Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada
We left our hotel around 7 am. We told them we would not be there for breakfast, so they gave us a picnic lunch to eat along the way. We turned on our headlamps and started up the hill. Today we noticed the incline!
We came across a highlight of the Camino as we reached the Cruz de Ferro, or Iron Cross. It is at the highest point of the Camino and consists of a wooden pole topped with an iron cross. Surrounding it is a pile of rocks that has been forming for centuries. If you have seen movie The Way starring Martin Sheen, you may remember it. There is a tradition where pilgrims place a stone that they brought from their hometown. You add it to the hill and symbolically “leave your burdens behind.” Jim and I both brought rocks from the Pleasanton Ridge and have been carrying them in our packs to represent the burdens we all carry. They were added to the pile.
About 16 miles into the hike we came across a little village, Molinaseca, that had a stone bridge crossing a river. There was a little restaurant/bar nestled against the river. They had a welcoming patio, a grassy area that sloped to the river, music playing, and a great view! We stopped and had a couple of beers and stayed about 45 minutes. That’s a long break for us but it was a slice of heaven.
We continued hiking. It was a fairly strenuous day. We hiked 20.3 miles. Our moving time was six hours and 51 minutes, but overall it took us about eight and a half hours. Our ascent was 1,406 feet and our descent to our destination, Ponferrada, was 3,469. Whew! Overall, we have walked 363 miles and are 74% complete. Tomorrow we head to Villafranca del Bierzo.
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Astorga to Rabanal del Camino
We had breakfast in the hotel. The arch of my left foot is still sore, so I was concerned how the day would go. We had 12.7 miles to walk, and my foot hurt just walking down to breakfast. I took an ibuprofen and I walked with occasional discomfort, but it was better than I anticipated.
I had also heard and read that there was a pretty big incline today, but it was much more gentle than I anticipated. After walking about two hours I asked Jim, “When are we supposed to being going uphill?” He said, “Look behind you. We have been going uphill the whole time.” I turned around and he was right. I didn’t even notice it. But that’s one of the beauties of the Camino. If you have already walked 343 miles, you are pretty ready for the portions of the trail that go uphill. There was a light rain when we left Astorga this morning and rain was in the forecast. We carried our umbrella for about 10 minutes and it was dry for the rest of the walk. One of the nice features of our Osprey packs is that you can easily stow your umbrella (or walking poles) on your shoulder straps. It’s very convenient. As soon as we checked into our hotel in Rabanal Camino, the rain began. Great timing! After checking in, the woman at the hotel showed us our room.
I had a moment of brief panic as there were four single beds in the room. In my broken Spanish, we were able to confirm we did not need to share it with anyone.
The plan for today is to have dinner at 6:00 pm, and then there are some Gregorian Chants that begin at 7:00 pm. We hope to make it! Tomorrow we head to Ponferrada. Mazarife to Astorga
We left the hotel around 7:00 am as we knew it would a long day - around 20 miles. It was dark outside so we had our headlamps on. There was a full moon out and it appeared to be hovering over the fields of corn.
It was 43 degrees when we started the Camino this morning. We wore shorts but dressed in layers to keep our core warm. We have long pants, and if it gets colder we will certainly be wearing them. The high today was in the mid-60s, so by 12:00 pm the extra layers were removed.
We had hoped to grab some breakfast at our first village, Villavante, but nothing was open. Our next village was Hospital de Orbigo where we were able to grab a bite. We crossed the Puente Orbigo which dates back to the 13th century. It’s difficult to see it in the photo below, but there are 19 arches spanning what used to be a very wide river. We had read that they still have jousting contests in the grassy area below the bridge. That would be really cool to see.
Before reaching our destination, Astorga, we had to cross over some train tracks. The bridge we used was quite a contraption and reminded me of the old children’s game Mouse Trap (I included a picture below). We arrived in Astorga around 2:00 pm. We checked in and asked for a restaurant recommendation. It was Michelin starred Restaurante Serrano, and it did not disappoint. I won’t go into details except to say I had a lamb filled cannelloni with a béchamel sauce with shaved truffle on top. It was amazing and just reinforced for me how much we love this region of Spain.
Tomorrow we head to Rabanedo del Camino. We say goodbye to the mostly flat Meseta and start gaining elevation. Update: We had the opportunity to visit the cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace and Museum which is another building designed by Antoni Gaudi. It now houses a museum of pilgrimage relics from Astorga’s many years service to the Camino. It is a wonderful building and it actually impressed me a bit more than the cathedral. León to Mazarife
We left the hotel in Leon around 8 am. It took us quite a while to get out of the city of Leon. We walked about four miles and nature called, so we stopped for another coffee. Similar to how yesterday they brought tapas to the table with our beverage, they brought out complementary snacks and OJ to go with the coffee. For two double shots of espresso with juice and a couple of treats, we paid 2.50 euro (like three bucks) I love Spain!
Once we left the city there were low hills with a gentle slope. The path was mostly gravel and shrubby oaks dotted the hillside. It was a very pleasant walk, although my left foot is a little sore. The shoes I wore in Leon bothered me yesterday. My goal is to give them a break for the rest of today.
On the trail we ran into our second Canadian friend. So we don’t get confused with our original Canadian friend, I’ll call this guy Banff. Banff has been traveling the Camino since St Jean (where we started). His daughter arrived in Leon yesterday, so together they will finish the Camino in Santiago. What a great father/daughter adventure! We checked into our hotel. It’s an albergue/hotel combination and the room is quite comfortable. Over lunch we talked about the trip so far. We both agree it has exceeded our expectations. There are so many things I am grateful for:
Tomorrow we head to Astorga. LeónToday was a day off. Typically we have been doing laundry on this day, but that was not necessary as our hotel is connected to an albergue that has a service where they wash and dry your clothes for 8 EUR. So we did that yesterday! We had breakfast at the hotel. It was nothing fancy, but we had some tortilla de patatas and lots of espresso, so that’s all I need. We had heard there was a pilgrim service at the Cathedral at 12:30 pm, but when we got there that was not the case. Instead we went to the Museo Gaudi at Casa Botines. The building was designed by Antonio Gaudi in 1892. It is now a museum dedicated to his design and the art collected by his foundation. It was cool, but as it closes at 2:00 pm we has an hour to rush through it. We had another awesome lunch - tapas! We have found that so far this region of Spain is more similar to what we are used to when going to Spanish restaurants in the U.S. We had another salad with burrata, croquetas, shimp al aljillo, and a great bottle of red wine.
The rest of the day is all about resting. We have some long mileage days this week and some hefty elevation gains, so we are resting our feet. Tomorrow we head to Mazarife. Mansilla de las Mulas to León
We left our hotel a little after 7 am, as we wanted to get to Leon a little early. We have a rest day tomorrow, but being that it’s Sunday we assumed a lot will be closed. The downside to starting so early in the morning was that it was 45°. With it now being mid-September and entering a part of Spain that is generally cooler, we need to start layering when we start the Camino. We were cold!
We had planned to stop for coffee and breakfast before starting the trail, but we could not find the café that was included with our room. Along the path we found a bakery and had an awesome croissant. About 20 minutes later there was a little rest area off the trail that had coffee. We had some espresso and were also served something like an eclair but there was a sweet, syrupy center. It was dang good and I think it was the best coffee I’ve had on this trip. As the sun rose, we finally started to warm up. After checking in at our hotel we stopped at this great local restaurant that specializes in wine. This was no pilgrim menu! Yea!! We ordered some wine and they brought out tapas with each order. We had a burrata salad that was delicious. Jim had a lamb shank and I had salmon. For dessert Jim had flan and I had cheesecake with huckleberries. I didn’t know they grew in Spain, but I confirmed with the waitress that’s what they were. In Spanish they are called amandano. It was one of the best meals we’ve had since we’ve been here.
We also visited the cathedral in Leon. It felt more like a functioning church than the one in Burgos. There were pews where you could reflect or pray. Organ music was playing softly in the background and most of the lighting came from the stained glass windows which were plentiful and magnificent.
We had another opportunity to hang out with friends we met along the Camino. We had some cocktails and met a new friend from Ohio. She, too, is blogging and is a hoot. It was another fun evening.
El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mulas
We had some breakfast in our hotel and left around 8:45 am. I posted a picture yesterday of a tree with rainbow colored fabric around the trunk. I didn’t talk about it, but a lot of the trees around this village have something like Afghan squares that circle the trunks. Each tree has different colors and patterns. I don’t know what the significance of it is, but it’s kind of cool and interesting.
We stopped for a break and ran into our friends from London. They had the same issue I mentioned yesterday. They had to take a taxi back to the previous town because there were no rooms available in El Burgo Ranero. Also, they are doing the Camino in sections. The section they are currently walking is Burgos to Leon. Tomorrow we will all be in Leon. For our London friends, they will be done with this section. In preparation for their flight back to London, they have to provide a negative Covid test result. So once they arrived at today’s destination, they were taking a taxi to Leon to take a PCR test. We will have to do something similar when we are finished with the Camino in order to return home.
The route today was similar to yesterday’s where a tree lined trail ran parallel to a paved road. We arrived at our destination, Mansilla de Las Mulas, around 12:50 pm. The gentleman who checked us in at our hotel told us a bit about what we would find about the town. It has long served as a perimeter defense for neighboring Leon. We saw some of the medieval walls that border the town as we explored the village before lunch. We found a little cafe that had a grassy area with tables placed under large umbrellas. We ordered a pilgrim meal and enjoyed a glass of wine. Before too long a number of our new friends joined us and it was fun to catch up. We also met a another new friend from Canada who has traveled the Camino multiple times via different routes. Using a map, he shared with us his experiences on the the Portuguese and El Norte routes and made some recommendations. Both Jim and I are interested in doing one of those routes so we appreciated the information. Tomorrow we head to Leon and then have a day of rest. Yea! Sahagún to El Burgo Ranero
We had some breakfast and left the hotel around 8:30 am. Today’s leg mostly followed a road. The trail was tree covered which I appreciated. The temperature was fairly cool today, but shade is always nice when walking.
A mile or two from town, we ran into our lady friend from Munich that I talked about a couple of days ago. She had injured her knee, so for the last couple of days had been taking taxis from village to village. I told her it’s great to see her walking again and she said her knee was feeling better. There are a few people we’ve encountered with knee injuries, but a lot folks complain about blisters. If they’re not complaining, you know they have them because you see them hobbling down the trail. Again, we’ve been very fortunate and have not had any blisters. I knocked on wood after typing that sentence. We stopped for a break in a little town, Bercianos del Real Camino, in an albergue with a nice little cafe. They made sandwiches and such but I was interested in a tortilla - not the Mexican variety made of flour but the Spanish tortilla made with egg and potato. They didn’t have any so, I settled for a beer. Shocking, I know. Back on the Camino we passed a couple that we had seen a couple days ago. They’re Spanish and they have a small dog with them that weighs only five or six pounds. Their gear was in a cart that was attached to a belt around the woman’s waist. As she walked, the cart was pulled behind her. When I passed them, the dog was in the cart standing on top of the gear, looking out like he was Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. I’m pretty sure the dog was thinking, “I’m the king of the world!” Once we got to our destination, El Burgo Ranero, we stopped for some lunch. I talked with some people that had stayed in our previous night’s hotel and they were taking a taxi back because they could not find a room here. Continuing forward would have meant a total of 23 miles for the day. They asked if we wanted to share the taxi, but I told them we had a reservation. Our hotel is located off a highway and I was a little nervous as it looked like a huge truck stop. We arrived during lunch and their large restaurant was packed. It was not clear where to check in and every time I asked, they said, “alli” (there), but it was difficult to determine where “there” was. We finally figured it out, but they then had a difficult time finding our reservation. Once they found it they said it had been canceled. “No,” I assured them. We were staying in the hotel tonight. But as I said that, in the back of my mind I was thinking we, too, could be taking a taxi back to last night’s town. They came back and said, “Yes, I see. Sorry.” After handing our passports to them, they struggled with their scanning equipment and we waited while they tried to get it to work. As it was taking a bit of time to check in, the guy just gave me a key, kept our passports, and said, “Go to your room.” Nervous about leaving my passport, I was like, “Uh, what room number?” Not confident with my Spanish, I was walking down the hallway praying I really knew that ciento nueve was 109. It was - the card key worked! And the room is great! It’s clean, has a big shower, and it has air conditioning that works! Score!! But it was an adventure getting to this point. Update: we got our passports back. Tomorrow we head to Mansilla de las Mulas. Calzadilla de la Cueza to Sahagún
We had a great evening last night. We had dinner with a couple from London, a guy from Manchester, a woman from Munich, and our Canadian friend. It was an evening of great conversation and it reinforced for us the importance of hearing the perspectives of people from different countries, backgrounds, and experiences. We loved it.
We left the hotel at 7:35 am. After about four miles we reached our first village, Ledigos.
For some reason I started singing the song from Frozen.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, pilgrims love to stop along the way for breakfast, a snack, or some type of refreshment. From our perspective, the first bar as you enter a village is where people stop. It’s convenient and you never know if you will have another opportunity. As we started approaching a village today, we saw the following signs.
Genius. The bar was packed. I wanted to stop there just to recognize their clever marketing, but there were no tables available. Good job, 2nd Bar!
I thought I would describe today my motivation for walking the Camino. It’s been something Jim and I have wanted to do for eight years and we are both so grateful that our plans finally came to fruition. My mom was a great influence in my life. I was raised in the Lutheran Church. When I was unable to attend Confirmation classes because of drum corp practice, my mom worked a deal. She would pick me up and drive me to the church to have one-on-one classes with the pastor. It was important to her that her children understood the legacy of the Church, the stories of the Bible, and to appreciate a good potluck. Although I am not Catholic, I have always appreciated the similarities between it and the Lutheran Church. The Camino can definitely be a religious experience and I appreciate that aspect of the journey. The Camino also allows you to explore your spirituality on a different level. Walking 500 miles in 40 days provides you with a lot of time for self-reflection. Jim and I have both talked about how during the Camino we have given a lot of thought about who we are, who we want to be, and our place in the universe. I appreciate that part of the Camino, and we love that we can share that together. Another legacy of my mom’s is my love of walking. When I was a teenager, it was not uncommon for us to head out on our own and walk five to ten miles in a day. It was one-on-one time between mother and son and we would talk about everything. I learned she was afraid of birds. I remember walking down Swain Road in Stockton and there being black birds sitting on a telephone wire above our heads. My mom mentioned she’s afraid of birds and just as she said that, the birds swooped down toward her and she ran with her arms flailing above her head. Ok, I now see the similarities between that experience and my own with geese from a couple of days ago. Again, the Camino provides a lot of opportunity for self-reflection. At any rate, I was motivated in a number of ways to begin this journey, but I see the biggest factor as my mom’s influence on me. I dedicate my time on the Camino to my mom’s memory. Tomorrow we head toward El Burgo Ranero. Carrión de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza
With another short, cool day ahead of us, we slept in until 7:00 am. We knew there was rain in the forecast and we were awakened for a short period by the sound of thunder in the early hours of the morning. After getting our gear together, we had breakfast and took care of some issues with Greg’s Spanish phone number, and we hit the Camino around 9 am. There were some sprinkles, and we prayed that the skies would not open up with rain. Our prayers were not answered.
About a mile into the Camino, the rain got pretty heavy and continued for about two hours. We stayed pretty dry with our ponchos on, but our feet became soaking wet. It may have been because we got a late start, but there were not a lot of people out today. The path was very straight from start to finish. We had some pavement for awhile, but then it transitioned to soil and rock, and we had to navigate around the puddles. There were no stops today - not that we would want to take a break in a downpour, but it was one of the few instances we did not come upon a village along the way. After 10.8 miles and three hours and nine minutes, we reached our destination in Calzadilla de la Cueza. It is a very small village without a lot of services; however when walking to our hotel, Jim saw a place to get a massage. After 248 miles, I think he deserves one. Jim said the massage was awesome and it was only 25 EUR. Oh - I did I mention? At 248 miles, today we are officially half way through the Camino! The hostal we checked into is pretty small, but the service is very personable. We arrived before lunch was served, but they brought us some snacks with our beer as we waited. After lunch we chatted with a woman from Denmark. We had seen her and her husband a few times, but not had the opportunity to talk. They live outside of Copenhagen and are landscapers. They could not walk the Camino during the summer, so they picked the fall and have a limited time to complete it. Jim mentioned that we we have seen them a number of times on the trail. She said, “Yes, you have passed us a couple of times. Our German friend said, “Those guys are machines.’” I responded, “Not machines, but I know there is a beer waiting for me when I’m done.” I mentioned before how we need to get two stamps a day on our pilgrim credential. After Jim’s massage we took a little walk to an albergue that had a sign advertising there was a bar. We entered and looked around, and did not see one. There was a sign that pointed down the hallway. We walked down the hall and saw there was a door which took us back outside. There was a sign that led us back to the bar at at our hostal. I think I mentioned that this is a very small village. Tomorrow we head to Sahagun, and there is more rain forecast. |
AuthorsGreg and James live in Pleasanton in Northern California and are on a pilgrimage on the Camino De Santiago in Spain. Their adventures are captured in this blog. Archives
October 2021
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