Jimandi

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.

Depart Time: 7:55 . Temp: 51 F RH: 70 %

Walked: 8.1 mi. Camino 2024: 200 mi.

Today’s walk was just what we needed. The first half was on flat, mostly wide city sidewalks with plenty of places to stop for a break. The second half was back on the dirt path, through mostly vineyards and an occasional shady group of trees or gently, undemanding rolling hills.

Most of the vineyards have been harvested by now, but an occasional bunch of grapes could be seen among the vines. We observed several groups of three or four people apparently looking for “missed” grapes and we passed a small vehicle with evidence of their “bounty”. We wondered if it was a common practice for the large vineyard owners to allow locals to come behind and retrieve any unharvested grapes for personal use.

We checked in to La Gallaga albergue shortly after noon. We’ve stayed here twice before and while we waited for our packs to arrive, had pizza for our main meal.

Once the packs arrived, we gathered all our dirty clothes and took advantage of the washer and dryer facilities in addition to following our other routine chores for the day.

Today was a good recovery day, even though our distance walked was similar to yesterday.

Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, adding some variety to our prep for tomorrow. And we crossed the 200 mile mark today! Time sure flies on the Camino.

Depart Time: 8:05. Temp: 44F RH: 85%

Walked: 7.3 mi. Camino 2024: 192 mi.

Today was surprisingly our most difficult of Camino2024.

When we left Foncebadón this morning we were looking forward to seeing the Cruz de Ferro again and to taking in some beautiful mountain scenery.

The walk to Cruz de Ferro went as expected and we did see some beautiful scenery. But shortly after leaving the “Cruz” and for the remaining 6 miles, we spent most of the time looking at our feet.

We reached the ridge that would lead to El Acebo (pop. 37), the end of our walk for the day. As the Clouds dissipated from a persistent morning sun, a beautiful cloudless blue sky emerged revealing the mountains and valleys along this section of the Camino.

This enigmatic little spot features a most unusual albergue, administrated by Tomás who considers himself a modern-day Templar, last of his order. Drinks and snacks are normally available as well as a none-too-private outhouse.

While the scenery was awesome, for the entire walk, the path was overgrown in places, rendering poles useless and blocking the view.

Trying to enjoy the views became hazardous when, without warning, a steep ascent, or descent, while short would be dominated by loose stones, some quite large and sharp edged shale, challenging any attempt at establishing firm footing.

Many pilgrims will ignore the footing issues we refer to. They pass us, sometimes nearly running up or down in areas that slow us up. All are much younger than we and others take Camino ending risks, we are unwilling to take.

We both have minor knee issues that we strive to keep that way, by being more careful. Linda wears sandals on the Camino to prevent blisters, a choice that had yielded good results for all of our Caminos. But sandals make it more of a challenge to deal with loose stones and uneven surfaces like we experienced today.

Further, because of our approach, our leg muscles are more tense and work harder as we walk more carefully, increasing the level of fatigue of a walk like today.

The following are the views and some of the terrain that made today a challenge for us.

Bottom line, we finished today’s walk without injury. It didn’t kill us, so we’ll probably be stronger as a result. And the relief we felt when the taxi arrived in El Acebo to allow us to skip the treacherous walk into Molinasaca and the monotonous walk from there to Ponferrada was a suitable reward for today’s performance.

And tomorrow’s 7 mile walk on relatively flat, foot friendly surfaces should be a “piece of cake”.

Buen Camino, y’all!

Depart Time: 8:10 Temp: 42F RH: 75%

Walked: 3.6 mi. Camino 2024: 184 mi.

Leaving our hostal, the path was level for the first time since entering Rabanal yesterday. However, in just a few minutes, that same path began a steep ascent of nearly 1000 ft. that continued for the entire 3 mile walk to Foncebadon, near the high point of the Camino Frances at 4918 ft.

A few minutes into the walk we looked back at sun rise, which was beginning to warm the 42F morning air.

From the very beginning of our Camino Frances experiences, we have sensed the mystery and the spiritual presence that exists here. After looking back at the sunrise, we looked forward and up into the beaufiful blue sky and saw this….

…. then this…

…. then this…

… and once again on the Camino France, we sensed a presence and a special feeling that reminded us of one of the reasons we keep coming back.

The following photos show the terrain and scenery of our 3 mile walk:

The food of El Trasgu’s Italian owner and chef comes highly recommended, so we gave it our test. It exceeded all of our expectations.

Today was a really nice day. The walk was an uphill challenge but not too long to be overwhelming. We experienced a very nice accommodation in this hamlet of only 8 permanent residents. And it became an additional, notable culinary experience for us on the Camino Frances and especially, Camino 2024.

The view this afternoon from the recently paved street in front of Pencion El Trasgu looking back from the top of the Camino.

Depart Time: 8:05. Temp:40F RH:40%

Walked: 7.0 mi. Camino 2024: 181 mi.

We opted to eat breakfast at Via Avis this morning. We normally walk first, then combine breakfast with a rest stop after putting a couple miles behind us.

However, we were, after all, staying at a B&B and we had already paid for both of the “B’s” plus, we also wanted to wish Carlos a proper goodbye.

Just before Ganzo is an unusual albergue called The American Indian Way. We’ve only seen it from a distance as we walked by in the past but Jim found a photo of the accommodations on the albergue’s website.

With a mile and a half to go, we decided to take the road. Both routes were quite steep, but the dirt path had a more difficult walking surface.

The main street in Rabanal (pop. 73) is steep from beginning to end. There are several types of places to stay: albergues, hostels, and even tents along the main street through the village … and several eateries.

On the way to our hostal, which was the last accommodation before leaving the village, we scanned menus on the few eateries available and their hours. We arrived at our hostal at noon and were able to checkin immediately.

We took a few minutes to recover from the walk and then discovered we have a terrace off of our room… it had the ambiance of a barber shop.

Before getting on with our chores, we decided to get lunch/dinner. By coincidence, our hostal dining room had the best menu and timing, so we walked downstairs and had the menu of the day.

After our meal we returned to our room to embark on the afternoon’s duties. The barber shop was open and the barber was in.

Our afternoon routines, napping, blogging and reading consumed the rest of the day.

We’re looking forward to the next two days as they will be different from our last several Caminos that passed through this area.

Depart Time: 7:40. Temp: 43 F RH: 50 %

Walked: 8.4 mi. Camino 2024: 174 mi.

Astorga is a pleasant city with interesting and varied historical buildings, just the right size to not be too overwhelming with main sites confined to the small Old City. First a Celtic settlement, Astorga developed into an important Roman city at the crossroads of the Via Trajana and the Vía de la Plata, as well as an important center for Christianity. According to legend, both St. James and St. Paul preached here. The bishopric of Astorga was one of the earliest Christian titles. The city passed to the Visigoths in the 5th century and was destroyed by the Muslims in 714, then reconquered by Ordoño I in the mid-9th century. After León was destroyed by Al-Mansur’s army, Astorga acted as the capital of the kingdom. The city flourished with the pilgrim trade and housed 21 pilgrim hospitals, the second most on the Camino Francés (after Burgos). One of these hosted Saint Francis of Assisi on his pilgrimage in 1214.

The Palacio de Gaudí, was a palace for Archbishop Juan Bautista Grau Villespinós until his death, when it sat empty until serving as a military headquarters for the Falange movement. In 1963, it housed the Museo de los Caminos with an impressive collection of religious art associated with the Camino.

Just before leaving the city we passed another small church covered with Camino and other religious mosaics. We couldn’t find the name of the church anywhere on the site or elsewhere. The interior included a large number of colorful stained glass windows and an otherwise subdued sanctuary design. It reminded us of the Helsinki Rock Church in Finland.

We walked out of Astorga on a sidewalk that continued for half a mile or so, crossed an expressway then continued on a dirt path to the Maragato village of Murias de Rechivaldo where we stopped at a popular bar (“Cris”) for a Colacao.

We continued our walk on to Santa Catalina along a straight, dirt path for the next 2.5 miles on a gradual uphill grade, working our way into the Cantabrian Mountains.

We arrived in Santa Catalina de Somoza (pop.60) before check in time, so we stopped for a seat and refreshment at the first of two bars, El Caminante, in the village.

We’ve stayed in Santa Catalina in all 6 of our Caminos.

We checked in to Via Avis and were recognized and welcomed by Carlos the owner. Carlos is from Spain and his wife, Daina, from Lithuania, run Via Avis. They are a charming couple that we got to know during our visit last year.

After getting settled, hand washing and hanging out clothes, we got lunch/dinner at San Blas, then retired to Via Avis for reading, blogging and napping.

We finished another long walk unscathed and are looking forward to another challenge as we climb higher into the Cantabrians.