LIVE from the Camino Chrissy on the Camino Invierno

[Camino Chrissy]

My son and I arrived in Ponferrada yesterday and settled into our hotel room. We only had one afternoon and evening here as we'd been twice before and had already toured the well preserved castle.
We headed out to pick up groceries to take with us as our guidebook mentioned there was nowhere to eat on the way to, nor in in, the village of Villavieja, where we would be spending the night at the albergue.

The morning .leaving Ponferrada was drizzly on and off, but the temp was comfortable with no wind and it was dry by noon. We walked through several quaint villages with cute dogs, vineyards with grapes ready to be harvested, wide woodland paths, and eventually saw the first hints of the mining areas and views of the Cornatel castle high above.
The only animal we saw all day was a fox darting across the path into the woods, but we did have annoying flies bothering us for about an hour, which made me wish for a breeze to chase them away.

There were ten of us staying at the albergue that has sixteen beds. All were retirees from the Netherlands except for one younger gal from Germany. It is a newer, lovely property and reservations can be made. It has a full kitchen with everything needed for cooking. The fee is €10 and includes clean cotton sheets and new blankets.
The wifi here is very slow, so will send a variety of pictures later.

 

[t2andreo]

I SOOOO wish I was there. Of course, my responsibilities here still preclude that. But I am with you in spirit.

Buen Camino.

 

[Keyser]

Be sure to call to the Pilgrims Office in Monteforte and say hello to Fran. He is very helpful and loves to meet pilgrims.

 

[AnneMarie1]

Buen camino! I did that route last year -- in June there were cherries leaving Ponferrada. Villavieja has to be one of the best albergues anywhere! When I was there, there were only two of us. Anneke from the Netherlands was there when I arrived, and she was quite glad to know that yes, I had food with me, because she hadn't heard about the need to bring any. We're still in regular touch!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Day 1-
Here are random pictures from my first day leaving Ponferrada to Villavieja. We had some drizzle on and off all day, but I always find things to photograph that has some interest to me.




End of day we neared the beginnings of the mining era.

 

[Simperegrina]

Ah, memories from March this year…

Buen Camino!

 

[jungleboy]

There were ten of us staying at the albergue that has sixteen beds. All were retirees from the Netherlands except for one younger gal from Germany.

Ten seems crazy to me but I guess most were in a group. We thought we were going to be alone at Villavieja until a Dutch woman came late in the afternoon to make it three of us. Great albergue! Wendy enjoyed putting her feet up (literally) after the day's walk:

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Day 2-
Today was a day of only about 17km, but it seemed plenty. It was another morning of drizzle, but thankfully on and off. We climbed up to the Cornatel castle after leaving the albergue, knowing it was closed, but we still had a few good views.
Leaving there we saw a Mojone pointing to the road to Borrenes, which was downhill so I started doing a bit of zigzagging to spare my knees. Finally we turned left at the town and continued on another little used road for over 7.5km, with both ups and downs continuously. Thankfully it was not a hot day, but it still wore me out. On and off throughout the day we saw huge chestnut trees, and almonds, walnuts and figs all over the ground.
Finally when we neared he village of Orellan, we stopped for our picnic lunch of seeded bread with Manchengo cheese and dark chocolate with nuts at a small church with a cemetery and a bell tower climb. I removed my backpack and started up the metal stairs until they started swaying, so decided to turn around before reaching the top as I can be a bit of a chicken.
Another 3+ km brought us to the amazing Orellan Mirador, the highlight of this day! We stayed a half hour gazing, taking it all in and felt quite lucky as no drizzle and a bit brighter sky for our time there made the bright orange "pop" in spite of no sunshine. The tour unfortunately as not open while we were there. When we left we took an interesting trail in the woods downhill to Casa Agoda in the village of Las Medulas, which is a wonderful place and our room had a private balcony overlooking some great views.

 

[VNwalking]

Ohhhhh. Wonderful.
Buen camino to you both!

(Wait, Chris, didn't you just do the Sanabrés? Lucky you. Really looking forward to your photos.)

Edited to add: look at those chestnuts! You wouldn't want to be under one of those trees in a windstorm right now.
And...ten at Villavieja??

 

[Pilgrim Patricia]

Thank you so much for your narrative and the fantastic photos! I looked up Las Medulas and found this article which talks a bit about gold mining during the Roman Empire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Médulas

 

[JennyH94]

Have a wonderful camino Chrissy!

Best, best wishes to you and your son -

Jenny xx

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Ohhhhh. Wonderful.
Buen camino to you both!

(Wait, Chris, didn't you just do the Sanabrés? Lucky you. Really looking forward to your photos.)

Edited to add: look at those chestnuts! You wouldn't want to be under one of those trees in a windstorm right now.
And...ten at Villavieja??

Those chestnut trees are absolutely amazing with their humongous twisted ancient trunks, but still producing shiny leaves with beautiful chestnuts attached.

 

[bestfootforward]

Top pics! Beautiful countryside and rain always adds another, I think very aesthetic dimension

 

[Elle Bieling]

Looks lovely! Buen Camino!

 

[t2andreo]

Day 1-
Here are random pictures from my first day leaving Ponferrada to Villavieja. We had some drizzle on and off all day, but I always find things to photograph that has some interest to me.
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End of day we neared the beginnings of the mining era.
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It is interesting to point out that, before arriving in Galicia, much of the stone work (roofs, paving, walls, decorative stone work, Camino distance markers - mojones, etc.) is SLATE, as that is the dominant type of stone quarried in the east.

Once you enter Galicia, the stone work changes to granite - the most prevalent stone quarried in Galicia.

Just a note of interest.

Tom

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Day 3-
Today we walked from Las Medulas to Sobradelo at about 20km. We woke up to black skies at 6:00am this morning with high winds and rain. I had my ear buds in so had heard nothing, but we found out there was a terrible storm last night that took out the power of the whole village. We used our phone flashlights to get dressed and we left at 8:30 in rain and wind that lasted over two hours.

However, It was a great walk today. The sun came out by noon and the temperature was perfect as I peeled off layers. There were beautiful mountain views with a couple of villages nestled in the distance.The trail was wide and mostly made of pulverized tiny pea gravel, so our shoes never got muddy. The storm left huge amounts of figs, almonds, walnuts and chestnuts scattered over sections of the path for miles.

I have a "thing" for rocks and the bluestone and colorful shale were spectacular to me as it was everywhere. In fact, as @t2andreo mentioned, the mojones were made of the bluestone; a first for me to see in all of my Caminos.

The only animal we saw today was one lone deer down below in a valley. The trail followed the Sil river the last half of the way, usually above, and our B&B is right on the riverbank and located at the ancient bridge with a beautiful view from our room in Sobradelo.


Bluestone mojone.


Wall art along the way.



Sobradelo.

 

[bestfootforward]

Beautiful scenes from along the way!

 

[ArleneLaskey]

Wonderful journey, thanks for sharing!

 

[MARSKA]

Day 3-
Today we walked from Las Medulas to Sobradelo at about 20km. We woke up to black skies at 6:00am this morning with high winds and rain. I had my ear buds in so had heard nothing, but we found out there was a terrible storm last night that took out the power of the whole village. We used our phone flashlights to get dressed and we left at 8:30 in rain and wind that lasted over two hours.

However, It was a great walk today. The sun came out by noon and the temperature was perfect as I peeled off layers. There were beautiful mountain views with a couple of villages nestled in the distance.The trail was wide and mostly made of pulverized tiny pea gravel, so our shoes never got muddy. The storm left huge amounts of figs, almonds, walnuts and chestnuts scattered over sections of the path for miles.

I have a "thing" for rocks and the bluestone and colorful shale were spectacular to me as it was everywhere. In fact, as @t2andreo mentioned, the mojones were made of the bluestone; a first for me to see in all of my Caminos.

The only animal we saw today was one lone deer down below in a valley. The trail followed the Sil river the last half of the way, usually above, and our B&B is right on the riverbank and located at the ancient bridge with a beautiful view from our room in Sobradelo.
View attachment 178119View attachment 178120

Bluestone mojone.
View attachment 178121

Wall art along the way.
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Sobradelo.
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Wonderful! I envy you!

 

[chinacat]

Buen camino(s), Chrissy!

Love your descriptions and the great photographs … especially the trees
And those quirky things which always catch your eye

 

[VNwalking]

And those quirky things which always catch your eye

Plenty of quirk ahead. Just wait.

The storm left huge amounts of figs, almonds, walnuts and chestnuts scattered over sections of the path for miles.

Wow a moveable feast!

our B&B is right on the riverbank and located at the ancient bridge with a beautiful view from our room in Sobradelo.

Oh, what a relief to know. I saw Sobradeo in the first line of yout post and was afraid you were stuck at Bar Mar's grubby place. Good - somewhere much better by the sound of it. And what a view!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Plenty of quirk ahead. Just wait.


Wow a moveable feast!


Oh, what a relief to know. I saw Sobradeo in the first line of yout post and was afraid you were stuck at Bar Mar's grubby place. Good - somewhere much better by the sound of it. And what a view!

I'll look forward to more quirk!

Clever play on words..."A Moveable Feast". Yep, those nuts were moving and rolling around.

We tried a couple of times to get a hold of Bar Mar, but they never replied. Then we saw repeated bad reviews on Gronze, so were glad to give it a miss. We booked what seemed to be the only other option in town. It is one of the finest posh places we have ever stayed at on the Camino and the most expensive we've ever paid using Booking.com.

 

[VNwalking]

Believe me...a very good choice, in spite of the cost!

 

[Robo]

I'll look forward to more quirk!

Clever play on words..."A Moveable Feast". Yep, those nuts were moving and rolling around.

We tried a couple of times to get a hold of Bar Mar, but they never replied. Then we saw repeated bad reviews on Gronze, so were glad to give it a miss. We booked what seemed to be the only other option in town. It is one of the finest posh places we have ever stayed at on the Camino and the most expensive we've ever paid using Booking.com.

I fouond Bar Mar hard to track down last year.
I made a booking, but when I got there the place was all closed up (the bar)
The rooms are all around the corner in a block of flats.
I eventually got the guy on the phone who sent the cleaner over with a key.

It was 'OK'.....

 

[VNwalking]

I went looking for photos of the place but never took any. Besides being under construction, it reminded me of some of the dodgy places I've stayed at in India.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Day 4-
Today was the shortest day I have walked on any Camino. After a great leisurely breakfast that included omelets, we took our time packing up and finally left Sobradelo late morning to walk the 10km we had planned ahead to A Barco. We had a bit of intermittent drizzle, so our umbrellas were up and down a few times, but we had plenty of sunshine, too.

The path followed along the Sil river, with vineyards and pine forests, and mountains on the other side of the river. I happened to think that I've not seen any eucalyptus forests so far. Often we've seen obvious signs of boars rooting around on the sides of these paths. They dig deep for "something", but we don't see them.
I did not take many pictures today, but here are a few.

Sobradelo on our way out.

 

[jungleboy]

Are you doing another short day tomorrow directly to A Rua or are you taking the @peregrina2000 waterfall detour route?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Nick, we are still in our room packing up. I read your very interesting report last night about today and will definitely start out with crossing the river and going up, but haven't decided yet on whether to continue following your recommendation into A Rua after we cross back over the river later yet.

 

[Flog]

Please don't be so quick to condemn Bar Mar. Sure, it's a bit rough and ready and isn't gonna win any hygene awards, but Manuel is a good guy and does his best to facilitate and oblige everyone. He also provides a pack forwarding service along the invierno for those unable or too lazy to carry their own.

@Camino Chrissy, I'm glad you're enjoying the invierno, it's a beautiful path, especially at this time of year, hopefully the weather remains kind to you. I'm just a few days ahead of you, but on the Sanabrês..

 

[Hom4]

Chrissy, I stayed at the same posh b&b in Sobradelo but only because it was my birthday. But before I checked in, I stopped at Bar Mar to say hi to Manuel since I saw him a day earlier in Borrones picking up mochilas for transport in his little car with business decal on the doors. I said hi to him and told him he was mentioned in my guide book by name. Anyway, he remembered me because I was wearing the same camino clothes...ha, ha

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Chrissy, I stayed at the same posh b&b in Sobradelo but only because it was my birthday.

I loved staying there; it was absolutely outstanding. We had sea bass with roasted vegetables for dinner, appetizers, and dessert. All was lovely.

 

[Hom4]

Let's not forget the beautiful wax stamp affixed to the eucalyptus leaves. The next morning...back to reality..ha, ha.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Let's not forget the beautiful wax stamp affixed to the eucalyptus leaves. The next morning...back to reality..ha, ha.

Yes, gorgeous! It was my very first wax stamp in all my years walking Caminos.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

We left O Barco by crossing the Sil river on the old metal.pedestrian bridge and starting on the Naturale path on a quite chilly, cloudy day with fog in the mountains. We missed a turn near the castle to proceed as @peregrina2000 and @jungleboy had done on a trail that heads higher into the mountains, but I didn't mind because of the weather. We continued to follow on the little road (no cars) and it ascended to some heights with lovely views down below. I really enjoyed it and consider it the best "inbetween" option for the less adventurous among us; better than the main camino route that passes through industrial areas along the river, but obviously not as awesome as the longer mountain trail.

By the time we arrived at the dam it was sunny and we took Nick's advice to take the safer, longer route into A Rua. It was everything he said it was and we were so glad we went that way. In fact our Casa Rural skirted in the hills, so we were able to find our way there without going all the way into town first. I think we walked about 12-13 km today.




Nature's stained glass windows.

 

[jungleboy]

By the time we arrived at the dam it was sunny and we took Nick's advice to take the safer, longer route into A Rua. It was everything he said it was and we were so glad we went that way.

Great, so glad it worked out for you! Early on tomorrow there is some quirky stuff that I think you're going to love (will say no more), and great views if you get a clear day.

I'm not sure how far you're going tomorrow but there a couple of things to note. Firstly, the tour guide at the church in Montefurado who will come out of nowhere and just start guiding without asking you if you want the tour or if you speak Spanish! And secondly, in Bendilló, the house of Charlie and (English-speaking) Ana, who, if home, will welcome you inside and have food and drinks to sell if you'd like a rest and a chat.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Nick, thanks for the tips. I will try to visit the church in Montefurado as so few are open, but tomorrow is Sunday so I should be in luck. Maybe the tour guide will even appear like magic!
I'll try to keep my eyes open, too, for Charlie and Ana's place in Bendillo.