Today we stayed “at home” in Ponferrada. There was a church hall where a number of procession floats were on display. The perfume of thousands of flowers filled the air. Next, a visit to the Museo del Bierzo in the site of a former jail. A tour of the Templar Castle. Three hours sitting on…
After coffee at Cafe/Albergue Pichon in Molinasesa, where the woman recognized me from my stay last November, we enjoyed a leisurely 8-km walk to Ponferrada. In Ponferrada we checked into the luxurious Albergue Guiana, which also has private rooms and 2 apartments. The albergue beds were €12 and looked very nice. The double rooms (€50)…
The first stretch of the day led up to the Cruz de Ferro, where pilgrims often leave rocks they’ve carried from home, to symbolically leave their burdens behind. For a few hours we were high on a ridge. There are many Spanish pilgrims out walking during Easter week, with Germans being the next largest group.…
Another nice day for walking. Or bicycling… The walk was steadily but not precipitously uphill. We could see distant snow and finally found some. Foncebadón is a village dating back a thousand years, that was completely abandoned until the Camino popularity brought life back. It has a bit of a base camp atmosphere because it…
OK. Today wasn’t an impressive distance. But we hung around Astorga until 2 pm, drinking café and eating chocolate croissants, visiting the chocolate museum, and then catching Palm Sunday Mass at the cathedral. The procession seemed to have been cancelled due to rain in the morning, but the sky had cleared by noon and families…
Today was the start of our Camino Frances from Leon to Santiago. We took the city bus out of Leon to La Virgen del Camino (8.5 km) to avoid the urban sprawl and more importantly, give us just a 13.3 km walk to test MB’s recovery from her injury (whatever it was). I fussed about…
Today is an enforced rest day – we are waiting to receive an English guide book from the Camino Forum store in Santiago. It’s a good idea anyway for MB’s leg. Last year I visited an excellent Museum in Mansilla de las Mulas, that shows the way people have lived in the region mainly during the…
MB is sadly following the Via de la Plata track on her phone and looking out the bus window. She wanted to get out and walk, but I assured her that more suitable terrain awaits us. The bus ride is actually quite interesting. We’ve passed fields and fields, rolling hills, and a few towns. Off…
Seeing Clarely 