Category: Camino 2024

Depart Time: 8:05. Temp: 60F RH: 85%

Walked: 6.7 mi. Camino 2024: 240 mi.

While the forecast still called for rain, it was not supposed to be as continuous as yesterday. so we started out without our rain gear.

This section of the Camino from Barbadelo to Morgade is among our most favorites. In a relatively short span of 6 miles it contains a wide range of scenery, colors and terrain. it’s not overly challenging which allows an observant pilgrim to take it all in, if he or she wishes to. We walked through farms, hamlets, neighborhoods, pastures and forests. We walked over a variety surfaces: mud, stone paths, pavement, ivy covered stonewalls along dirt paths and concrete/graveled grades for traction. Jim found himself taking it all in and snapping photos not wanting to miss anything.

The morning was going really smooth. The rain became intermittent and very lightly, not really very bothersome at all.

We got to Morgade at 11:30 and got in line to check in. When it became our turn, our name was not on the reservation list. We said there must be a mistake and Jim pulled up the email we received from the property we received, back in April, confirming our reservation. It was clearly in order with one minor detail, it was for the 25th… of August!! And the receptionist pointed out that today was the 25th of September.

So, we went from getting to check in early to not having a place to stay for the night.

The receptionist began checking for nearby vacancies but with no success. Jim opened the Booking.com app and began looking in parallel. He found only one property available in Portomarin, 6 miles away. He quickly booked it and as soon as he had a confirmation, he asked the receptionist to please call us a taxi to take us there.

After exhausting the list of 6 available taxi drivers in the area, another hotel staff member offered another name and when contacted he said he could pick us up in 10 minutes.

The last detail was our transported packs, which were on the way to the Morgade hotel and we now needed them in the new Portomarin location.

Jim and the receptionist began to search the delivered backpacks and luckily, ours had already been delivered and Jim quickly picked them up and carried them to our pickup point for the taxi.

A few minutes later, we were in the taxi with all our stuff, on the way to Portomarin.

The taxi driver delivered us to the property in Portomarin, let us out and drove on. We went inside to check in, but quickly found out it was the wrong property. So Linda found a seat inside the wrong property reception with our two large packs and our two day packs while Jim took off to find the correct property.

A half hour later and an extra mile of walking for the day, Jim located the correct property, checked in, returned to reunite with Linda and our stuff and we both lugged our stuff to Le Casa de Manuel, an apartment, in Portomarin.

With all the excitement over and things beginning to get back under control, we decided to find a place to eat, leisurely, before taking on the routine chores for our typical Camino afternoon.

Our afternoon and evening went smoothly. Well we did have one more issue. When Linda got into the shower, she had no hot water. Not that the hot water was not hot, there was no water coming out of the hot water spigot… in the shower, in the bathroom sink or the kitchen sink. We contacted the owner after several attempts via Whatsapp and telephone calls and a couple hours later water began to flow out of the hot water spigot and it was actually hot, too. Showers proceeded along with other “chores”.

Because we had a kitchen in the apartment, we sliced the tomatoes we were gifted in Pintin and had carried, carefully without bruising for two days and had a late afternoon snack, Yum!

And so another interesting day on the Camino Frances came to a close.

Depart Time: 8:00 Temp: 54F RH: 90%

Walked: 7.4 mi. Camino 2024: 233 mi.

Today’s walk can be summarized in one word, “rain”

It began raining 5 minutes after we walked out of Casa Cines and continued as showers or a soaking drizzle until we reached Barbadelo, five hours later.

We got out of the rain for breakfast just outside of Sarria. We got relief in a hiking gear store while buying Linda a poncho that didn’t leak. We got a 5 minute break in a small grocery store to replenish our snack supply. We made a rest stop/ Colacao break also in Sarria. Linda waited under an awning in Sarria while Jim hunted for an ATM to replenish our stash of €’s.

All the rest of the morning, we walked in the rain.

We only snapped a few photos, to keep from soaking Jim’s iPhone, but the scenery was limited for us too, as we were looking at our feet most of the way, dodging puddles.

To add to the fun, when we got to Barbadelo, our albergue had a strict check-in time of 1:30, so we has an early lunch/dinner in the albergue restaurant to kill time while waiting for our room to be ready. The restaurant was also dry and a little warmer than in the rain.

We finally checked in at 2:00, did our chores and hibernated in our room for the rest of the day, to stay warm and dry.

To go along with the rest of the day’s happenings, our room is the smallest we have had so far and we share a bathroom with three other rooms… so, limited space to hang our wet things to dry overnight. We do have a portable heater, though.

The forecast for tomorrow is “more of the same!” ☹️

Depart Time: 8:05 Temp: 42F RH: 90%

Walked: 6.0 mi. Camino 2024: 226 mi.

The sky was clear when we left Fonfria this morning, so we were hopeful that the spectacular views of today’s walk would be at their best.

We stopped at a favorite bar in Fillobal. The friendly owner has been very nice to us every time we stop. She recognized us today. Our last visit was a year ago!

Rested from our descent to Fillobal, we said our goodbyes and continued on toward Tricastella.

We arrived in Tricastella after a 6 mile, 3000 ft elevation descent from Fonfria. After a Colacao and a brief chat with two pilgrims from Nova Scotia, we called a taxi.

The taxi ride followed the Camino, a narrow, 1 1/2 lane road for the 7 miles from Tricastella to Pintin, our destination for the day.

This will be our 6th visit to Casa Cines, a small hotel in this hamlet on the Camino just a few miles before Sarria.

This family-owned gem has been like a home on the Camino for us. Núria, the manager has been a friend and an excellent resource to help us with a variety of needs beginning with our first visit in 2015. She and her family have treated us like family… a most cherished experience of the Camino.

Tonight we had dinner in the restaurant. Jim ordered a pizza and Linda went with a mixed salad, followed by chicken and fries. The tomatoes in Linda’s salad were especially delicious. After Jim sampled a couple of bites, he, quietly, we thought, commented on how tasty they were. A few minutes passed and Nũria’s dad (who had apparently grown the tomatoes), brought an extra plate with an array of tomatoes seasoned only with sea salt and placed it on our table without comment, except for a thumbs up to Jim.

Jim proceeded to OD on the sumptuous tomatoes that were bursting with flavor. He even declined dessert in order to finish off the remaining tomatoes.

We settled our bill after dinner and shared hugs along with goodbyes, continuing the warm relationship we have with this delightful family.

We were presented with a small sack of the tomatoes to take with us tomorrow… we can see tomato sandwiches or something tomato tomorrow for sure.

Jim carefully packed them into his day pack to ensure they don’t get squished or bruised during our walk tomorrow.

Depart Time: 8:40 Temp: 53F RH: 95%

Walked: 7.6 mi. Camino 2024: 220 mi.

We started the day with a taxi ride to Cebreiro. This allowed us to skip the 11 miles section of the Camino from Trabadelo, which continued along the road through the Valcarce Valley, then on to the path up the mountain to Cebreiro, the first official town in Galicia. The driver dropped us off at the exit of Cebreiro, where we began walking at an elevation of 4265 ft.

We followed a roller coaster like path going up and down until finally reaching Liñares, a potential breakfast stop.

But not only had it begun to rain, but Liñares, (pop.69) was quiet and the breakfast stop was closed up tight at 9:00 on this Sunday morning.

We kept on walking as the rain continued.

The rain began to let up as we continued walking in the clouds.

Patches of blue tried to peek through the clouds as we approached our next potential breakfast stop, Hospital de la Condesa.

Not only was the Mesón O Tear bar open, but we remembered that we had previously ranked it high in the category of “the best toast on the Camino.”

After one bite, it was no contest, the Mesón O Tear tostados is the best on the Camino Frances.

The next few photos show Linda’s progress up a rather steep grade to Alto de Poio, the highest point on today’s walk at 4480 ft.

We stopped at the bar atop Poio for fresh squeezed OJ. We also had an interesting chat with two peregrinas from Montreal. This delay enabled us time to catch our breath and it gave the rain clouds long enough to re-position themselves, so we would need our rain gear again on the final 2-mile walk into Fonfria.

We walked into Fonfria at 2:00, found Casa Nuñez, checked in, were taken to our room and immediately returned to the Albergue restaurant for our lunch/dinner for the day.

Our lunch was a little different as not all the offerings were available until the 7:00 pilgrim dinner.

Linda had fresh, sliced tomatoes with fresh cheese and a chicken and rice plate. Jim had a Spanish omelette with a tomato and tuna salad. For dessert, Linda saved some of her fresh cheese and drizzled on some local honey and Jim has Santiago cake.

We had a routine afternoon and evening in a spacious modern room.

We finished the day in Fonfria, elevation 4265 ft. The same elevation as we started at in Cebreiro.

The graph below shows where we ended yesterday (Trabadelo), where we ended today (Fonfria) and where we will end tomorrow(Tricastella).

Depart Time: 7:45. Temp: 56F RH: 90%

Walked: 6.2 mi. Camino 2024: 212 mi.

It was drizzling as we left Viña Femita so we donned our ponchos and hoped for the best.

We got to the turnoff for Trabadelo after 5.5 miles. It had started raining more seriously a few minutes before, but our ponchos were still handy. We arrived Nova Ruta as the rain began to taper off, entered the Hotel Rural bar and had breakfast.

We checked in around 11:45, but our hotel restaurant was going to close at noon for the rest of the day. This was a disappointment because during our previous three visits, we have enjoyed their meals which featured local dishes.

While waiting for our room to be ready, Jim discovered a bottle of wine from one of the small vineyards we walked through yesterday, among others on a shelf in the bar and purchased it.

We got lunch/dinner at a nearby albergue and returned to our Hotel. We purposely had water with our meal, so we could sip the Bierzo wine throughout the afternoon… sharing a glass with the grateful hotel owner, who was still hanging around, waiting for a late arriving guest.

Rain showers continued off and on all afternoon and evening while we completed our chores and prepped for tomorrow’s walk… probably also in the rain.

Depart Time: 7:40 Temp: 56 F RH: 85 %

Walked: 6.3 mi. Camino 2024: 206 mi.

We walked past the Iglesia de Santa María at daybreak. It was closed whenever we attempted to look inside all day yesterday, like many of the churches on the Camino (makes no sense to us, but we’ve come to expect it).

The walk out of Cacabelos was on a sidewalk to just beyond the town limits. We then walked on a narrow path along a two lane highway for a mile or so where we had a choice to continue along the road or go right into the vineyards. We chose the vineyards.

After a few minutes walking through the vineyards, we came upon the village of Valtuille de Arriba (pop. 139). It was interesting that many of the dwellings, as we walked through the apparent middle of the village were in ruins while some looked occupied and in various stages of renovation. Several were partially renovated and clearly occupied with the rest of the structure in a state of ruin. There was one stairway leaving to the only albergue in the village with two transported backpacks left on the stairs. No other shops or stores were apparent. What was strange was the sense of relative silence with so many buildings and so little activity at 9:00. It was sad but at the same time there was a sense that all was not lost and renewal was underway.

We enjoyed the changing views of vineyards, mountains in the distance and encountered only a dozen pilgrims (all who passed us), and glad we had avoided the walk along the road and the car noise.

After a 1:00 check-in at Hostal Viña Femita, (our 3rd stay), we walked to Plaza Mayor for lunch/dinner.

Linda had a craving for Ensalada Rusa and Jim wanted to try the Caldo Gallego (Galicia soup). For second course Jim had sea bass and Linda had veal along with a nice house Mencía wine.

On our way back to our room, the forecasted rain for the day occurred in the form of a few light sprinkles that were handled easily by our rain jackets.

The Bierzo region of Spain is unique for its ideal conditions to produce great tasting wines, from Mencía, Godello and other minor grape variants. Bierzo wines are emerging as some of the best in the world. Jim spent much of the afternoon, learning more about them stimulated by the reality that we walked through some of the same vineyards today that are sourcing these wines. Hopefully, some of these now familiar wines will find their way to the U.S., if they haven’t already, for us to enjoy.

The remainder of the afternoon and evening became routine, we published the day’s blog and called it a day.