Day 29 - Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo

The walk started later than it really should of, given that we had to cover 32km today, but we needed to get new credentias (our pilgrim passports being pretty well full of stamps), and the hotelier in Rabanal del Camino said we could get one at the tourist office in Ponferrada. We didn't know what time it opened but were pretty sure it wouldn't be before 10am. Lynn also wanted to get the tape for her feet that Margie had recommended (and used to tape her feet courtesy of the Canadian women) and Margie said we should be able to get it in Ponferrada.

On the way out of Molinaseca, we met James from Australia, resplendent in bare feet and magic staff.  We had hoped that we could walk along with him at some point to learn his story but it looks like our paths may separate.  Being somewhat eccentric, he accumulates quite a following.

The walk into Ponferrada was notable for the scenery.  The town is in a valley and is surrounded by hills, offering stunning views.  The small population of 62,000 is offset by it's very modern appearance, the first place with high rise apartments, and it's busyness.

As with so many of these towns along the Way, there were a lot of tourist attractions in Ponferrada. We at least wanted to visit the 12th century Templar Castle.  The town came under the protection of the Templars in 1178.  Their rule was short lived as they were outlawed in 1312 by a church fearful of their increasing power and esoteric tradition.

The Templar Castle, as with most of the main tourist attractions, was right along the Camino. When we got to the castle we climbed up the ramp leading to the door, but it opened at 11, and we didn't want to further delay getting on with all the km we had to do today. A lady from Ireland took our picture in front of the castle and she said that she left her camera at home when she decided to do the Camino.  She said you can't walk and be a tourist at the same time, as the walking took all your time and energy. That is unfortunately very close to the truth.

Next we went to the tourist office, and as expected it opened at 10am. It was 9:50 and so we elected to go for churros.  Russ got hot chocolate, perhaps more akin to hot chocolate pudding, and deep fried yummies that he dipped in the pudding, err chocolate.  Wonderful.  Lynn had cafe con leche and a muffin - it was just like being in a coffee shop at home!

James was there with his entourage expounding on his need for meat.  He, like a lot of us, is getting tired of toast, jam, orange juice and coffee for breakfast.

To the tourist office, which after standing in line for 15 minutes, announced they don't issue credentias.  Going for coffee instead of waiting for the office to open was a tactical error. The lady said the only place in Ponferrada we could get the pilgrim passport was the Basilicam and it opened at 1200. That was out of the question. But she did tell us where else we could one on the way to Villafranca today.

This, coupled with our searches of numerous Farmacias for medical tape, wasted over an hour, and it was now getting hot and we still had 24km to go.

The Way out of Ponferrada was much more interesting than our trek in.  The city fathers' seem to have decided that perigrinos are not of importance as the route markings became so vague in places that we even had a local in a car pull over and wave at us to indicate the correct way.

The track today was for the most part on or adjacent to highways.  Not a safe walk by any stretch but it was a nonetheless beautiful scenery, with magnificent views of mountains and valleys. We also went through numerous towns/villages throughout the day.

We seem to have good timing for festivals. When we stopped in Camponaraya for lunch, there was a parade celebrating the harvest going through town along the Way, with flags in front, followed by a float with a statue of Christ on the cross, and the church priest leading the masses in song, and a marching band bringing up the rear, including bagpipes.  Everyone in town seemed to be in attendance, dressed up in their finest clothes. The perigrinos and cyclists felt bad for just charging ahead but we had places to go.

Now we were starting to see more vineyards as we entered Bierzo.  The problem was that the heat and asphalt roads were starting to take a toll on both of us, but specially Lynn's feet.

We did manage to get new pilgrim passports in the Alberque at Cacabelos, the last main town we passed through at 24km. We also restocked with water. Good thing too, because Lynn managed to go through 1.5 litres in the last 8 km. It was hot!

We hobbled into Villafranca de Bierzo, after climbing steeply for about 5km followed by a steep descent (why lord?) very grateful to be there and very happy to easily find our hotel. The hotelier could see how worn out we were, and gave us a big bottle of cold water and took us right to our room without checking our passports or getting our voucher. He said we had the best room in the hotel, and it is really nice. We are so tired we decided not to bother with washing anything but our socks.

Summary - a long day that had a few more failed objectives than we would have liked, with the question, "why are we doing this?" coming up when total exhaustion had set in.

Distance today - 32km
kmDistance total - 607km