The vineyards of El Bierzo
Trip Start
Aug 25, 2008
1
27
Trip End
Oct 02, 2008
Villafranca del Bierzo, Castille and León, Spain
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Morale: thumbs up!
Walking: first part alone, last part in company
Body: sunburn, blister on right sole and left middle toe (how?), left shoulder aching
Waldis done today: none
Met: the Swiss girls, Blake & Sophie
The frequent snores cease as the occasional cackles of the punk girl suddenly increase in frequency. Like a fast-spreading plague noise starts to spread out in the bunkbed cellar and very soon sleeping becomes impossible. Once more being among the last to leave, I do not exactly hurry to get out of the albergue. Max and Petra are gone already and so I take my time to say goodbye to Agnesa. The good girl is taking the bus to Triacastela because her feet won't allow her to do otherwise. We agree to meet there in three days time. Strolling across Ponferrada, I come across the famous templars castle, an impressive fortress of the medieval ages. Yet I have to leave sightseeing for another day as there are 24 kilometres to go today. The vineyards in the townskirts prove to be a welcome diversion to the rather unspectacular town. The sun has already lost some of its vigor compared to two weeks ago. After two hours of walking alone, I do catch up to Max and Petra who are walking separately today. None of them seems to be in a talkative mood, so I just leave them alone and stroll off. The rest of the morning I have mostly to myself, and so I take my time to contemplate and memorize Luthers "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God", a masterpiece and blazing hymn of protestant heritage.
Around noon I bump into Sophie and Blake and we continue our walk together, conversing merrily and enjoying the change in landscape. Around 4:30 pm we arrive at Villafranca del Bierzo, not exactly feeling refreshed, but still feeling far better than yesterday. The albergue we check in is called Ave Fenix and has a very nice, although rather cramped atmosphere. The sleeping room in the ceiling is stuffed with mattresses and features only one tiny window. The air is stale and sticky, and if somehow a fire broke out in there, we wouldn’t make it out alive for sure. Literally, I have to crawl to get to my mattress. Despite the inconvenience it offers, I like the albergue a lot for its snug style.
Today is big washing day, and due to the low pressure on the pipes it takes me forever to get my clothes thoroughly rinsed. I have to hang them up above my bed, adding some humidity to the hot air.
A simple but nourishing dinner in the albergue and a walk around town with Sophie and Blake concludes the day. Tomorrow’s stage features the steepest climb of the whole Camino, the dreaded mountain of O Cebreiro. Although generally mountain walking or climbing holds no terrors for me, I do wonder if the toll the Cebreiro is going to take on my injured knees will worsen them to the point of me having to give up nine days before Santiago.
