Villafranca del Bierzo

First, thank you for so many birthday greetings when I woke up this morning!! So happy, and a great way to start the day.

And today was again lovely…this is getting very repetitive, but this area is so beautiful. It is still quite cool in the mornings - about 6° again, so Amr left at 8.40, but didn’t even take extra fleece as it rapidly warms up, specially if you’re walking, and in the afternoons it is a very comfortable mid 20s. This was one walk I am very envious of, as it goes through and looking down at the vineyards of the Bierzo valley, and is where we saw them grape picking both times in October. By now the vines are green and well and truly sprouting with leaves, a contrast to the withered stalks we saw in the early days of this camino. Amr walked 25 kms, quite a long day, but no drastic ups and downs, arrived here at a bit after 3, but fairly knackered!

I had my exercise walking to the bus station in Ponferrada, and got the 11.40 bus…all a bit vague at the bus station, no board with departures etc, but managed to find which bay it left from, and we finally pulled out at 12… just a half hour ride to Villafranca, and as we went through Cacabelos I could see we were extremely close to where Amr had stopped for some food (a paella, just freshly made). Was tempted to get out and walk the rest of the way with him, but behaved and didn’t!! Anyway, was dropped here in the one bus stop, but had no real idea where I was…it is a small town and soon sorted it out, and sat in the main square where our hotel is, and had a beer and a coffee, both with complimentary tapas, as the hotel check in time was 2pm. Very relaxing.

Checked in at 2, and this is a charming place - we have not stayed here before. Quite a spacious room, and of course, spotless. Had time to unpack the bits I needed and settle in before setting out again to explore and meet Amr. Found the Tabac shop which the helpful woman at reception told me would sell tickets and know about to tomorrow’s destination, Ambasmestas, a tiny village, about 15 kms walk from here. He was shut, siesta time, so walked on and walked back along the camino and before long Amr turned up! He wanted a drink before showering etc, so we sat in the plaza again and caught up over a beer and a tonic (this is often my drink at the moment!). Now he is clean and watching fluff on his iPad and I have had a couple of further exploratory excursions…found the Tabac man open who said no buses to Ambasmestas tomorrow, but at the tourist information the helpful woman said yes, there is one at 1.30 and told me where its bus stop is - a small bus company that my friend, Luís, the taxi driver, had mentioned. So am going to try for that tomorrow- another adventure! If all fails I can get a taxi.

So that’s where we stand now…there are no special places to eat that I could find for my birthday dinner…but all have the usual good stuff, and it will be fun. I did try and see if they were open at where we used to stay, as their dinners were very good, but they were all shuttered down sadly - maybe covid?? …or just closed… Forgot to mention that last night in Ponferrada we did have a special dinner at the hotel’s good restaurant…we started off with a complimentary croquetta each, then shared a dish of delicious grilled vegetables, and then Amr had a local specialty of a soupy dish with blood sausage, chorizo and pork cheek, which was delicious, but I had my favourite chiperones a la plancha with a black garlic mayo to dip them in…absolutely yum. So that was the gala dinner! But it will be fun tonight - it always is.

Now back from dinner and will add a quick addendum. Ate at one of the restaurants in the plaza, and not gourmet, but very good. A €14 3 course dinner…I started with pumpkin and zucchini soup, Amr a bean, chickpea, ham and prawn mix, and for main Amr had fish and I had chicken drumsticks in a yum sauce and way too many French fries. All good, and will add photos of the many aspects of the day.Lue lisää