Villafranca Montes de Oca (11.9km/245km)

“A Smelling the Roses day”
Having a private room, we were able to wake up at a leisurely time, knowing we only had a short walk today. We had breakfast in the town we were at before setting off at a gentle pace and throughout the day we did everything at half pace. We normally manage to pop into a church either before leaving or shortly thereafter to offer a prayer. More beautiful farmlands with the main road a little further away than yesterday so it did not interfere with our tranquil setting. We passed by Ermita de la Penna, which is a hermitage built into the cliffs. More little villages to pass through today. We had a cup of coffee at Villambistia with a beautiful setting overlooking the farmlands. We approached our village, passing another hermitage, to Villafranca Montes de Oca and booked ourselves into the beautiful Albergue de peregrinos San Antonio. It sits at the foot of a pass, with a climb beckoning us for the start of our walk tomorrow. We had a very lazy afternoon, planning for our coming days and chatting to other pilgrims before setting off to dinner for the pilgrim menu of the day at our Albergue which we shared with the Canadian Grandfather and Grandson who we first met in Pamplona, which feels like a lifetime ago.Read more