Camino de Santiago: El Bierzo

The Camino is well travelled. A fellow pilgrim is often in sight. Sometimes it’s nice to have companionship, time flies by with a good conversation, which happened on my days in El Bierzo region. Other times you need encouragement. Support. This was the case on my walk into Villafranca del Bierzo. The following thought came to mind (not for the first time): Thank goodness I am not doing the Camino alone.

Ponferrada to Villafranco del Bierzo – 24.2 km

Villafranco del Bierzo to Las Herrerías – 20.7 km

Looking behind as I was leaving Ponferrada I could see the mountains I climbed over. I entered the wine region El Bierzo. I passed a wine cooperative. Later a huge ancient wine press. Rolling hills with stubby vines were starting to sprout. As usual (yet completely unplanned) I met my friends from Northern Ireland at a café en route. A couple coffee breaks later at Cacabelos regrettably I had to say goodbye for the next week as our schedules would be out of sync. We had been walking a similar route since leaving Burgos.

The afternoon sun was intense. The path veered off the road into the vineyards. While consulting my map, I met a pilgrim from Germany doing the same thing. She was taller than me, strong, and had started in Molinaseca that morning (6 or 7 km before me). Her face was flushed like mine. We were both struggling in the full sun. After we had walked a while together I was desperate to do some foot care but did not want to hold her up. I told her she could keep walking. At this point we were only a couple kilometres to our destination. “We’ll get there together,” she said with conviction. She waited for me as I nursed my feet. She gave me Compeed for my blisters. We had met an hour earlier! I am happy to not be walking the Camino alone. It would be too hard. We practically laughed with relief when we finally stepped into Villafranca del Bierzo.

I felt much better after a late lunch with my friend from Japan under shady cover of abundant fuji at the Albergue Viña Femita. She offered up some of her fried chicken (yum). We marvelled at the view through the shower window, a monastery or church in the distance. I took a short walk later to the town’s main plaza though my achy feet and legs did not let me go searching for much else. A good quiet evening on the terrace of the Albergue, enjoying a fresh salad and happily writing my journal to catch up on the last couple days.

Although I arrived in Villafranca bedraggled, I left the next morning refreshed. Host Juan was amazing. “Es tu casa,” he said on arrival. It’s your house. On departure he surprised my Japanese friend and I by giving us matching scallop shell bracelets. We were touched.

It was an early start in crisp air under a pink sky. Path wove through the valley. Beautiful old forests. Cows out to pasture, bells tinkling.

Leaving Trabedelo I found my Templar Castle buddy napping on a quiet patch of grass. If he was disturbed I interrupted his rest he didn’t show it! We had a nice conversation as we walked and before I knew it I was in Las Herrerías. Plenty of time for a good menu del día and for my laundry to dry under the hot afternoon sun. Evening stroll to the sound of cows munching grass. One of the topics we talked about on our walk was journalling and I was eager to scribble down my thoughts for the day. I went to take my journal out of my pack and realized I had left it in Villafranca.