership/management. And our initial impressions of the owner’s response to our simple request about the possibility for an earlier checkin, have created some doubts. We’ll see when we finally get to check in at 1:30!

The albergue was ok, similar to other albergues but relatively expensive at 43€ for a double room with shared bathroom. The climate control was marginal in keeping the dampness under control in the rooms. The beds and mattresses were soft and not as comfortable as many we have encountered on this and previous Caminos.

So in summary, its a typical albergue, nothing special and not a value. If the restaurant next door were not here, the viability of the albergue would diminish significantly.

We had dinner tonight in the restaurant to sample several of Rosa’s offerings and reaffirmed our earlier assessment of the food quality and variety.

We complimented Rosa on all she has accomplished and thanked her for her splendid hospitality and service. We chatted briefly about the excellent reputation she has cultivated among pilgrims, since starting this impressive small business in 2010 and showed her some reviews from pilgrim apps about her great restaurant.

Thanks, Rosa, for a wonderfully positive experience at Aira do camiño, in Fillobal, Spain.

Walked today: 7.3 mi. Camino2023: 239 mi

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.

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.

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.

We then walked the final 2 miles of the day into the village of Fonfria (pop. 41).

We checked-in at Casa Lucas, collected our transported backpacks and were shown to our room. This is our 4th stay at Casa Lucas.

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.

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!

Walked today: 6.3 mi. Camino2023: 232 mi

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.

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.

Walked today: 6.3 mi. Camino2023: 226 mi

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.

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.

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.

We finally checked in to Viña Femita at 1:00.

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.

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.

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.

Walked today: 6.3 mi. Camino2023: 219 mi

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!

We followed our routine, had lunch in the hotel restaurant and had a leisurely afternoon blogging, reading and napping.

Walked today: 6.5 mi Camino2023: 213 mi

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.

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 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.

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.