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Ponferrada

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    • Day 34

      Todays Trek to Acebo

      October 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Lots of climbing up & a long painful downhill trek today (we still have more downhill tomorrow). The Cruz Ferro (Iron Cross) was very memorable. Jim & I left stones that at the top of the cross symbolizing a burden we'd like to leave behind. Hopefully, I am not the "burden" as I was pretty vocal about my knees killing me by the time we got to Acebo!😅

      All along our walk today there were gorgeous vistas everywhere we looked.

      We are staying in a very old casa rural called La Rosa de Agua. This old place is owned by a guy in Texas! We were told we'd meet Mike from Texas tomorrow. The little village of Acebo is one of the prettiest of our trip! It's surrounded by mountains. Peaceful music was playing in the little restaurant & a warm fire was in the woodstove as we ordered lunch. It's kind of chilly here because we're high up & the weather is damp & cloudy.We got the most beautiful salad for lunch, (iceburg lettuce in salads is all they have served so far during our trip). This salad had spinach, frisee, strawberries, nuts, cheese, eggs, tuna, olives, apples... it was a work of art!
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    • Day 25

      Etappe 21 - Ponferrada 2

      October 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Von Molinaseca ging es per Beine weiter bis Ponferrada.
      Molinaseca ist ein wunderschöner kleiner Ort, welcher eigentlich zum längeren Verweilen einlädt.
      Ponferrada hat uns mit angenehmen 27 Grad empfangen, nachdem es in den Bergen ziemlich kühl war.
      Heute wieder einmal ein Einzelzimmer, damit ich Schlaf nachholen kann.
      Habe gerade entschieden, noch einen Tag in der Stadt zu bleiben, da ich sehr gut in der Zeit liege.
      Ponferrada ist die letzte größere Stadt vor Santiago de Compostela.
      Der morgige Tag steht mir für eine Sightseeingtour zur Verfügung.
      Jetzt sitze ich gerade bei einem Tinto de ferrano, einem gespritzten Rotwein.
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    • Day 48

      A truly beautiful day - at Acebo

      May 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      A really good day! Still cold, about 2° at 7am, but bright and great walking conditions. After breakfast Amr set off at about 8.15 and I waited in the hotel, taxi not due till 9.50, and it was a share taxi, with another couple who were to be driven to Ponferrada (where we will be going tomorrow)…these little hotels like to clear you out so that they can get the rooms ready for the next wave of walkers who will soon be arriving! So at about the appointed hour the taxi arrived, with an Irish/English elderly couple - very relaxed and friendly - and we chatted while the driver had a coffee and chatted with the hotel owner! Then we set off, and when he wanted to say something he would talk into his phone which came out with the English translation in a very proper voice…!

      The walk today is one of my favourite days - when you go over the highest point of the camino (even higher altitude than the Pyrenees) and with difficulty walk down the other side with paths of loose stones, but gorgeous views of Ponferrada and the whole valley below. And you pass the Iron Cross, a special marker, where people leave stones and take photos etc…well, Luís, the taxi driver, said we’d stop there for photos, as the road, which I’d never noticed before when walking, goes right alongside…so that was a thrill as we didn’t miss that high point, and the even more amazing thing was that when I stalked Amr he was almost there too, so we waited a few minutes, and there he was!! What a moment! Dot and Sean, the other couple, we’re almost as excited as I was…and Luís thought Amr wanted a lift too!!..we put him straight on that!…so off we went again, seeing all the views that you would see walking, and I have to say I don’t feel too deprived at all from not walking.

      We are now at this little village half way down the mountain side, and staying in a very sweet room and very content. This place has another newer, bigger and very posh property a few hundred metres down the road where we will have dinner, as here does not do evening meals. It will be a communal pilgrim meal, as besides being upmarket, it also has an upmarket albergue with dormitory rooms, and you book and pay for your dinner, select from the menu all in advance! Extremely organised…but it also has a pool, spa, masseuse etc! The people in both places were both so helpful and kind - I had arrived early, before booking in time of course, but they brought me some camomile tea and I had a relaxed wait, so they’re not just super-organised! I happened to chat to 2 different Aussie women in my 2 waiting places - one from Davidson, and one from Port Macquarie, and the taxi had little koala dingle-dangles that an Aussie had given him! He is going to take me from here to Ponferrada tomorrow morning.

      So Amr arrived about 1.20. Quite tired after the difficult downhill bit, even though the total distance is about 18 kms. This is siesta time and he is horizontal and watching Netflix I think! We had a little lunch together, and will have dinner at 7 on the dot…have ordered salad, fish and a lemon dessert for us both!

      Will put photos of the beautiful views, and one of me at the iron cross before I met Amr…we did a selfie there but it’s awful of both of us!!
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    • Day 18

      With Sadaf

      April 7, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      تو استراحت یک روزه‌ای که تو آستورگا داشتم، صدف بهم ملحق شد تا سه روزی رو باهم پیاده‌روی کنیم. بعد از دو هفته تنها راه رفتن داشتن یه همسفر حس تازه‌ای بود. دیروز که مسیر رو از آستورگا شروع کردیم هوا عالی بود ، آفتابی و گرم. حدود بیست کیلومتر راه رفتیم. بعد از چند کیلومتر اول کم کم محیط داشت عوض میشد. کم کم وارد کوه ها میشدیم.
      پیاده روی امروزمون ولی با یه هوای سرد و بادی شروع شد. باد سرد مخالف. فضا کاملا کوهستانی شده و خیلی با روزهای قبل فرق داره. با صدف فردا هم راه میریم تا به شهر پونفرادا برسیم و او ازونجا برمیگرده آلمان.
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    • Day 16

      Cruz de Farro

      August 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Today was a beautiful walk up into the mountains. I was tired and left a bit later than usual, around 8 instead of 7 or 730. Leaving later meant I was behind most of the other pilgrims and had the trail to myself for most of the day. It was nice to have time for solitude and reflection, especially since today was the day I reached the Cruz de Farro. It’s a part of the trail where pilgrims leave behind a rock that they carried from home as a symbol of something they’re leaving behind on the Camino. I was grateful to have time to myself to reflect on what the ritual meant to me.

      It feels good to be walking. My blisters have mostly healed and my knee isn’t as sore. I’m looking forward to more days of walking and appreciating the beauty of the trail.
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    • Day 32 - Rabanal to El Acebo - 18km

      September 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      Today was a very difficult day, both emotionally and physically. I was expecting the emotional as today was the day I passed the Cruz de Ferro, but wasn’t anticipating the physical.

      I decided to head off later this morning. It was only supposed to be around 16km and I had a reservation for a private room so I could take all the time I need. I left about 8am, the sun was still rising so I got to see the nice glow on the horizon.

      We climbed the highest peak of the camino today and then came down from it. I decided to book in a town on the mountain so I wouldn’t have to go all the way to the bottom today, the down was only about 3.5kms for this day.

      The first stop was Foncebadon which was about 5.5kms. It was a steady climb up and I was ready for some breakfast by then. After the break, the Cruz de Ferro was only 2.5kms away.

      I had it all planned, I would sit in the same spot that Joerg and I sat, I would hang for about an hour and get someone to take my picture there. When I arrived, the church where we sat was under renovations with scaffolding and a fence blocking the passage. I just leaned up against the fence and looked at the spot. That was the start of the emotions. I was disappointed, but then I started thinking about my rocks. I brought 2 rocks, one from Utah from when Jörg and I first met, and the other was from Jörg’s windsurfing beach at Gordon’s Beach in Shirley.

      I was holding onto the rocks and didn’t want to let go. I am not ready to let go. I felt like leaving the rocks was leaving Jörg behind instead of just sharing him. I know I have so many things of Jörgs, so logically, I am not leaving him behind, but it was how I was feeling. I finally went up to the iron cross and placed the rocks. As I was there, I could see that I could in fact go sit at the church as it wasn’t blocked from the Cruz de Ferro hill. So I went down and sat at the church in the exact same spot we sat. I thought, “Why not, if someone comes and tells me to move, then I will”. When sitting there, I was practically alone as everyone else was at a distance behind the fence, so it was a good time to just let go and have a good cry.

      It was time to continue. I started off again and the next stop was in about another 2.5km at Manjarin. It is a village at the top with officially only one resident. There was a food truck there, so I stopped and had a pop and chocolate cake. It came just in time because the blisters on my toes were starting to hurt.

      I took off the boots and socks while resting. It was noon and I was ready to go on, just 6.5km left, about 3km still up and the rest down. This is where it started to get difficult. Today was a real hiking day (not just walking). Mostly scrambling over rocks. This is usually the stuff I love, and was enjoying it for awhile, but my two toes really started to ache. They ached so much that I was limping. I stopped at the top of the mountain, took off the boots for a rest. The funny thing about my blisters, is that they don’t really hurt to touch when I take my boots off. I keep feeling them and they are ok, but after about 2kms, they were aching so much. There were a couple opportunities to take the road, instead of the path, so I did that to give my feet a break.

      The way down was obviously more painful as the toes would hit the boot a bit. When I was about 1.5km away, I was in so much pain that I just had to sit down on the trail and take off the boot. I have been wearing 2 socks. Injinji liner and a thin hiking sock. On top of that, I had wrapped the toes this morning with “sleeves” and bandages. I really think that the pain comes from the heat, not the touch. Whenever I let them breathe and cool down, they don’t hurt anymore. I decided to keep the injinji sock off this time, and the last 1.5km was back to normal with only minimal pain. I really have to figure out a way to keep the feet cool. I have one more mountain after this (O Cebreiro), then I would feel comfortable trying different shoes, instead of the boots. I really wonder if I should just cut open some holes in the boots and see if that helps. I will think on that.

      I am now relaxing at the bar. I had my shower, but no energy left to wash clothes. I have a wonderful small private room. Dinner is at 7pm, after that, I am off to bed. I need to make some decisions for tomorrow as I still have about 6kms of downhill. I will google some solutions to my blisters/toes/shoes problem.

      TTYL

      Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

      Well, we did it. It was hard today but we arrived. The uphill was easy. We made it to the top and Cruz de Ferro in under 2 hours (it was 8km).

      We spent about an hour there, both sitting quietly with our rocks. Joerg then went with the camera to place his rock and then I did. Afterwards we sat together quietly just watching the people.

      It was a big moment. I had a few tears in my eyes. I thought about how far we have come (almost 600km). I thought about all my loved ones back home and I couldn’t help but think how blessed I am. I am so blessed to have Joerg in my life. He is such a wonderful man. I couldn’t help but think I don’t deserve him. I try not to think negative, but I can’t help it sometimes. Funny thing is that I know he sometimes feels the same and that could be further from the truth. In reality, I think we are perfect for each other. I sometimes think that all my life was to lead me to him. When we are in the cities, he would sometimes tell me when to cross the road and I would tease him that I managed to cross the road all my life. He would laugh and say “I don’t want to lose you”. That is how I feel. I don’t want to lose him. I want to spend my life with him. When we were in Astorga sitting with the group of people, the lady from Denmark asked me if after the camino I was going to move to Germany. I hesitated and then the subject changed so I didn’t have to answer. Later in the grocery store I was thinking about it and smiling. Joerg asked me about it and I said I was remembering the question and that of course the answer is “yes”. He then said “Canada is better.”
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    • The DESCENTS — Are You Kidding Me?

      September 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      After visiting Cruz de Ferro, we knew we would have two major descents. Most people going on the Camino are very aware of the Pyrenees' descent from Orrison to Roncesvalles. It is a very steep descent. But few talk about the descent from Foncebadón to Molinaseca. It is a little over 8Km to climb up to Cruz de Ferro. This is also the highest elevation on the Camino! From there we had 22 km downhill. But each descent took between 2.5 - 3 hours each. After the first descent which was crazy, dangerous, and exhausting, we stopped, rested, and had lunch. Then the second half of the downhill was treacherous. Boulders to climb over, shale rock to navigate, harsh passages with very little pathway. I heard the day we descended several people fell. While I have thought about it many times on my Camino, it is the first time I screamed as loud as I could, “I can’t do this!!”
      But I did do it!
      I was too concerned about my safety to snap a few pictures of the wicked terrain. By the end of the day, we hiked over 30 km, I was physically and mentally exhausted.
      But I made it!
      ✝️💜
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    • Day 22

      El Acebo

      August 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      The very steep downhill caused another blister (damn) so i stopped after 25 km in El Acebo where I got a nice and cheap private room! As a nice surprise I can use a pool, as well! So I rest! Tomorrow I will start with 2-3 downhill again but for today: Es könnte mir schlechter gehen!Read more

    • Day 21

      Day 17 - We climbed down to Molinaseca

      October 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

      With a short hike in front of us today, we slept in a bit (8am), and got out the door by 9:30. The mountains and beautiful view that was covered with clouds and rain yesterday, greeted us as we began our day.

      What started out as an easy hike with gorgeous views, turned into a fairly treacherous decline over several miles. We picked our steps very carefully relying on our poles for additional support.

      Special note: Julie made Joan watch a YouTube video on how to operate her trekking poles and Eileen and Colleen really stepped up today.

      We made incredible time with no rain and cool weather. We ran into our Camino friend Patricia, and decided to slow down and really help her make it down the mountain as she was very nervous and all by herself.

      Together we walked into Molinaseca and actually made it in time for lunch before Siesta (we only found one restaurant/bar open on Monday). Another friend from Alaska, Crystal joined us and we had our first Sangria.

      Joan and l got a siesta in, and as a pilgrims job is never done, we have some shopping to do and to explore the town, and find dinner before we do it all again tomorrow.

      We appreciate everyone’s responses. We read all of them- and they will also be included in our book when this is completed. So thank you for all of the support, prayers and encouragement.

      We still like each other and are having an absolutely fantastic time.

      Buen Camino!
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    • Day 30

      Day 27

      September 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      Left Santa Catalina de Somoza in the dark at 6.15 am arrived at Ascebo at 4.30pm.
      What a day! After having a few easier days, today was very long and difficult. The first 10 ks was a bit of a rocky climb but not too bad. It really was a relief to come off the Tiger Teeth hillsides. This is what the terrain is called.
      27ks
      The villages we went through today were deserted except if there was an Albergue.
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    Ponferrada

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