Spain
Pola de Lena

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    • Bendeunos To Pola de Lena

      October 3, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      It was a great little albergue last night in the mountains, and I had a good breakfast of cereal and coffee that was put there by Sara the great hospitalerio.

      It was an extra 1.5 kilometres to get back to the trail signs from the albergue. Our trail friend Nicholas is pushing on an e tea amount today, since he is anxious to continue onto the Primitivo way. Nicholas has been a great fellow perigrino. Buen Camino Nicholas!

      Juan and I have taken a shorter day stopping in Pola de Lena. A nice town with all the services. Juan found a great menu del did place. It started with oxtail lentil soup that was to die for, followed by pork cutlets, and for poster a fantastic cheese cake! Of course a bottle of wine with it all for less than a Big Mac and fries at home.

      It is a lovely municipal albergue here. Juan found a game of chess here and has challenged me tonight!

      After we went out for cider which is famous here. The have a particular way of pouring it. (See video)

      Anyway getting closer to Oviedo.
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    • Day 3

      Poldura to Llanos de Someron 20kms

      May 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      I had a pleasant meal in a nearby Casa rural with four other peregrinos.
      I returned to the adjoining Albergue to find some lunatic in combats checking in. It was a little surreal but the night was uneventful. This morning, he got up, grunted and left without saying a word.
      I set off on the Camino just before dawn at 6.45am and as I left the village had a steep climb for the next hour or more to the famous Collado del Canto de la Tisa cross at almost 1600m. The view was amazing as the mountains were bathe in the morning sun.
      I crossed over the pass towards a small village. There were still patches of snow on the trail. Little did I know that most of the day would be spent descending to the valley floor.
      I joined a fellow peregrino Jacque and we walked together to the Puerto de Pajares 1378m. This pass separates the provinces of Leon and Asturias.
      Jacque and I walked short parts of the descents together until his knees caused him pain and he slowed down. I eventually got to the base of the valley and stopped under a tree in a small valley for a pilgrim lunch - bread, cheese and chorizo. Jacques joined me and we continued on our way until we reached a small hamlet called Santa Marie. We came across a small gathering outside a building that we quickly realised was a bar so we joined in on wetting a baby’s head ceremony. The last few kilometres took us along a dirt track to our Albergue for tonight.
      The Albergue is very modern and an oasis in these mountains for pilgrims.
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    • Day 7

      Pola de Lena

      June 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

      What a difference a day makes in the type of albergues. I am on the first floor of a municipal office block that has an area set aside as a municipal albergue and the building receptionist is the hospitalera. All very clean and souless but only one other pilgrim has booked for tonight. The rain started just as I entered the town but those who walked further will be soaked. Waiting for a break in the weather to go and get a lunch. The receptionist has recommended a restaurant called El miño and indicated its potential qualities by rubbing here belly and saying very cheap (mas barato). I shall take her advice.Read more

    • Day 7

      El Miño, Pola

      June 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      This is one reason I love Spain. The menu de dia in El Mino is €10. It is known as a rough sidraria (Astorian cider house ) but look at my lunch. The waiter is huge like Bifo the bear has a deep booming voice and slams everything; plates, drawers, bottles and glasses. When he delivers anything with a crash you just smile at him and he is more than compliant even helpful. He even interpreted the choice of sweets.
      Bread (large hunks, unlimited), bean and rice stew with lumps of pork, sausage and black pudding. A huge taurine and you eat as much as you want/ can. It is enough for a family. Small pieces of veal in batter with chips, a slice of local cheese cake with strawberry sauce, a whole bottle of wine, a bottle of sparkling water and a coffee. All for less than £10?
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    • Day 6

      To Pola de Lena

      September 11, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      I am now lighting candles for eight people. I am not religious, but there is something very centering about lighting candles and then sitting there quietly thinking and sending good thoughts. Yesterday I was in a (much reformed) Romanesque church. Wide open (unusual) and with real candles instead of electric lights (very unusual). I felt very connected, and I remembered that when my mom was dying, three of my camino amigas who were walking all lit candles for her along the way. It meant so much to me.

      Today’s 27 km were much harder than I expected. My pal Ender had given me some new tracks for this stage, a few changes here and there, and he asked that I try them out. Well where I thought the changes were, the route seemed familiar, and then on a long downhill road walk that I remembered well, I saw his tracks take me off the road. After making such a big point of never turning down the opportunity to go off road, I was sort of already committed. Well, it turns out that Ender sent me the wrong tracks. The 5 or 6 km that deviated from the road were very pretty, but there were sections that required every ounce of concentration and care to make sure I got one foot in front of the other. Horrible ascents, and the descents were just as bad. Ender didn’t mean to give me those tracks, because it’s a path he hasn’t yet navigated himself. I can’t imagine making this the official camino route without a lot of work on the surface.

      The extra hours spent on those Kilometers meant that I arrived after closing of the beautiful ninth century Santa Cristina church. I could have waited for 2 1/2 hours for it to open up again, but I was still 5 km from my destination, and I decided the best idea was to walk on.

      I am in a very nice family run pension, the Payareta. Private room, bath, and breakfast just 20 €. Once again, after a shower, I feel totally refreshed and ready to walk around town .
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    • Day 6

      Taxi trick

      September 11, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Once I was showered and had my clothes hanging to dry, I decided I had plenty of time to hop into a cab and go back to visit the inside of the church. Though it was hard to find a free taxi on a Saturday afternoon in a small town, after several phone calls and the help of a hotel clerk (not my hotel) a driver appeared.

      It was just as beautiful as I remembered, and the señora with the keys was the same as the last two times I’ve stopped to visit (One other time it was closed for reforms). The Señora always used to just leave her phone number on the door, and you could call her whenever you got there. If it was convenient for her (she lives about 200 m away) she would come open it. I don’t know if this is a Covid change or what, but the church is now on a regular schedule.

      Anything that is still standing from the ninth century Is bound to be impressive, and this little tiny church meets that standard. It used to be adjacent to a monastery and a palace for the Asturian king, but both of those buildings disappeared. Apparently all of the stones can be found in the walls of many houses throughout the area. Thankfully they left the church in tact.

      I’m not very good with the architectural terms, so the pictures will have to suffice. Awesome .
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Pola de Lena, Llena, ESPLA

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