Drums, horns and clackers woke us at 6 a.m. to get ready for Good Friday. Very dismal sounds.  On the street before 9 a.m. the penitents assembled. The procession began… The slow motion of the floats is dramatic and dreadful. (Sorry, I can’t seem to upload my video!) Resuming our own pilgrimage, we eventually left…

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…