Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that this summer (2019) I’m walking 200km along the Camino de Santiago, from Léon to Sarría in Spain. This is the fourth leg of the Camino which I started in 2016 (if you’re interested, I wrote a Q&A post in response to some of the questions people had asked me along the way that year), I’m completing a leg each summer until 2020. This is Day 31 (other posts linked at the end of this post).
Camino Frances Day 31: Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo (approx 22 km)
A bit of a longer day today after the past couple of “well under 20km” days so I started the day nice and early. I knew the landscape would be changing a bit today – moving into “the sheltered microclimate” of the Bierzo and its vineyards. I was happy for a bit of relief from the scorchingly hot landscapes of the previous few days!
Leaving Ponferrada was lovely and calm first thing in the morning…
Although there were the usual Camino “always choose the high road” scenarios…
But for the most part, this was a fairly easy morning with some gentle hills but lots of calm, quiet roads to follow…
The weather today was super overcast and continued to threaten rain the entire day (fortunately it didn’t but it made for some stunning pictures!).
There were tempting signs along the way…
(I never did find this place 🙁 )
I stopped for coffee in Camponaraya and got a bonus juice and cake!
But didn’t stay long… The landscape this afternoon was very lush but there were a lot of hills too…
As well as the usual random pop up café!
This one was just outside Cacabelos and they were serving another woman the best looking burger I’ve ever seen. Sadly it wasn’t meal time for me so I just stopped for a brief rest and headed on…
Passed through Cacabelos…
This afternoon brought beautiful views…
But the terrain was HARD with a climb up to the town of Villafranca del Bierzo at the end of the day…
Finally made it!
And headed straight to the shower then here for a few hours…
Took a wander in the charming town post-siesta…
Gave another pharmacy all my money…
(more cream for my mosquito bites and meds for what I thought was a head cold – two weeks later in France was diagnosed by a doctor as an ear, nose and throat infection!).
And enjoyed a quiet meal on the main square…
Fabulous gazpacho, chicken with a lovely garlicky marinade and fresh melon. Washed down with some of the local wine, of course!
Verdict: Definitely not an easy day just because of the length after the relatively shorter days before this but absolutely GORGEOUS scenery that I wouldn’t have missed for the world. SO pretty and SO different from what I’d been walking in prior.
Stay tuned for the next leg which takes us to the tiny town of Las Herrerías where I’ll rest up for my climb to O’Cebreiro…
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Disclosure: I researched Camino trips independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price and customer service. They were, in fact the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trips, they have been a pleasure to deal with and we have been very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more and, in fact, am booking my last Camino walk with them for next summer (the summer I will finally reach Santiago!).
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Again, very nice post Mardi. Well done.
Thanks!