At Ponferrada, another lovely day

Today was easy for me, and a hard downhill walk for Amr. He left at 8am and set off for the hardest downhill bit to Molinaseca….some loose stones, and some sloping slate…so glad it wasn’t raining…after Molinaseca it is ok walking, but a not very interesting path along the road into Ponferrada. As I got my taxi at 9.30 (Luís from yesterday) I was amazed seeing from the road how steep and mountainous this section is. But I rode past in my taxi, and was dropped near the Plaza del Ayuntamiento where our hotel is. Much too early to check in, but was able to get a map and info on how to find a laundromat and the bus station. Also could leave my main backpack and just take my valuables in a small bag. Easy.

A lovely day, and much warmer now that we are down from the heights. Ponferrada is a comfortable city, and found the nearby laundromat and set off for the bus station, which turned out to be a 2 km walk along an Avenida in the modern part of the city. Good to know where to find it tomorrow when I get a bus to Villafranca del Bierzo. The bus station was undergoing renovations, as they all seem to be, and not organised from what I could see, and a long line waiting at a ticket machine, so decided to do it online…never quite sure if you can hop on and just pay cash. When I did do it on my ipad I had to charge the credit card €1.85!! A little cheaper than the €30 taxi rides…I guess it all balances out!!

So that was quite good walking, and when I got back Amr was soon going to arrive…sat on a bench in the square and waited…so good. Arrived at about 12.15 I think. He said it was as tough as I had remembered, and we sat at a bar and had beers and tostadas…and a nice chat with Kelly from Port Macquarie who we had shared a dinner table with last night, and I also saw Lucy from Wales (also at dinner) as she arrived into Ponferrada, but she is going to stay a little further on today. You keep seeing the same familiar people popping up from time to time.

By that time it was almost ok to check in and our room was ready, so unpacked and took all the dirty clothes to the laundromat! A clean start tomorrow! Had a wander, only in shirts - the first time not in layers and jackets…it will cool down overnight, but only to about 6 and soon warms up again, specially if you are walking…we are having dinner tonight at a rather nice looking restaurant attached to the hotel..La Violeta.Read more