EXPERIENCE DOES FOR THE SOUL WHAT EDUCATION DOES FOR THE MIND
Day 24 through 29. Villar de Mazarife to Villafranca del Bierzo. 57.5 miles. After one more day with little inclines, I stopped overnight in Hospital de Órbigo. Usually when a town has Hospital in it’s name suggests that there is or was a hospital there. In earlier times along the Camino, a hospital was a place where pilgrims were cared for. Not necessarily sick and injured but others as well. Today the folks, many times volunteers, who care for pilgrims in a albergue are called hospitaleros. These people basically run the albergues from checking pilgrims in, to cooking and cleaning. They are there to assist the pilgrims who are in need of information, where to seek medical attention and a whole host of other duties.
Hospital de Órbigo boasts a long stone bridge with 20 arches and is close to 1000 feet long. Arriving pilgrims cross this 13th century bridge which spans the Órbigo River.
After thunderstorms last night, the skies have cleared and it was a great day for walking. The landscape has changed and there are now ups and downs to contend with, but the scenery has improved. Along the Camino you come across many places where someone has set up a small stand and offers fruit, cold drinks and more. Most of these entrepreneurs ask only for a donation and most are on the honor system. Leave some change if you can, if you can’t, well that’s ok too. The King of these Entrepreneurs is David, who has been feeding pilgrims for years. He is along side the path about 4 miles before reaching the City of Astorga out in the middle of nowhere. He provides fruit, drinks, hot coffee, cheese and sausage all for a donation. He also will let you sleep in one of his open air beds.
After an overnight in Astoria, a beautiful city by the way, we begin the slow but steady climb to the high point on the Camino. After another night in Rabanal del Camino, the climb begins in earnest, reaching just under 5000 feet. And what would a pilgrimage over the mountains be without some rain. Wind, fog and rain accompanied us for the first 3 hours or so until reaching Cruz de Ferro. The Iron Cross is where pilgrims leave a stone that they have brought from their their home which represents one’s burdens. You cast off your burden and now it its lighter.
Having reached the high point, the day continues down the other side of the mountains. Going up is hard enough, but down in my opinion, is harder From the top to the bottom it is a steep, toe mashing decent into Molinaseca the next stop. With a decent of 3040 feet on loose rocks making for questionable footing, it seems to never end. Upon reaching Molinaseca, I managed to drag myself to the nearest shop with ice cream to begin my recovery from the nightmarish decent. This was my longest day at 15.8 miles.
After yesterday, a short easy day was in store. Most of it was on pavement, mostly level. The pavement part not so good, the level part really good. Leaving Molinaseca, no bars or cafes were open for breakfast, so on to the next town, which is Ponferrada, a large city. Found a really nice Bakery/Cafe which had Huevos Benedictinos on the menu. They also had pancakes, rarely found in Spain, much less the Camino. Went off trail looking for an ATM, saw parts of the city most pilgrims miss. In Pilgrim lore, Ponferrada is famous for it’s Templar Castle. An imposing structure that was home to the Templar Knights, who among other things, protected pilgrims on their way to Santiago. The exit of the city follows the river which runs through a large park. Then it’s residential areas, farms and a couple of villages before reaching Camponaraya, my next stop for the night.
A short 8.5 mile easy day was in store, arriving in Villafranca at 11:30. The scenery is definitely changing, with rolling hills planted with grapes, as we have entered another Spanish wine region. Scattered among the grapes are a few olive orchards along with cherries. Passed and photographed the “most photographed house on the Camino”, or so it is said.
The Camino doesn’t seem as crowded as it was several weeks ago. Today I saw few pilgrims while walking. Villafranca, is at the end of stage in most guides, but there are few pilgrims in the restaurants in the town plaza. When I was here 5 years ago, the place was packed. I’m sure they’re out there somewhere, just not where I am now.
If those bridges could talk
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