Day off: Ponferrada
October 17, 2017
Today I made a friend. Her name is Osita (Little Bear)
Finally it rained and the fires are almost smothered. People lost their lives, homes and businesses. I hope they find justice.
We did our laundry today as we do on the mornings of days off. Instead of being entertained by the clothes spinning I went shopping at a pharmacy and market. I think we spend more on creams at the pharmacy than we do on wine. It is nice to have clothes that are clean and fluffy. We hand wash in between but it’s just not the same.
We spent the day exploring more of this interesting town full of history. Found an ice cream shop and later had a coffee at a café across from our hotel. A man came in with a large pack on his back and his little dog followed. He spoke with the two men that are working the bar. He took his pack outside and told his dog to stay. The little guy waited by the open door for his friend. We were told that he is homeless and comes by some days to see if he can get a coffee and bite to eat. He was happy and conversed with the two men. His little dog waited. As we left I went up to the man and gave him some euros. Told him they were for him to get something for his little dog. He thanked me.
There is a bookstore in the plaza near our hotel. We went in and I was greeted by a little ball of brown fur. Osita is a Pomeranian and so playful. I scratched her and played with her (I miss my dogs so much). We spoke with the lady for a long time about books and the difference between the Spanish language in Spain and in Central and South America. She felt that the Spanish language in the Americas was more colorful. We bought a book of poetry, a play of two pilgrims that don’t know they are spirits, and a book written in the 1800’s about areas that we are walking thru.
We ended the day at a wine, cheese and dinner tasting. The wine was wonderful, the cheese divine, and the dinner wonderful. It started with groups of people who were friends and not open to the group as a whole. After a glass or two we were all good friends and my husband and I had interesting conversations with three men that we were sitting near. I think they had underestimated us and they were surprised that I spoke Spanish and we know a lot about Old World wines. I told the man, Nacho, next to me that of all the wines that I have tasted from Europe, Spanish wine is my favorite. We ended the night with the biggest Chupito that I have ever been served. A Chupito is a liquer that is offered at the end of a meal. There are about 6 or 7 different flavors. My favorite is the herb one. That is what they offered us but it had been heated or as they say queimada (burned) with coffee grains (there were 4 floating in the drink). Usually they are served in a small chilled glass, this was a large whiskey glass. It was really good and a fine way to end the night. I hit the bed at 12:30 a.m. We had to get up at 6:00 a.m.
El Camino helps bring people together.
Mile 342.9: Villafranca del Bierzo
October 18, 2017
We started El Camino from Camponaraya where the vineyards begin.
It was a beautiful walk thru small villages and wine country. The smell of wine was in the air and we passed both the bodega and the vineyard of the wines that we drank the night before: Luna Beberide.
At one point I thought it was raining but no drops hit the ground. It was the sound of the electricity running through the wires above…rather disconcerting.
Then we turned a bend and there was Villafranca del Bierzo a beautiful jewel of a town.
El Camino brings us pleasure.
Day off: Villafranca del Bierzo
October 19, 2017
We slept in…something rare and wonderful.
Villafranca del Bierzo is a beautiful little town that is settled in a valley where two rivers converge. The streets are hilly; some are cobblestone; the buildings too are made of stone. There is much to discover here. We found a street called Sucubo (succubus) were an artist has added interesting tiles on the wall…his studio around the corner.
As the pilgrims approach this lovely town they pass the Iglesia de Santiago were there is a Puerta del Camino or Puerta del Perdón (Door of El Camino or Door of Pardon) where a pilgrim who is unable to walk to Compostela because of illness or injury can walk thru this door that is opened only in the Holy Years of Compostela.
We ended our day in mass at the Colegiata de Santa María. Mass was held in the center of the church where you entered thru a small door. It was a good mass and the priest, Padre Angel, was the most down to earth priest I have ever met. He feels he is more a convert than a priest for he lived a difficult life before he went into priesthood. Now, as one of his students told a visiting priest; he is a priest in the church, a friend out of church, and a strict teacher at the school were he works. (I get the feeling that his students love him). He said the pilgrim’s prayer and gave us advice to buy our water as we walk through Galicia instead of using the tap. The fires have damaged much there and the water may not be as safe as it was before; eat dried fruit; and he told the ladies to eat as much chocolate as we like for we loose weight on El Camino so eating chocolate is not a weight issue right now…take advantage of it!
As the other pilgrims left, my husband and I spoke with Padre Angel. He loved to talk. He told us that money is nothing; but for a couple to walk El Camino together was a precious experience to share worth more than any material value.
El Camino gives us wisdom.
Mile 352.7: Ambasmestas near La Portela de Valcarce
October 20, 2017
As I crossed the stone and cobbled bridge…the same one that we had crossed for two nights for dinner…I felt the weight and drag of my pack.
We left Villafranca del Bierzo, a jewel were two rivers (rios) come together. El Camino goes along the Rio Valcarce by a road that curves through mountain valleys. We have three choices to take for El Camino on this leg, the one we took that is fairly level or one to the left and one to the right of us. Both of these take the pilgrim up, up, up and down, down, down through the mountains. I’ll take a level road when I can.
The air is cool, the trees are changing color, and the clouds were low for most of the day but no rain. We passed through villages where people were gathering hazel nuts or making wine in their bodegas. Cats and dogs greeted us. I love this area: mountains and forests…fresh air and the sound of water…bird song and the bells on the cows’ neck. I hear it now as I type this on the balcony outside our room with pilgrim’s clothes drying and airing out around me. I am happy. I enjoyed a local beer with my husband. It was smooth and creamy. We walked the length of the town and enjoyed its peace.
Ambasmestas is a small hamlet…one main road…with a highway above it where the sound of traffic is hardly heard. It is a peaceful town that a man we talked to here told us there is no stress in life. Someday my husband and I would like to live in a town like this. It is almost 7:00 p.m. and people are coming out to enjoy the day.
A bus arrives and 21 pilgrims come out. They will be staying at our hotel. Dinner is animated with the pilgrims from the bus sitting at one large table. Another table has a lone pilgrim and the third my husband and I. The bus pilgrims are from various Latin American countries and they are thrilled and one emotional about the opportunity to walk some of El Camino.
On El Camino we choose our path.
Mile 360.7: O Cebreiro
October 21, 2017
Today we walked through forests where the Duendes (elves) live.
Breakfast was full so my husband and I invited the other pilgrim to sit with us. He is from Luxemburg and we had a good time getting to know him. The pilgrims on the bus left before us but we still made it to the next town before them. They walked ahead of us and the distance grew as we took photos of a castle on a hill and spoke with a man who was grooming his dog. He was so sweet and told us that El Camino is life; the same thing that Padre Angel told us. He takes care of the street cats, 12 right now, and showed us the stack of bags of cat food he has. I told him that when I lived in Costa Rica I did the same. I called them the roof cats because when I called them they made a rumbling sound as they ran across the roofs of the houses to mine. He wished us well and gave us a hug.
We walked on a winding country road…up, up, up…we had 600 meters to climb in 8 miles. The guidebooks say that this is the worst stretch of El Camino. It isn’t. It’s beautiful.
The first day of our trek to Orisson was bad because our bodies were not use to a 600 meter climb in 5 miles, Zubiri was bad because of the sharp rocks crossing the path, and Molinaseca was bad because of the steep trail full of sharp and pointy rocks. Zubiri and Molinaseca were trails that went down. Climbing down is always more difficult than climbing up. Gravity pulls at you, your feet and body get more of a beating.
Today we walked up the asphalt on a winding country road until it split: bikes continued on the road, walkers turned to the left down a dirt trail that took us into the forest. Down? We lost some altitude before the trail began to go up. It was rocky but the rocks formed a natural stairs and the dirt was soft and damp. This was a true mountain trail, one that I know well. It was pleasant to go up. Not once did I have any problems with my feet…they were happy.
We crossed through several small villages and had a pleasant meal at a vegetarian restaurant. We saw cattle and sheep and dogs and cats. We encountered two traffic jams when the cows were let out to pasture. We stepped aside to let them pass but both times a few cows decided that we were more interesting. They have such sharp and pointy horns.
The view became more beautiful as we climbed higher and higher. Near the end a man from Denmark, Erik, walked with us. He has walked several of the routes of El Camino, two this year, and plans to go home and buy a small boat, fix it up through winter and sail from island to island and hike next year in his home country. His life is hiking. Together we crossed from León to Galicia. He was a pleasant companion and I hope we see him again.
O Cebreiro is more a tourist center than a village. Here they have samples of the typical round houses called Palloza and the church is where Padre Elias Valiña Sampedro is buried who spent his life restoring El Camino. He is the one who came up with the idea to use yellow arrows to show pilgrims the way. (So much for what a pilgrim told me in the beginning about Franco)
We had a pleasant mass and the priest had a pleasant voice. He had people read passages in their native language: English, Spanish (my husband had the honors), and German.
The night is cold, windy and chilly. Tomorrow we descend.
El Camino es la vida.
Critters Continued: Fuzzy caterpillar; colorful worm; a lot of bright green lizards running in and out of cracks in the sidewalk; a single big, black ant; a black beetle; a copper beetle with red legs; a black slug (haven’t seen these since the Pyrenees (See October 20 pictures above)); another big, black ant; another black slug enjoying something a cow dropped behind; a snail.
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