Day 18, Foncebadon to Ponferrada, 28.2km

A big day, but, and this is a big but, we were up in the hills and had views and fresh mountain air. A contrast to previous days. A medium climb to start the day followed by a 1000m descent. The track was rough in some places. Tall Paul tried to compare it to NZ conditions but I thought otherwise. Passed through beautiful alpine villages on the way down. The Camino has become very popular over the last 20 years. Pilgrim numbers have increased dramatically and this has saved these villages. Many abandoned houses have been rebuilt, restaurants opened, accommodation hostels and general infrastructure added. A Roman occupation era bridge resorted. All this made today's walk an absolute pleasure. Our bodies have become hardened to the rigors of 28km days. 2 months ago we couldn't have imagined ourselves walking such distances day after day and yet we are doing it with relative ease.
Plenty of chatting today. Tall Paul is getting plenty of Dutch speaking practice. All sounds double Dutch to me. We are known on the trail as 'The two Pauls'. Yes, we have a reputation. As an example, 2 Canadian women were aware of our trail presence and were ecstatic to finally meet us. They took a photo of us but no consent was given for social media distribution as we have a reputation to protect.Read more