LIVE from the Camino BobY333 on the Francés

[BobY333]

Day 1 Camino Frances: Ponferrada > Cacabelos.

Back on the trail again after a day of travel from our aborted San Salvador/Primitivo Camino due to weather and blisters.

The day began in an inauspicious manner. I realized that I left my rain jacket on the bus yesterday with my drivers license and my health card in it. So, I’ll have to deal with that at some point when I get home.

I had two large coffees and a croissant to get me started, and now I’m off to decathlon sports to get a new rain jacket. Hopefully that will ward off all rain for the rest of the Camino

As we crossed the bridge over the Rio Síl together, an old Spanish man stopped us and, if I didn’t know Spanish, I would have thought he was yelling at us and telling us to go a different direction. But, he was just being very enthusiastic about the history of Ponferrada and the bridge itself.

He explained that the statue that was nearby was of the king and the bishop, and that you needed permission to cross the bridge. He then pointed out the stones on the sides of the bridge that explain some of the history, including the origin of the name Ponferada - Puente or Pon (bridge) Ferrata. He continued, loudly, that most pilgrims just walk across and don’t pay attention to the history! That would have been us except for our good fortune of having been there when he was there.

Suzanne went on her way along the trail instead of joining me and adding Ks to her poor feet to go to Decathlon. This was great because it gave her opportunity to walk the stage on her own. We’ve talked about it frequently, but have never managed to walk separately when we are together on Camino. So, I guess the lost jacket provided this, not such a bad thing after all!

With the new jacket acquired and in the pack, I set off only to find that I walked past the bus station. I went in, hoping that maybe someone had seen my lost jacket on the bus and left it there. Alas, nope. But, the ticket agent took down the information and said she would call ahead to the last stop and ask about it directly. She will call me if she has any luck!

As it turned out, I needed a rain jacket far sooner than I expected. Fortunately, it was only a brief shower.

Lots of road walking today through small villages that I recognize even five years later. Also, there’s a consistent string of peregrinos along the way. Not too many, mind you, but it’s far different than being up in the mountains by ourselves.

I definitely need to reframe my thinking about this Camino. The Primitivo is very, very different. So far this is very flat and fairly nondescript. I did get to enjoy a snack of local cherries though, and they were delicious.

I pulled into Cacabelos after a short day to find that Suzanne had done well and enjoyed her time walking on her own or with a few fellow travelers.

We headed to lunch and had a great tapa of pimientos padrónes - our favorite, along with a very tasty and filling calzone.

A shower and quick laundry duty, and the day was complete.

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[BobY333]

Day 2 Camino Francés: Cacabelos > Vega de Valcarse

After a decent sleep we had the requisite tostada and coffee. We once again set off a little late considering that we had a big day ahead of us.

One of the key benefits of being on the Frances was that we expected that it would be more social. It looks like that’s turning out to be the case. We said hello to some fellow pilgrims at breakfast, and we’ve seen seen them numerous times along the way today. It’s a group of six women who call themselves the “golden girls”. Three of them met the first night in Orrison and have stuck together since. We’ve had time at different places to chat with them today - so that’s been fun. We’ve also spent some time with a young woman from the Netherlands who is quite the traveler! She spent months across Central America by herself, having one adventure after another. I was amazed to hear her say that she never felt unsafe. She’s completing the CF from León, having walked from SJPdP to there a few years ago. She has since lost 35kg and was proud of herself for taking the mountain route today. Amazing.

As far as the actual walk went today, it started off very pleasantly going through the vineyards just outside of Cacabelos. I definitely remember this part of the walk as being beautiful. We stopped in Villafranca, and got provisions to make ourselves a bocadillo. We loved the history and architecture in that town. A beautiful castle and several great churches.

We then chose the mountain route out of town because we remembered how ugly and arduous the road route was from last time we were here. Constant road walking next to, and under, a highway. But, the mountain route was just that, a mountain! It felt a lot like walking part of the Primitivo, but I guess that is perfect, since that’s what we originally intended to do! The way up was tough but the way down is always a bit tougher and it took its toll on our bodies.

We got down to Trabadelo with about 6K to go and found ourselves on the path that’s right alongside the highway. It reminded me of how ugly this walk is and reinforced the decision to hike up the mountain

We finished our 27k day at Pension Fernandez. Just four of us in the bunk room, and the place is very, very nice! And, at only E12, including breakfast, it’s an bargain! Maria, the owner, is a treat - she makes all of the cakes for the breakfast herself. So, there’s no need to trek back to the amazing Panadería that’s about 1/2 mile before here. We fondly recall an incredible breakfast there in 2018.

Now off to have a meal and some tinto!

PS - dinner at the place to the left of the Farmacia. Simply WOW! Chef quality.

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[BobY333]

Day 3 CF: Vega de Valcarse > Biduedo

Last night it turned out that there were eight of us in the Albergue not just four. Some others showed up while we were out to our gourmet dinner. Fortunately, everyone was courteous, and there was just one occasional snorer.

Maria’s homemade breakfast cakes were excellent, and she had two pots of drip coffee ready to be made… Heaven!

We chatted for a while with a few others that had stayed the night. It was funny because two of them talked about taking the road route that I definitely wanted to avoid. Each of them referred to it as a river route since the river is on the left side the entire way. They loved it!?! Talk about reframing!

We set off, and after not too long we started a climb, but not the climb up to O’Cebreiro. Once we were up, back down to the river we went, and then the real ascent began. It wasn’t terrible, but it was up up up.

We took a very nice, eventful break very near the top at Laguna de Castilla. While enjoying coffee and tortilla, we saw a runaway horse, a cow parade, and a German family receive an ovation for making the climb. The parents met on the Camino. Their two little girls can’t be more than four and six, and yet they walked on up into “town”. Dad was pushing the double jogging stroller, but those girls were clearly proud to have conquered the mountain on foot!

The day continued with spectacular views across Castilla y León and then Galicia where we took the required picture at the marker. After day one on the CF I was very concerned about this walk being boring, flat, and on asphalt. But, the last two days have been fantastic!

Also, booking accommodation a day ahead has been totally fine. We heard it was very crowded out here, but we haven’t had any problem in finding nice places to stay - you just can’t assume that if booking.com says a place/town is “completo” that it really is. Nope! And, the trail itself has never felt crowded.

Suzanne wanted to be sure to track down her foot angel Karen (and so did I). She gave Suzanne blister treatments in the morning that proved miraculous! Mepilex to put on the big blisters (kind of a stick-on medicated gel pad) and “walkers wool” from New Zealand for her wounded little toe. Suz had no blister issues all day - WOW! Fortunately, we caught up with Karen just before her stopping point for the night and thanked her profusely. The Mepilex is a must-carry for the next Camino.

Jake managed to coordinate a FaceTime video chat with the girls for Mother’s Day that was great. Technology - what would we do without it? Three time zones, and there we all were chatting away.

The night ended with a good dinner here at Quiroga. Not the gourmet quality of last night, but good nonetheless. We spent time talking with a couple from Romania and Latvia that just met on Camino. We’ve seen them multiple times over the last few days, but we finally got the chance to chat and connect.

Oh, and then of course Suzanne whooped me at SkipBo…ugh!

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[BobY333]

CF Day 4: Biduedo > Barbadelo

Started the foggy morning with an immediate dissent down to Filobal. The private Albergue there looks very, very nice – an option for a future Camino. We continued down down down to Triacastela on beautiful dirt and gravel pads. The fog began to lift, and we could see the beautiful valleys around us.

We chatted with Kathy from Ontario, whose daughters are coming into Sariya tomorrow to walk with her for the last 100 K. How great is that!

In the category of every ounce counts, we took the new pole tips out of our packs and replaced them on the polls. A little less weigh on our backs - always helps!

I have also been good about keeping my water to a minimum. I have a 3 L water bladder I’m generally putting between 1 1/2 and 2 L in, and that has worked out great. (“A pint a pound the whole world ‘round”)

The cherry trees are gone now that we’re on the other side of the mountains and in Galicia, but there are still plenty of beautiful roses. It’s spring!

After Triacastela we had a choice to make: go the longer way on the road, or go the shorter, more beautiful way through the woods. That was a choice?

And those forests were stunning! Along the way, we talked with a woman from California who’s lead an interesting life in the media and communications fields, but on what seems like the more charitable side. She’s done documentary work as well as podcasting work with children and people in less fortunate areas both here in the US and internationally. She’s lived a number of years in Ecuador, but love drew her back to California.

We all stopped at the very interesting, very granola, rest stop donativo (if you’ve walked, you know the place!). After a bit of fruit, we picked up said farewell to Diana. Once we got to Pintín, Suzanne stopped for a rest and coffee, and I continued on making my way to Sarria. I had some momentum, and the day was feeling bit like a slog day. Not terrible, but enough to want to just keep rolling and knocking down the kilometers.

I had a nice last few Ks into Sarria with Lars from Sweden. He bought me a beer to fuel up for the last push to Barbadelo.

Once here we got our clothes all washed and sat and chatted with a group of ladies from the US (I was freezing in shorts!) - such is Camino life.

All in all, a very good day!

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[BobY333]

CF Day 6: Gonzar > Coto

My day got started at 5:10 AM. When the battery on my over the ear, white noise maker died :/

As it turned out, it didn’t matter because at 5:20 the guy next to me had his alarm go off with a bright flashing light like one of those fire alarms in an office building. Of course, he hit snooze, and it went off again at 5:29. Then the other two peregrinos in the bunk room also decided to get up and turn on their cell phone lights to get ready. So, that’s the way day 6 on the Camino Francés began.

Things could only get better from there, and they did!

Our plan worked, and there were very few peregrinos on the road when we started at about 7:15. After a quick coffee stop we made our way to the castro in Castromaior. It is a really cool excavation of an ancient site. It dates from 300 BC to 100 A.D., and they’ve barely excavated it. Many peregrinos pass it by, but it’s a worthwhile excursion that adds just a few hundred yards (though you don’t know that as your walking).

We’ve been better about making more frequent stops to rest our feet today. That’s been great. Suzanne stopped to take a picture of some chickens, and boy did that turn out to be a benefit! When we were stopped I looked around and recognized the place where we bought cheese from the woman out of her kitchen window last time we were here. Sure enough, she was there again and we got some awesome queso fresco and some other cheese that had been aged for a year. Add a fresh baguette from the panadería and boom, we had lunch

We rested our feet again in San Xulian where we stayed in 2018, just to sit and have a cerveza for the afternoon. While we were there, I checked email, and guess what! They found my jacket on the bus and will be sending it to Santiago! Even better, it should have my drivers license and health card in it

With a bit of a spring in my step, we took off for Coto and the last 5K. There were beautiful tree covered country roads that were just great to walk on. And once again we were out there practically all by ourselves!

We settled into our beautiful spot at Samoza, got cleaned up, did laundry, and then enjoyed their magnificent outdoor space full of manicured gardens, statuary, and umbrella’d tables.

Two more days until Santiago!

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[David Tallan]

What happened to Day 5?

 

[BobY333]

I guess I forgot to post this!

CF Day 5: Barbadelo > Gonzar

Started the day among the masses coming out of Sarria. We were a little late to get going so even the café at the albergue was packed with peregrinos making their first coffee stop.

Having done the Camino Francés in the past gives us the ability to be very flexible with our schedule. I may have said that in the past, but I don’t go back and read my posts! In any event, this is about happiness and joy, as opposed to feeling the need to get from Point A to Point SdC.

So we started the day considering three different options on how to continue. Option one, which we had pretty much booked is four days into SdC, with each day being 25 or so kilometers. Option two was to get to Santiago today and then start a loop out to Finisterre annd Muxía and back to Santiago to avoid all the crowds on the Frances. Option three was to slow down and do 20K days so that we could stay a night at Heidi‘s Place on my birthday (a great Albergue if you’ve never been).

We decided we would walk to Portomarín and decide along the way. Well, we went with option one.

Along our walk we once again successfully engaged in the social Camino that the Francés is. We met some new people and saw some of the people that we’ve met from the past few days, including Karen, the blister angel. In fact, she had another bout with blisters just yesterday and needed to take a rest, but she was all better today, and moving right along, thankfully! When I saw her at the bus stop in Triacastela yesterday, she spoke again about learning to ask for, and accept, help. And, giving yourself permission to accept that help. She did that by taking a bus into Sarria so her feet could rest and heal.

Speaking of feet, it has become clear that they need a good rest with the shoes untied at least once every two hours. What a difference that makes! My legs feel totally fine walking, but the feet definitely get to the point of being painful from just putting on the miles/kilometers!

We went back to the Italian place that we enjoyed in Portomarín for a lunch to fuel list for the last 4 miles. It was as good as we remembered, but leaving at two in the afternoon for a 4 mile hike that started off uphill was quite the challenge! Fortunately, we didn’t have any cerveza or vino at the Italian place. Otherwise, I’d be writing this journal while taking a nap

Our hope is that with continuing on from Portomarín, and with a plan to leave early tomorrow, we will avoid the crowds. That strategy worked for me last year, but we’ll see how it is this year.

We only saw two other pilgrims on this last 4 mile stretch. Fingers crossed!

As we drank our cerveza to celebrate the day I called A Pena (on the way to Finisterre) to book a room for Saturday. When he asked for my name I said, “Paco de Estados Unidos“ and that we had stayed there 5 years ago. He said, “Oh, Paco from New Jersey”. What??? He remembered 5 years later? I love Spain!

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[BobY333]

What happened to Day 5?

Ooops!

 

[BobY333]

CF Day 7: Coto > O Outeiro

Somoza last night was great. Maria, the person that handles everything up front, got a real kick out of someone named Paco coming from the United States. We had some laughs via WhatsApp, and then some fun when Suzanne and I showed up and I explained the Paco Origen story to her.

She couldn’t have been more helpful with everything from changing our room to a nicer room, reducing the rate to a double rate from a triple rate because we had had a triple room, to finding us a place to hang our laundry in the sun to be sure it would dry (and then throwing my damp socks into the commercial dryer for 10 minutes to finish them off

Once we got that stuff done we went out to the beautiful gardens and did crosswords and then did the usual of Suzanne beating me at cards.

Next came dinner, and one of the comments Somoza was that this was some of the best food on the Camino. I don’t know about best, but it was excellent. And, again the entire staff was fun and really friendly.

Earlier in the day, Suzanne had talked about hoping to see people doing the Camino on horseback. Wouldn’t you know it? There was a group staying at Somoza that was doing just that. So, we had some fun talking with them about their experience and hoped that we would get to see them today out on the trail. Unfortunately, we just missed them before they came in to Arzua where we came across the horse trailer.

Anyway, we sat off on our longest day yet at 29K. The morning moved along, particularly after we met up with a young guy from the UK who we chatted with for at least 6 or 7K. Time always flies when that happens and you’re having a good conversation.

We stopped in Ribadiso at the restaurant where we ate in 2018, and it was quite good - especially when we added some of the leftover cheese from yesterday.

After that, we faced the climb up and out of Ribadiso which was harder than we both remembered, including me, even though I did it just last year!

We had a long afternoon ahead of us but fortunately came across another peregrina to chat with. This was another Suzanne from Australia who was much slower than us, but that turned out to be perfect because it was so much easier on the feet and we had another interesting talk.

We stopped in at Heidi’s place to say hello, even though she was completo. It was nice to see her again, and I’m sure in the future will be staying there, she is so sweet! When I was there last year, there was a guy who has walked many Caminos and this is the only place that he reserves.

Just before O Outeiro there is a shrine on the Camino along a mossy wall and below some trees - can anyone explain its origins?

Finished the day at Pensión Mirador, which seems clean and nice enough (and available!). It’s a walk to get dinner, but we’ll be recovered from a long day by then.

Tomorrow we walk into Santiago on my birthday. Should be a great, though looooong day!

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[BobY333]

CF Day 8: O Outeiro > Santiago

Pensión Mirador had very so so ratings on the different websites. They were wrong. It was clean, we had a big space, and they had fast wifi. Perfect. No food or kitchen, but we knew that and walked on down to the other albergue that did. Not a big deal.

Today was our longest day at 31k. . We stopped a few times, including all of 0.4k in for coffee. They were very nice and brought out Tarta De Santiago with a candle and sang “Feliz Cumpleaños” when they found out it was my birthday. A great way to start the day! I felt very young when we spoke with a mother daughter duo there. Mom is nearly 80 and did 31k last week on day 1?!?

As we moved along Suzanne gave me what she didn’t say was a present, but was the sweetest present of all time. Each time we finished a mile she told me something she appreciated about me. This ranged from the small (I always carry lip balm for me and her) to big (I have positive energy and am very happy with my life - and I am!!!). How great is that?

We stopped for a proper bacon and eggs breakfast shortly after we saw the horseback riders getting ready for their day. The breakfast was great, and it was a lot of fun to watch the horses go by - one of Suzanne’s wishes from just a few days ago.

We also stopped at a place we stopped at 5 years ago for breakfast. Back then we were starving for something other than tortilla, and I asked the woman, “Tiene huevos?” - literally meaning do you have eggs? But, that expression in Spanish is a challenge and means, “Do you have balls?” . I told her about that today. She burst out laughing and said that she didn’t recognize me, but she totally remembers that interaction! She even had gone home and laughed with her husband about it then.

We continued on and chatted with Peter and Dmitri. Peter is a good soul, and is as proud as he should be of completing the journey from SJPdP to Santiago. Dmitri had some incredible stories. The best was about the “strange guy that just grunts”. Long story short, Dmitri sat at a communal dinner table with one seat left across from him. Sure enough, “strange guy” sits across from him. Dmitri (an Italian) decides to engage in the spirit of the Camino. He tries in English first. No luck, just more grunts and the guy pointing at his ears. Turns out, he is also Italian. He’s a lovely 54ish guy that lost his hearing just 4 years ago. He grunts because all he hears is the fluid in his ears that maintains his balance. The grunting helps him deal with that and maintain his sanity. So, Dmitri’s meal went from awkward to amazing just by him being open to engagement. Simply wow - I teared up!

We left Dmitri at Monte de Gozo, just outside Santiago, and walked our way into town and Obradoiro. It’s always an amazing feeling to come through the tunnel, bagpiper piping, and finish this part of the Camino. We sat, had a beer, took others’ pictures, and just enjoyed people watching.

There’s something about this journey and this place that are so special they keep us coming back!

Until the next time! (I don’t plan to journal or post about or continuing walk to Finisterre and Muxía, we’ll see).

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[BobY333]

PS - I just picked up my lost jacket (with drivers license and health card still in it!!!) from the ALSA office in Santiago. What a relief!

 

[henrythedog]

So, I’ll have to deal with that at some point when I get home.

Good attitude! No drama

A pint a pound the whole world ‘round”

I had to look that up as it didn’t feel right with ‘a litre of water (1kg) is a pint and three-quarter’ Everywhere in the US you’re right! Every day’s a school day for me.

I just picked up my lost jacket (with drivers license and health card still in it!!!) from the ALSA office in Santiago. What a relief

Yay!