Villafraca de Bierzo to La Laguna

September 26th
Started at Midnight
Stayed up all night
Arrived @ 2:00 pm

We awoke at just after midnight
Cassie noticed tiny crawling things in her sheets. We quickly demised we we’re dealing with the dreaded bed bug. Duhduhduuuuh. Our Camino was walking us once more! We would be up all night waiting for the staff to arrive in the morning. We pilled our bedding outside the room in the hall and sprayed the mattresses down. In the morning we began with the process of ridding ourselves of these pests by treating everything fabric that we carry. Obviously, you can’t be spreading them to the next lodging you plan to visit. Come to find out the occurrence of BBs is up 500% in Spain. Sometimes the right combination of variables come together for infestations and this is one of those years. At 7:00 am our hosts at the hotel got busy washing our loads of clothes and putting them through a hot dryer (heat is the only thing that kills them) and we sprayed BB spray on everything that couldn’t go through hot dryer like our backpacks, first aid, toiletries etc. it took us all morning. By the time we finished we had lost most of the day, so we decided to get a cab ahead to our night’s lodging in La Laguna. We arrived at the top of the mountain at the same time other pilgrims were arriving. Only they were pouring with sweat and we were the cleanest showered and washed set of pilgrims around!

The Alberque here is called La Escuela, named for a school built in 1937 converted to a hostel with bunk beds. It’s a very small farming village, but the Alberque has a bar and restaurant and it is quite busy being at a high point with beautiful mountain views. Milk cows are walked right past the front door on their way too and from the milking stations and paddocks. I saw one cow knock over an expensive road bike. Luckily she didn’t step on it!

Cassie’s post of today will have a few photos of the surrounding up here.

Tomorrow we’ll walk through these gorgeous mountains to our destination Triacastela. This may be the MOST beautiful of all scenery, second only to the walk over the Pyrenees on my first day. Cant wait to see it. We’ll do a 6:00 am wake-up and are ready for a speedy and stealth exit from the dorm room and out into the dark with some other pilgrims who plan to do the same. I am told it will be cloudy and not a great sunrise, but we’ll see.

Goodnight all!Leggi altro