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Molinaseca. O Cebreiro, Samos

Zoe7

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Time of past OR future Camino
First hopefully this coming fall
Am taking the bus from Madrid on arrival to Ponferrada to start the Camino a couple stages beyond. Hearing that Molinaseca is a very special place, began thinking of maybe detouring by bus or taxi to spend a day or half-day there before starting. Or, lovely as it is, I’ll be seeing enough other similar villages that no need to make the detour?

Also considering of later going through Samos. If I need to choose timewise between the two, Molinaesca and Samos, which would people recommend?

Also wondering about O Cebreiro — is it something shouldn’t miss?

Thank you so much
 
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I like Molineseca - its a lovely little river town at the bottom of a mountain after a particularly rocky trail. (Lots of cats, especially Siamese). Nice to stay in or pass through. Not far from Ponferrada. I dont think a day is warranted, you could go to Molineseca, have breakfast by the river, have a bit of a wander, then walk to Ponferrada, and spend some time at the templar castle there in a reasonably leisurely day. Check it is open when you plan to visit.
Whether you start at Molinesca or Ponferrada, you will walk up to and through O'Cebreiro. O'Cebreiro isnt a detour, the Camino passes through it.
The Samos option is an alternative trail to Sarria. You turn left at the bottom of Triacastela. The walk into and out of Samos is really lovely (much nicer than the walk from Molinesca to Ponferrada). The monastery there is impressive. I also like the Samos option as it has you arriving mid morning into and through Sarria after everyone has left, meaning you get a nice tranquil walk. This May I saw only 1 other person. And it puts you mid stage. setting you up for mid stage the next day as well, assuming you're not doing extra long days.
 
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Molinaesca is a nice place to stay, cheap taxi ride outside station from Ponferrada, try booking somewhere in Molinaesca and start from there.
It's the best walk do the climb to O,Cebreiro Samos is nice do the tour of monastery have a good one.
 

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J Willhaus said:
If you start walking in Ponferrada, you'll hit all these. Molinaseca is only special if you have walked down the long hill from Cruz de fiero and cant make it the next 9 km to Ponferrada.
Click to expand...
I agree with 2nd part however she won't hit "all these" starting FROM Ponferrada as Molinaseca is before Ponferrada.
It is a nice quaint little town and sitting by the river is delightful but I would recommend the Samos variant.
As everyone said either way you won't "escape" the O cebreiro climb.

Good luck and Buen Camino
 
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Molinaseca is very nice. So is Villafranca del Bierzo, on the other side of Ponferrada. To me, they seem nice in similar ways. Samos is a different place entirely, centred around a large monastery. In some ways, it is one of the oldest in Spain, dating back to well before the Camino. In other ways, it is quite new, as it has been burned down and rebuilt several times, most recently in the 20th century. O Cebreiro is also a special place. A Celtic village that in many ways and places looks like it hasn't changed for the last thousand years. In other ways, it has changed hugely since I first passed through on Camino. It is now filled with bars, hotels, and souvenir shops. How much the touristification will bother you and how easily you will see past it will determine how worthwhile a stop it will be to you.

I can't say which will be best for you. That depends on what is important to you. Hopefully, I've given you a little something to make up your own mind.
 
Samos is worth to be visited, but the albergue inside the monastery should be avoided, in my opinion.
 
Samos Monastery is well worth the visit!
 

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Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
is the walk from Molinaesca a lovely walk and not too difficult?

Thank you everyone for your input!
 
IIRC it's all on city like streets and roads. It's very easy as it's quite flay but not much in terms of views
 
Zoe7 said:
is the walk from Molinaesca a lovely walk and not too difficult?

Thank you everyone for your input!
Click to expand...

Molinaseca to Ponferrada is only about a 7-8 km walk and I don’t recall it being difficult at all. Molinaseca is a lovely town but not that big so you wouldn’t need a lot of time there. O Cebreiro is beautiful and fascinating but you might find it slightly more touristy than the others. Samos is worth the extra distance, interesting, a nice place to visit.
 
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It was a bit of Camino magic, but I was blessed when staying in Samos. I had just checked into the monastery Albergue this Spring, when I heard traditional music coming from a small bar outside the entrance to the Albergue. It turns out that there was a traditional music festival in town and each band would rotate through the various bars/other venues about every half hour. It was magical with vocals, gaita, accordions, drums, folk dancing etc. It resulted in a really enjoyable evening.
 
I have tried twice to go to the Templar castle in Ponferrada, both time on days it was not open. So I would recommend going to the castle, which you should be able to see in 1 hour. I don't recall wanting to be there for any other reason.

I took the Samos detour and was so happy I did. In fact In fact, if I went there again, I would want to stay there again or have at least 3-4 hours there.

Because of the ascent to O'Cebreiro, I stay in one of the small towns at the base. I did not want to ascend O'Cebreiro at the end of the day. From a hiking standpoint, this worked well for me but turns out the next ascent was really difficult, although smaller, because of the heat. I think 2 ascents in one day, in hot weather was too much for me. Most people stay in O'Cebreiro, at the end of the day, rather than anything special there (church at the top).
 
Zoe7 said:
is the walk from Molinaesca a lovely walk and not too difficult?

Thank you everyone for your input!
Click to expand...
Its mainly on footpaths (paved), if you take the left hand trail into Ponferrada there's a gravel path for for a while.
Its not difficult, quite pleasant, but nothing like as pretty as the walk to/from Samos.
 
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Yes the short but steep climb to Alto do Poio shouldn't be underestimated.
 
Cebreiro is pretty different than any other place because the Celtic buildings made with black pizarra. Definitively they should use less touristy imagery but I guess Iran more than other places, just want d out and is more obvious than in other places.
 
It is by far (IMHO) the most ugliest horrible in terms of difficulty descend on Camino Frances.
However the question was about the walk "FROM" Molinaseca. As such there are no icky stones to worry about and as many pointed out - its pretty uneventful
 
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Molinaseca is a pretty town, but it's just a few blocks of things to see. It's not worth a detour. The walk from Melinoseca into Ponfredda is easy, mostly on roads and not very attractive in my opinion. I don't think you'll feel you missed anything if you don't make the detour.

There are many nice things to look at along to Camino, but it's usually subtle. It's mostly the act of daily walking, the contemplation, and the social experiences that are special.
 
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