Cruz de Ferro to Riego de Ambros

There was a pleasant little coffee bar and terrace a couple of km beyond the Cruz de Ferro, where I stopped for a second breakfast. Around the next bend in the road was a ramshacle former albergue until recently run by a Camino character called Tomas, who calls himself the last Knight Templar and who was seeking to reinvigorate the long abandoned mountain village of Manjarin.

Thereafter the path started to descend before rising again for some distance. Eventually, the view down from the mountains appeared, with Ponferrada visible in the middle distance, and the path finally started to descend.

I’d been warned previously that this descent was one of the worst sections of the Camino Frances. It was certainly difficult, sometimes with lose stones across almost the entire width of the path, and at other times the path had been turned (presumably by rain runoff) into a v-shaped gully. It was also pretty steep in places.

After what seemed like an age, the village of El Acebo came into view and it was tempting to stop there. It was only about 1.30pm and the municipal albergue didn’t open for another hour. Although I was confident of getting a bed there, I resolved to continue to the next village, about 4km on the still descending path.

I knew there was only one albergue at Riegos de Ambos but, as soon as I arrived, the hospitalero confirmed he had space for me. As I was checking in, my German friend from earlier in the week appeared at the top of the stairs.

By the end of the afternoon, another German lady had arrived, plus 3 American ladies I’d seen several times over the last few days, a Korean lady, three French people - a man and 2 ladies - who I’d met at last night’s compline, another French lady I’d met at Carrion de los Condes and a Malaysian lady.

After a restful afternoon with thunder rolling around the mountains and rain clouds getting ever closer, our host (who was also French, with a Spanish mother) made us a lovely home cooked meal of chorizo and rice and salad, followed by a chocolate dessert. Only about half of tonight’s residents choose to have the communal meal, and the others ate in the villlage’s sole restaurant.

Part way through the meal, the rain started to rattle on the window.Baca lagi