Day 33 Las Herrerias (written)

As we continued our Camino journey through the farming communities of the El Bierzo valleys we were given the choice of taking a high-level route or a low-level one, determining that the view would likely be better from the higher level, so we spent much of our morning in the clouds. Once again, we were treated to stunning views. The valleys are steep, narrow and where they are not wooded with pine and chestnut trees, there is rich farmland. In the mornings we often hear cocks crowing, chickens clucking and cow bells ringing.
We left Villafranca, a lovely town of 3500 residents, this morning shortly after 8:00. I should explain the yesterday’s photo of Cathy and the two ladies because some of you may have interpreted it as Cathy with two pilgrims. Actually, they were two Villafranca residents who went out of their way to help us find our hotel. Shortly after I asked the younger girl for help finding our hotel, her aunt, after recognizing that Cathy was Canadian, excitedly hugged Cathy while explaining, in Spanish, how much she liked Canada. Her niece, speaking to me in French was able to communicate where our hotel was and the reason for her aunt‘s excitement. That incident reflects much of the hospitality we’ve received here from both Spanish people and fellow pilgrims.
Shortly after we arrived in Las Herrerias this afternoon it poured raining with thunder; we’ve been fortunate with weather so far. Our walk this morning as we climbed from Villafranca was incredibly steep, over 500 additional meters in elevation, then a 400 m descent before climbing again. At one point we did take an unplanned, alternate route to a cafe in a small village, but we were treated to a charming auberge run by a lovely couple who made us feel like family while being entertained with a litter of kittens.
We arrived at today’s hotel by 4:00 pm. It’s a large house with eight rooms, each with separate bathrooms and a shared lounge for guests. There’s a blacksmith room from original building with anvil, forge and bellows reminding me of grandpa. It is now 7:00 pm , waiting for the rain to ease before we set out finding a place to eat. Czytaj więcej