Backpacking Bill

The first part of our day we will continue down a steep rock strewn section of the Camino. Looking at the profile of our path, it looks like this will be the situation for the first five miles.

One challenging thing is that we are having a piece of luggage transferred from lodging to lodging. This in itself is fine. However, the luggage needs to be at the pick up point in our lodging at 8:00 am. That is OK for the mornings that we want an early start. But, this morning we don’t want to start before sunrise; we want to see the rocks on the trail. Sunrise being at 8:30 means we could have gotten extra sleep this morning had it not been for the luggage.

Well, this was quite a day. We were aware that the path into Ponferrada was downhill and steep to the village of Molinaseca. Then the profile showed flat to Ponferrada. It started steep but not as treacherous as the day before. Then it got treacherous, full of jagged rocks. But, we made it to Molinaseca. Had a small meal then headed out on what was supposed to be an easy five miles to Ponferrada. It was up a steep roadway for miles. We reached a fork in the Camino – either along a busy highway or follow the Camino directions along a rural path. I chose wrong; I chose to follow the Camino signs. Up and down on a path that took us around the other side of Ponferrada. But, we made it.

About 2 km after Foncebedón is the apex of a mountain. This is the location of a nondescript iron cross. the Cruz de Fierro. This is where Pilgrims have traditionally left a stone that represents a trouble or something meaningful in your life; Symbolic of leaving worry at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ.

As I think about leaving my stone our great gift of foresight is brought to mind. As humans we can look back on things in the past with delight or regret. Likewise we can look forward with anticipation or dread. Perhaps this foresight and hindsight is just vanity because there is nothing we can do to change the past or the future. Don’t some of our grand plans that promise joy leave us nothing but grief and pain. I am going to leave my fears and regrets with my stone (at least for now).l

The Cruz Fierro is one of the highlights of the Camino. Although just a rustic cross, as I mentioned, it is the place where Pilgrims traditionally leave a stone. Anticipating this Tina and I brought stones from home. Each stone was a very personal thing for each of us. Hopefully the blessings we said will reach all our families and friends.

Heading uphill with these stones on the path are hard enough but they are also on the downhill. And, the downhill is very steep and treacherous.

Acebo is a sleepy mountain village. Our lodging is good but, there is only one place to get an evening meal. It turned out to be a decent Pilgrim meal (the usual choices of pork or chicken both with french fries – don’t these people know about vegetables?) we had a great conversation with some of our fellow pilgrims: a Basque couple, a gal from Slovakia and a German guy.

Tomorrow we have another long steep downhill. We are told that the path is covered with stones like the last several miles.

Tina’s Thoughts

The Cruz de Fierro was a spot that we had anticipated long before we arrived in Spain.  As Bill mentioned we brought stones with us to leave at the foot of this cross. I found the act of leaving the stones beautiful and emotional.  I left 2 stones.…one in thanksgiving for the family legacy that came before me and one for the family and friends who are still  here; that we may know what Christ’s sacrifice means for us.

This is going to be a tough day. A long uphill slog. And, there are few villages along the way.

Ten miles, all uphill. The terrain didn’t ease when we got to Foncebedón; our lodging was uphill.

Foncebedón is a sleepy town that seems to be dedicated to Pilgrims. Internet is sketchy at our lodging so I probably can’t upload this post until tomorrow.

We had a good conversation with a gal from New Zealand at our lodging. Then we had dinner at a pizza place that’s probably the best place to eat in town. We had a conversation with a gal from Korea who is a Methodist pastor starting a new pastorship in November. It happens that the Camino is a big thing in Korea and now is her opportunity to fulfill her lifelong ambition to do the Camino.

Tina

It was a tough but good day; grateful to still be walking and getting stronger,

Buen Camino!

We are planning a late start today as we have a relatively short walk. We scheduled short days here due to the anticipated steep climbs. Expecting a chilly morning with temps climbing to the mid 60’s by afternoon.

Went to a small cafe for lunch. It is run by a German guy and his wife. He started singing the Monty Python “Lumberjack” song in the kitchen. I joined him. He came out of the kitchen and we sang what we could remember of it together. A Canadian guy came charging in and asked,  “Who’s singing the Canadian National Anthem?” If you don’t know it, you will need to look it up on YouTube because I don’t know how to add a Link. Probably in bad taste to include it on this family oriented blog.

The owners wife made the tumeric tea and gave Tina the recipe. This is the most healthy thing we have had on the Camino. It will certainly wake you up.

We are staying at a really nice place tonight. And, the view from the common area is spectacular.

Tina’s Thoughts

We are now 4 weeks in and 2 weeks of walking left. There are many days when I wake up and think “I just want to be in my own bed and I DON’T want to walk today.”. However that’s not an option.  We’ve come this far and there’s no going back.  So our routine of getting ready for a day’s walk, continues.  We take it one day at a time and generally by the time we take our first steps, I feel energized and ready to go.  Along the way there are ALWAYS Camino fun surprises awaiting; a beautiful sunrise, an enlightening conversation, an interesting village or enterprise that pops up out of nowhere or a singer like the one below who was using his gifts to welcome us into Astorga.

The Camino has been an amazing adventure; a metaphor for life.

2 more weeks.  Buen Camino!

Reading ahead a bit, I learned that Astorga is the Chocolate capital of Spain. They were making chocolate here before Switzerland and Belgium got into it.

It will be chilly this morning but there is no rain in the forecast. In the distance I saw mountains. We will be entering more hilly terrain; the end of the Meseta.

The guy behind the bar is the fellow who makes the wine. He has a vineyard in the hills on the Camino behind the town. He uses Gewurztraminer grapes. He also grows his crop organic.

I understand that a major earthquake in Lisbon led to a lot of damage to the Cathedral here in Astorga. That is why there are many miscolored stones that were used in the rebuild.

This is scheduled to be a relatively short walk today, 6.1 miles. It looks like we need to vacate our lodging in San Martin del Camino by 8:00 am. Perhaps we can stretch that by staying for an extra cup of coffee.

I believe we have gone from the area of Pintxos to the area of Tapas. Each area doesn’t conscious calling the snack served at a bar by the competing name.

The mornings seem to be darker later. It’s 8:00 am and it seems pitch black outside.

Hospital de Ôrbigo is the town before the one where we stayed. They have this great bridge and, as we later found out, a field where they still have jousting matches. I didn’t get a photo but it is the green patch to the left of the bridge.

Villages de Ôrbigo is a small remote village. There was only one choice for dinner. There was only one other pilgrim couple eating so we sat with them. They were a lovely Brazilian couple now living in Portugal. They had spent a long time working in the US so they had good English. They were able to give us some pointers for our time in Portugal.

The forecast says that we are going to have rain today. That will not be fun.

We started the day by going to the Cathedral for the morning service. It took place in the chapel. A fellow pilgrim, Francesca, came to the same service. Francesca and Tina walked the final several miles together into León. Francesca is an attorney living in Madrid but originally from Chile.

The route leaving León is the least picturesque portion of the Camino to date; Just the decaying part of the beautiful city of León and busy highway.  It was a 16 mile day so we  took a city bus to the outskirts of the city then resumed our walk. 

There was not much to photograph on this section of the Camino. All the pilgrims we spoke with agree that this was the least scenic day.

When we got to our lodging, we met two of the guys from Tampa that we met on the first day. We had a great lunch together. Tina and I shared a pulled pork Sandwich on a black bun. I read that the black comes from squid ink mixed into the batter. I have never heard of that before. I don’t think I will try it at home, it would freak people out.

A group of us who had met previously on the Camino got together for dinner. A gal from Philadelphia, me, Tina, a guy from Germany and a gal from The Netherlands

Tina’s Thoughts

We have had many long mile days on this first portion of the Camino.  On one recent day we covered 25 miles…I knew I could not walk that far and when I scheduled it, I was hopeful we could find a ride for a portion of it and we did!  Thankfully there are host families, taxis and buses that will help out in situations like this. These next couple of weeks ahead are much more manageable (many days under 10 miles) in terms of distances traveled.   We look forward to a bit slower pace! 

As one can imagine walking across a country is quite different than driving through and stopping at the most beautiful and touristy spots.  On this walk we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.  It all has beauty in one way or another but the middle part of the Camino walk so far has taken us through many small and dying Spanish villages with populations having dropped from thousands to hundreds. There are many run down and decaying buildings and in some cases we do not see anyone in these towns.  For many, the seasonal Camino Pilgrims are their only source of income. It has given us a glimpse of a  part of Spain we wouldn’t otherwise have known about.

Buen Camino!

It’s 11.5 miles to Leon. A lot of flat terrain but there are threatening clouds.

We found out from another Pilgrim that we are known as the Pilgrims that hold hands. That, I believe, is not a bad reputation.

Some of Graham’s friends traveled to León to walk with him for a couple of days. They are to meet him at the bridge

Met Michael from the UK again. We had lunch with him and another Pilgrim, Nilah,  from Seattle

We started the day in Sahagún with a visit to the Convent of the Virgin Pilgrim to get a half Camino Compostela. Although the website says that they open at 9:30, they don’t open until 10:00. Well, we were questioning the value of a half Compostela anyway.

The service was a Catholic Mass all in Spanish and Latin

Sahagún is the official halfway point. However, we actually passed halfway mileage wise somewhere before that. This is going to be a relatively short day of 9.5 miles.

There is a change in the character of the Camino, there are more trees and vegetation along the trail. The change makes it more interesting.

These small cellars cut into the side of a hill began to appear. Evidently this was at one time a place that had a lot of vineyards. I noticed very few now.

Irene is from Argentina. She came into the restaurant shortly after we sat. People on the Camino seem to have very interesting histories. Irene has a daughter in Italy who she is going to visit after she completes the Francés.

We also said goodbye to a delightful couple from Ireland that we had met. Their group came into the restaurant as we were finishing our dinner. The guy is from the Canary Islands. After dinner the Irish group was going to the local Irish Pub (named the ” Temple” after the bar in Dublin). We were not about to join them as we are going right to bed. The Irish group was going to leave the Camino in León.

Evidently one can get a half Camino Compostela in Sahagún. May stop at the Convent in the morning to see if we can get one.

Tina still communicates with a number of pilgrims that have proceeded ahead of us.

Tina’s Thoughts

Walking everyday 10 miles or more is hard (for me at least).  Getting a good night’s sleep helps so much.  The night in Lédigos we did not.  Walking into Sahagún was tougher for that reason.

There is much goodwill between and amongst pilgrims.  It is heartening to see how strangers from all over the world have bonded on this walk. 

I have enjoyed the fact that there is almost no political talk on our journey.  Having said that it seems almost everyone we have met says the same thing; There is much dissention in their countries and  the cost of living since COVID has made it very tough for young people to get out on their own.  This includes people from Amsterdam, the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Argentina and Australia.