Day 19: Ponferrada to Villafranca 26.5km

PW: Left Ponferrada at 7:30am and walked past 12 century Knights Templar castle. Then a gentle amble through Spanish suburbia and into countryside. Passed alot of small grape holdings that looked for personal wine making. We meet a couple from the English Midlands, but found we had to seperate early due to our spirits becoming depleted as they grumbled and grumbled about living in modern day Britain…!

Next half of the walk was through rolling country, mainly in grape, and passed through small, neatly stoned villages with the well appointed and dominant Church in the centre. Through this stage we paired off with two Canadian women from Toronto, Patricia and Janice, who’d started their Camino in Leon, four days earlier. They heard about us on the trail and were keen to catch up. Spent the rest of the afternoon walking with Patricia, an architect, talking all manner of North American politics, ice hockey, state of healthcare in each others country and, of course, building and architectural design. I thought Tim Devine would like meeting this woman.

We are now resting in a delightful mountainous village called Villafranca del Bierzo. We’ve reached the less than 200 km mark till we get to Santiago. It’s the middle of the afternoon, about 3:30pm, and raining steadily outside. This is really the first rain we’ve had on tour. We’re all resting in an 8-bed open plan loft. Staying tonight are the Dutch crew, Jolander, Jean-Pierre and Agnes from Eindhoven, Bea, our Camino angel and two other strays. The Dutch are talking among themselves, which I enjoy, as it reminds me of Mum and Dad talking to each other at home. Quite comforting. I’m trying to decipher what they’re talking about.

I expect we’ll all head down to the local restaurant for a shared meal at 7pm. Until that time, it’s rest and recovery and remaining respectful of each other’s space in our loft.

Such is life on the Camino.Read more