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Villafranca del Bierzo

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    • The World is Out ThereCamino De Santiago
      Day 12

      Cacabelos

      May 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

      The church was locked and I tried to figure out how to go in. The town created a municipal albergue ringing the church, but it has not opened since Covid, so maybe that was it. I wanted in to see their statue of St. Anthony of Padua playing cards with baby Jesus. Oh well, next time…Read more

    • TravelerCamino Santiago de Compostella
      Day 28

      Villafranca del Bierzo

      June 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

      Villafranca del Bierzo is a village and municipality located in the comarca of El Bierzo, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain.

      Totally cool history please check

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villafranca_del…

      The Peninsular War (1807–1814) of course was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

      Which is where one of my fave song quotes comes from
      Oer the hills and oer the plains
      Through Flanders Portugal and Spain
      King George commands and we obey
      Oer the hills and far away...

      And of course there is Bernard Caldwell's Sharpe Rifles series and PBS TV ones with young Sean Bean...

      Be it that this is the end of my stage and I was waaaay too early fir my albergue check in, we took another break before I walked Leif to the other side of Plaza Major and wished him a fond Buen Camino.... he's moving on for another 10km

      And not counting fideua in Burgos this is my 1st true pasta dish so far (carbonara)

      Later in the evening the pilgrims and locals gather on Plaza Mayor for dinner and

       Iglesia de San Francisco I probably would have climbed up but it's too late in the day and still too hot for me to do that so that's the only picture we get      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Santiago de Compostella
      Day 28

      Albergue

      June 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F

      Very nice place....
      I grabbed a corner niche Lower bunk....almost like a private room
      And right across from the window
      So hopefully I will get some fresh breeze tonight and a good sleep

      Oh and that's Suri the boss

      It is 98 here now...😮🥵🌡🔥      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Santiago de Compostella
      2
      Day 28

      Dinner at El Casino bar

      June 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 93 °F

      Requestor de Gulas
      Merlusa
      YougurtCrema y fruita

      Adrian just started from Ponferrada
      He was born in Barcelona and now lives in Germany. We've been in the same albergues for 2 days.

      Steffi is another blast from the past.... I have not seen her since Pamplona...

      With Sanchez also staying in the same Albergue this has been somewhat a reconnecting day      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerCamino Santiago de Compostella
      Day 28

      And there was evening,.....

      June 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

      So, as stated short leg of only 14km or so....the morning was more than fine and if not for already made reservation I definitely could have done another 5, possibly even a little more... oh well...
      I am Thankful for what I accomplished.

      Another 16km is planned for tomorrow, partially breaking the big climb to O Cebreiro into 2 stages. Looks like I will be more or less in the middle...and might even escape incoming rain

      BTW 89 Now and 97 expected tomorrow ....

      en general creo que prefiero estar en barcelona      Read more

    • TravelerWalking the Camino
      Day 24

      Villafranca

      July 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 90 °F

      Today, after a beautiful, 24k trek through the Cantabrian Mountains, we arrived in Villafranca. This amazing medieval city greeted us with ancient buildings, a cool breeze and an welcoming albergue, where we will spend the night, (see photo below).
      A few words about albergues...
      An albergue is a hostel for pilgrims, or people walking the Camino. It costs from donation- 14 euros for a bed for the night. Albergue Piedra, where we are staying tonight, is one of the nicest so far....(with single beds, without bunks!), but they vary greatly. Here are some examples:
      1. Bathrooms do have showers, but toilet seats, hand soap, paper towels are optional.
      2. Most have bunk beds with a vinyl mattress cover, a sheet optional. This means that you are guaranteed to sweat through your bedding and clothes at night, as air-conditioning or even fans are non existent.
      3. Some have windows, that may or may not open....again, the sweat thing....🥵
      4. We have had between 4 and 50 sleeping in mixed gender dorms each night. Ear plugs help drown out the snoring.
      5. Most have wifi. If not, a bar down the street usually does.
      6. Some have kitchens where we can prepare instant coffee and musceli before we start out at about 5:30am.
      7. All offer scrub sinks and a clothes line or rack, so you can wash your clothes, after showering.
      8. Some offer a communal dinner, where we eat with people from around the world. Last night, French, German, Italian, Spanish and English languages were all represented at our table, with lots of smiling, laughing and varying degrees of understanding. For 10 euros we got a three course meal with wine and bread- delicious!
      All Albergues, although different and unique in their own ways, are always a welcomed site after a long day of trekking!
      Photos: sand pictures with flowers in preparation for St James celebration; lots of medieval churches/buildings; coffee along the way; Paraguay represented at our albergue; Zamora Street sign; ancient insulation; Albergue Piedra- so comfy!
      Love to you all!❤️      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Francés 2022
      Day 26

      Route choices

      August 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      In the morning, I started walking when I was ready, Thérèse from France was ready too, and we started together. Jan and Klaus were still packing.
      Thérèse went up the first hill quicker than me, and at the top we were offered to stop for a free coffee. We had just have breakfast, I don't drink coffee, and I was ready to walk. But Thérèse stayed. I thought she'd catch up with me a bit later, but never did.
      Jan and Klaus caught up when we were entering Villafranca del Bierzo. We walked together very little, until we got to the fork:
      The standard route went along the road and river, and was flat and shorter than the alternative.
      The alternative went over a mountain, and rejoined the main route at Trabadelos.
      The boys were doing the easy route, and I was doing the mountain. They were going all the way to Ruitelán today (25k via the short route). Since I was going the longer and harder way, I was planning to stop earlier.      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Frances
      1
      Day 24

      Early morning wake up

      August 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Due to the expected hot weather I started at 5.30 am - 2 h through the mountains in the dark- you hear every little sound in the bushes, I can tell you! 15 more km up and down and then the „Camino duro“ starts- the hart way! 10 km of only uphill climbing! O Cebrero is waitingRead more

    • TravelerCal’s Camino Adventures
      Day 29

      Day 29

      September 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

      Couldn’t go wrong starting off today as it went right passed my door, so i decided to save that part for later 🙄
      Again, it was a chilly start and I set off with my warm coat on.. obviously that didn’t last long as it was a steep start.. it was actually quite a long unexpected uphill with amazing views back down on the Town and surrounding hills.
      About an hour or two in I started to realise I hadn’t passed, or seen anybody else for well over an hour, quite unusual at the beginning of the day.. time to consult the Ninja 😫.. I’m 2km’s off the route it says 😬.. eeek, I’m also up a mountain, way out in the middle of nowhere!!! I may possibly have used up the rest of my available data finding my way back…
      If this had happened three weeks ago, I’d probably have gone into complete panic mode!! I’m a tiny bit proud that I didn’t… serves me right for saying I didn’t think I was walking far enough today 🙄😂
      Today I finished in Vega de Valcárcel, all ready for the climb up to O’Cebreiro tomorrow..
      With an afternoon to kill, it was great to catch up with Robbie on his way past, hopefully doing the climb together in the morning.. hope I can keep up.. first time I’ve said that for a while 😂
      Another lovely meal this evening, although it was a bit weird being the only one there.. hope they weren’t cooking just for me!!!
      Disaster of the day.. hole in my socks ☹️      Read more

    • Eagle Walkers in Spain
      2
      Day 42

      Villafranca del Bierzo

      September 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

      What a good walk today, we made it another 13 miles, we are back in wine country, vineyards for miles. Countryside is spectacular with all the colors of fall starting to appear. Large building with car in front is where we are staying tonight... also we are under 200 km to go.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Villafranca del Bierzo, 24500

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