My Camino in Spain - Section 6 (Leon to Ponferrada)

Gerry and I walked a portion of "The Way of St. James," a 500 mile journey from St. Jean Pied De Port in France west to Santiago, Spain.  "The Way" is broken down into 8 sections, or 33 stages.  Gerry and I did the final 3 sections (13 stages) of the journey.  We walked from Leon to Santiago over the course of 13 days, a total of 215 miles.  It was a wonderful experience.

We arrived in Leon Thursday afternoon, September10th.  We stayed in the historic center of the city.

The view from outside the 2nd floor of our hotel, the Hotel Real Colegiate, in Leon.

Watching the world go by, as we sit at a cafe in the center of town.

The Cathedral at night.

Friday, September11, our first day on the Camino, we walked over 20 miles from Leon to Villavante.   It was a beautiful day, with temperatures in the mid-70s.

Shortly past Leon, we pass this interesting building.

Fellow pilgrims on this long flat stretch

A few patches of sunflowers greet us.

The town of Mazarife welcomes us after 13.2 miles.

The tall bell tower in Mazarife.
The storks have built their nests at the top.  It's one of the highlights of the walk.

A welcome site at the end of the day -
a lovely guest house in the tranquil countryside.

It was a privilege to stay at this guesthouse, Molino Galochas, on the outskirts of Villavante.  Two Italians, Franco and Fabio, were also guests.  We enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal together, prepared by the proprietress, a friendly woman named Mercedes.

The following morning, Saturday September 12th we were off to Astorga, a 13.4 mile trek on the Camino.  Of course, we had to explore this ancient city, so we walked an addition 1 1/2 miles.  It was another beautiful day.

I pause to rest, and gaze at the rio Orbigo, from atop the bridge.

The bridge is the medieval Puente de Orbigo,
a famous bridge that dates from the 13th Century.

A long flat stretch of the Camino.  We will soon reach this canopy of poplar trees.

An elderly man harvesting green grapes by hand.
We find a patch of green grapes further down the road,
which we harvest - directly from hand to mouth!

A spiritual maze of stones.

Taking a rest in the shade, adjacent to the spiritual maze.

Astorga lies below, so close but yet so far away - about 3 miles to go.

Standing in the archway of Astorga's Pacios Episcopal.
(This Cathedral is too grand in size for me to capture in a photo!)

The adjoining Museo de Catedral.
We didn't go inside, as it was closed when we walked by,
as most places are between 2:00 and 4:00 pm for siesta. 

Sunday, September 13th we walked 13.7 miles on the Camino to the town of Rabanal, a tiny and hospitable village that boasts a population of sixty.    We passed through beautiful rural countryside.  We got our first taste of rain, and were rewarded with a few blisters.  Yet we remained happy pilgrims.

After 5.5 miles, we approach the thriving town of Santa Catalina
(population of 50.)

We stop for a very brief rest,
and before we know it, we are making our exit back onto rural trail.

About 2 miles later we reach the even smaller town of El Ganso
with this ancient stone church.

El Ganso is home of the "Cowboy Bar", a quirky place.
With rain on its way, we decided it is a good idea to step inside
for a cup of coffee to perk us up. 

A bizarre display of cowboy paraphernalia greets us in the Cowboy Bar. 

The next few miles the sky clears and
 we walk through some beautiful fields of heather.

Then it is time to don our rain ponchos. 

We arrive in Rabanal cold and wet.  We stop into a cafe and I order a Spanish omelette.  I am served a generous slice of what I can best describe as a potato onion pie.  It was delicious, but not exactly what I expected.

Monday, September 14th, was our longest day on the Camino, as we walked 21.7 miles from Rabanal to Ponferrada, with a few stops along the way.  We had some minor aches and pains, but the beautiful scenery made it all worthwhile.

We had been walking 30 minutes when we were treated to this breathtaking sunrise.

At the Cruz de Ferro, near the highest point on the entire Camino
at 4,934 feet elevation.

A simple iron cross stands atop a pole.  It is the tradition for pilgrims to place a stone from their homeland at the base of the cross.  Gerry and I upheld the tradition, and I added two stones we had plucked from our backyard.

Not sure what these ground flowers are, but I do know I like them.

You can't help but enjoy Mother Nature's display.

These bushes are loaded and just begging to be picked.

We stop and pick berries several times each day. They have become part of our daily diet.  Oddly enough, we seem to be the only pilgrims that do so.  Everyone else walks right on by, but not us!

An idea of what we gaze at as we walk along between towns.

Quaint town of Molinaseca.
We crossed a medieval footbridge to enter this charming historical village.

Finally, after 21 miles, the Castillo de Los Templarios is upon us.
 It is a magnificent 12th Century Castle.

We have arrived in Ponferrada.  The first thing we do when we check into the Aroi Bierzo Plaza Hotel is soak our feet in ice cold water.  Then we lie down to rest.

We have now completed Section 6 of the Camino!  We have walked nearly 72 miles in 4 days. 

My Camino in Spain - Section 7 (Ponferrada to Sarria)

We begin Section 7 on Tuesday, September 15th, the 5th day of our trek.  It was a relatively easy day; we covered 15.6 miles over mostly flat terrain, as we walked from Ponferrada to Villafranca.  We started out warm and dry, and finished as chilled, soaked pilgrims.  Not much opportunity to take photos because of the weather.  The few photos I did take were in the first 9 miles, when we had drizzle and even some dry patches. We stopped at a bar in Cacabelos for a coffee and a few minutes later it started to pour. We decided to stay put for a while, hoping the weather would let up. No such luck.

We stepped out of the bar at noon and psyched ourselves up for a two hour walk in the rain. Scenery was beautiful. If you have to hike 6 miles in the rain, it might as well be here.

Our reward was a delicious late lunch at the restaurant, La Seville, in the center of town, where we feasted on an appetizer of homemade croquettes, followed by their specialty, pizza! We selected ours with shrimp, garlic and tomatoes. We were stuffed, but dinner usually isn't until 8:00 pm...

We checked into the guesthouse in where we were staying (with dinner included.). The proprietor informed us, "Dinner is at 6:30. I think my wife is serving roast chicken!"

The first few miles, mostly in drizzle

This was the day of food.
Here is a field of huge, healthy squash

At 10:30 am it is too early for vino,
but a good time to pick bunches of grapes, both green and red,
at their prime.  It's harvest time at the vineyards.

Gerry found a nice mushroom specimen.

This billboard heading into Cacabelos provides comic relief.
I chuckled repeatedly over the next few miles.
We don't regret missing out on a walk in the town's park,
but it was nice of them to offer.

I did my anti-rain dance before I went to sleep, truly stuffed. But it didn't work.  Day six, Wednesday, September16th, is considered by many to be one of the toughest day of the Camino.  It is the walk to O'Cebreiro.  It was a a 18.4 mile trek, mostly flat, until the final 5.5 miles, which was a steep ascent of 2,035 ft.  The climb was a challenge, with the fierce winds and rain.

Gerry and I hike well together. We usually follow our "No Whining Allowed" rule, but we make exceptions. We are sensitive to each others injuries. Today Gerry had problems with his IT Band, and I had knee and calf muscle issues. So we stopped often to stretch or rest.

Temperatures were chilly. It was 58 degrees when we started this morning, and about 50 degrees when we arrived here, two very soggy pilgrims.

It rained 80% of the hike, but we did manage to quickly snap some photos during the brief dry spells.

Getting ready to brace the elements, after a coffee in
Trabadello, 6 miles into the hike.

Some Spanish folk art along the way.

Warming up with a bowl of soup in Herrerias,
the last town prior to our 5 mile steep climb...

Not only steep, but very, very muddy.
I am being cautious and taking my time.
No face plants allowed.

The scenery?  Spectacular!

The views make it worthwhile.

Stormy skies above.  Lush green below.

I would do it again in a heart beat.  We have now walked over 100 miles on the Camino.

Day # 7, Thursday, September 17th, was another relatively easy day of slightly over 13 miles, mostly downhill.  We walked from O'Cebreiro to Triacastela.  The final 5K was a little too steep for my liking, but not much I could do about it, but slow down, wince a bit, and enjoy my surroundings.

It was a brisk 45 degrees when we hit the trail at 8:30, but not raining, hallelujah! It warmed up to a balmy 50 degrees by noon. It only rained 30% of the time, so our "dry / wet" ratio is on the mend.

Also, it was a most excellent berry day, with at least 10 stops for blackberries, We even stopped once when we saw an elderberry bush. After I ate half-a-dozen elderberries, Gerry remarked, "I don't think there are any poisonous varietals of elderberries." So far, I am still alive.

It was another spectacular day on the Camino.

The mist has lifted by the time
we approach the first village this morning.

Other pilgrims walk on by, but Gerry and I stop
and peer into the barns we pass.
I guess we're nosier than your average pilgrim.

The mist returns once again as we pass this statue of a pilgrim.

I love the lush green countryside.
Clearly northern Spain is not experiencing the severe drought
that we have in California.  It makes me feel less guilty
when I run cold water over my feet a few minutes each evening.

Beauty right in front of me....

...Beautiful in every direction as I gaze off into the distance...

Friday, September 18th.  We have now begun our second week on the Camino.  Today is the walk to Sarria.  A 16.2 mile day on the Camino without any rain, and with plenty of sunshine, very little wind. It wasn't exactly the hike we planned...

 Our intention was to take the shorter of two options, the 11.6 mile direct route into Sarria, instead of the southern detour which adds on an additional 4 miles via the town of Samos, home of the Benedictine monastery, one of the oldest and largest in Spain.

After about 5 miles, our pilgrim friend Jan from Capetown, So. Africa walked by us.

"I thought you two weren't doing the monastery route", he said. "The monastery is less than a mile ahead."

Oops. We had goofed. But we enjoyed the path less traveled, through a peaceful valley. I felt like I was in a prior century. No sign of technology or modern times as we passed through the tiny villages.
Part of the trail was on a shaded woodland path, lush with ferns. It was quite tranquil and beautiful and worth the extra four bonus miles. When we arrived in Sarria, and checked into the Alfonso IX,  I was ready for some vino.

This rustic barn near the stream has seen better days.

A local village cemetery.

I'm on my way to Sarria, via the monastery in Samos
(little do I know.)

Ah, this is a feast for the eyes.

A lovely setting for this farm house (?) or barn house (?)
from days gone by.

The monastery.  A sight worth walking miles out of our way to see.

So ends Section 7 of our Camino.  We walked a little over 67 miles in this stage....