Motel 6 On the Camino

"We'll leave the lights on!"
So, I have mentioned the mentioned that the part of the Camino that we're on (and have been on for the past week) is called the "meseta". It has long distances betweenLue lisää
El Burgo Ranero

Another day walking long straight flat stretches of the Meseta. Today we walked next to a paved road with hardly any traffic and the Camino was lined with
trees. The kilometers keepLue lisää
12k to Reliegos

Long walk all morning in a light rain, only heavy enough to put on rain coats a couple of times.
We were pleasantly surprised to have a small patch of trees to walk through, on either side of a smallLue lisää
Mansilla de las Mules

A few shots on the road from Reliegos to Mansilla da las Mulas.
Our Kilometer numbers keep going down
We were lucky to find a couple of unlocked churches in Mansilla (apparently there used to beLue lisää
On the Road to Mansilla de las Mulas

Another 17K walk on a road filled with agricultural land. I was prepared for a drenching rain, and we lucked out once again. Only few patches of drizzle. We had a coffee break in Reliegos, and got ourLue lisää
Google Lens Translate rocks!

León

Sue and I decided unanimously that we are done walking the Meseta. No more walking dirt paths 10 yards from a National Road. This morning we sent our packs ahead to our León hostel, then we boarded aLue lisää
An afternoon in León

We walked around León all afternoon, just a few shots of the town and San Isidoro's Basilica.
Sue has many more photos than me....
Tapas bar that plays Elvis on a loop!

I have been singing along with Elvis songs (in English, I am not sure the locals know the words) all night in this Tapas bar, Restaurante la Cucina.
All the regulars think I am crazy!
Afternoon Exploring Leon

Today was a nice change of pace since we concentrated more on exploring Leon rather than walking to it. Jim covered our visit to the cathedral in his post. The stained glass windows were the highlightLue lisää
Astorga

We had our second consecutive day off today. We saw everything we wanted too in León, so we slept in, had a late breakfast, then hopped a bus to Astorga.
The bus system in Spain seems to be veryLue lisää
Guadi Palace

I just had to include some of these pics. Amazing place. Audio tours provide so much info, I get overwhelmed with the amount of details...
Chill Day 2 - Seeing Astorga

Took our time this morning leaving Hostel Boccalino & caught the 11:20 bus to Astorga. From the bus window it was raining & there were Pilgrims walking the road we were traveling on. I felt a fewLue lisää
Moon and predawn light Cathedral

Early morning view from our room's little balcony.
The moon hanging over the Astorga Cathedrals spires, with the sun on its way.
Buen Camino everyone, wherever you are!
On the Road Again

The rain is supposed to hold off until early afternoon so we got an early start. Stopping for coffee now. We're about halfway to our day's destination. We were rewarded with a rainbow already thisLue lisää
9.2 km to Santa Catalina de Somoza

We have began a long,gradual 1 and a half day climb to the first ridge of the Cantabrian Mountains.
We had ominous dark clouds ahead, but sunlight in the valley behind. Result: More CaminoLue lisää
Rabanal del Camino

We climbed quite a bit today, even though it was a gradual incline. We can feel in the air, it will be cool this afternoon and cold tonight. Our cool Max sleeping bag liners will be put to the testLue lisää
Singing Monks for Vespers

Until the down pours came we had some time to explore this quaint village. What a treat we had tonight. The village church each evening provides vespers sung by the local monks. It was a lovelyLue lisää
Foncebadón, near the top!

5.2 km uphill to this small mountainside village. According to the guide books it was once completely abandoned, but the modern Camino's popularity has brought it back!
There are many ruins of stoneLue lisää
Cruz Ferro, then on to El Acebo

We walked 2 kilometers to Cruz Ferro, the Iron Cross. The tradition is to carry a stone up to the mountain top, leave it at the cross as a symbol of a burden to leave behind.
We left our stones andLue lisää
A rocky down hill 9k to Molinaseca

Several hours of a slow rocky downhill wask to our coffee break town.
We are almost down to the valley floor.
Apparently the Boston Bruins run an Albergue here!
Todays Trek to Acebo

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 crossLue lisää
7k on a sidewalk to Ponferrada

The last walk of the day was next to a local road that ran into the city of Ponferada. All 7k on. sidewalk. We were very happy for a sidewalk after all the rocky trails over the last two days.
TheLue lisää
Castle of the Knights Templar

After Siesta today we explored a little bit of Ponferrada.
One of the women from our hostel, Ginny, from Brisbane, Australia came along with us to tour the Knights Castle.
A little history...theLue lisää
Crossing the Bierzo Vally

Long walk for today. Woke up to heavy rain falling. It changed to light rain as we started walking, then it stopped and some brief sun from the east gave us a couple of rainbows.
Flat walking withLue lisää
MatkaajaHotel Castillo El Burgo, but don't let the real name ruin a snarky footprint!
Matkaajalife is like a box of chocolates