Blogs from Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 13

We woke up feeling so much more alive. Susan and I took off to find breakfast and a bank. The bank was across the street but Susan’s card didn’t work. Turns out she didn’t get up with the bank before coming. We then walked and walked looking for a bakery and finally found one. This was great with wonderful pastries. We then took off wondering the city and saw one of the churches from last night. It was now time to head back towards the hotel but it didn’t look right so we just retraced our track and got back. It turned out we had been just over a block away but…. It’s easy to get lost in the town as it has several central areas with spokes radiating from each and intersecting at odd angles… ... read more

We had a four-day weekend recently, and it happened to fall over my birthday, so a friend and I headed east to the province of León. The border of the province is only about a two-hour train ride from Ourense, but the change in landscape is remarkable. We traveled through green mountains to more reddish-dirt hills, to eventually a relatively flat, drier landscape. Our first stop (about three hours along the train ride) was in a town called Astorga. I’d read that it was a cute town, and it also had one of architect Gaudi’s only constructions outside of Catalonia. Wikipedia told me there was a distinct ethnic group called Mastorgas there (but we didn't happen upon them). We easily found the Gaudi construction, the Episcopal Palace, which is right next to the massive cathedral. Astorga ... read more

3 October 2015, Saturday. Stage 28 Villafranca del Bierzo to Valcarce GPS 9.95 miles, 3 hours 11 minutes moving and 3 hours 55 minutes from start to end of day walking at Hotel Valcarce . Left at 0915 and arrived at 1310. Fitbit: 19851 steps, 8.69 miles, 46 floors A cold 36 degrees as we walk through the Plaza Mayor and stop for cash from an ATM. On the weekend the breakfast in the Parador is 30 minutes later. And with the group of 39 Australians touring by bus from Paris to Santiago, breakfast is slow like dinner last night had been. But it is a good spread with buffet style self service. We had booked this Parador after they had sent an email indicating that they had had cancellations and now had a room. We ... read more

1 October 2015, Thursday. Stage 27. A cold 40 degrees as we start our walk from Molinaseca. GPS: 21.65 miles. 10 hours from start at La Posada de Muriel to end at Paradores Villafranca del Bierzo. 8 hours 21 minutes moving. Our longest day of walking! Fitbit: 20.3 miles, 46,476 steps, 117 floors. Today and yesterday were two very tough days. The ups and downs from Rabanal to Molinaseca on rocky mule path and the very long day with several up hill climbs to Villafranca have taken a toll and we are welcoming our rest day; especially our feet and toes. From our cozy room at La Posada de Muriel on the edge of town in Molinaseca we are soon off and on the Camino. Looking back at the last plaza in town we see a ... read more

30 September 2015, Wednesday. Stage 26. The high point of the Camino almost 5,000 feet above sea level GPS: 16.87 miles, Almost 10 hours from beginning in Rabanal del Camino to end of day walking in Molinaseca with 6 hours 44 minutes actual moving time. Fitbit: 18.07 miles, 41,366 steps and 145 stairs. We left our lovely Nuestra Senior del Pilar Albergue, with a few private rooms, at 0806 this morning. We had a great salad last night for dinner after stuffing ourselves with the traditional Cocida Maragato dish with five or more meats, cabbage and garbanzo beans with soup and tapioca type pudding plus the obligatory bread. This we had hoped to eat in Astorga but found it only served for lunch because it is soooo much food. One order for two of us was ... read more