Day 7 – Carrion de Los Condos to Leon
Here we are, over half way through our Camino walk! So far the weather has been fantastic. Nancy told us of one trip that rained for 8 days! If anything, it has been a little too warm, but that that definitely beats slogging through wind, rain and mud! Although I am regretting ditching my second pair of shorts for another pair of trousers… My shorts could walk Camino by themselves!
Overnight our bus was parked amongst beautiful liquid ambers and poplars so I took a few last moment pictures of the Monastery before we boarded. In Spain, the government took over many old monasteries and historic buildings to turn them into hotels, or Paradors. This Monastery had been beautifully restored and was an interesting place to stay.
Our first stop for day 8 was at the well preserved ruins of a Roman bath house at Quintanilla de la Cueza, which had been discovered by a farmer ploughing his field. While there had been damage to some of the mosaics, parts were still beautifully preserved. The establishment had baths for both winter and summer and much of the underfloor heating and plumbing is still intact. After the tour we were able to look around the nearby field to see that 2 out of every 3 rocks was actually a Roman tile or other artefact.
We then drove to the starting point for the morning’s walk. The villages we walked through were made of adobe, the most common building material in this area because of the lack of suitable rock. As Australians also know, it keeps cool in summer and warm in winter. My camera continues to be possessed, taking more videos and also randomly switching between viewfinder flew and screen view. At least it is still taking great photos! Once again Jose excelled himself with a great picnic. Lucky we are walking as far as we are, we need to walk off all this food!
After lunch we drove to Leon, established as a Roman garrison. After settling into our hotel we convened for a tour of the Gothic Cathedral. However, we were first taken to the spectacular Romanesque San Isidro Church and royal pantheon, with its unrestored, but beautifully preserved coloured ceiling murals. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos. The cathedral, like previous cathedrals was opulent and overwhelming for us as well as medieval pilgrims unable to read or write. It is renowned for its beautiful stained glass windows, some dating back to the 13th century.
We walked to the historic quarter for a tapas style dinner. On the way we passed some interesting shops, including one selling sausage casings made out of various organs of a number of different animals. Once again, we had a good day and total distance walked was 10.6km.
Day 8 – Leon to Ponferrada
Our hotel was several centuries old (possibly 14th) and was constructed mostly from big, heavy beams of timber which creaked with every footstep and echoed badly. It also seemed to be in the middle of a street party which went all night, so we didn’t sleep well. Apparently I woke our neighbours when I dropped my phone on the floor during the night!
We drove through the beautiful city of Leon, which has beautiful public parks and gardens. Our first walk started by crossing a 20 arched medieval bridge into Puente Orbigo. The morning’s walk was relatively flat and easy compared to some earlier sections. We saw several other pilgrims along the way, including one older woman who was struggling badly. While she was walking in old gym boots and carrying an old, uncomfortable bag, her impatient husband was well kitted out with new shoes and an ergonomically designed pack. This disturbed most of us. At the top of a long hill we came across a charity stop, started by Dave who had thrown in his job after his own pilgrimage to provide other pilgrims with a place to rest and refreshments. When we arrived, Nancy was talking to him and we told them about the couple we had seen. Hopefully the woman had a chance to rest before continuing on.
After another of Jose’s sumptuous lunches (I hope I will be able to give up bread with olive oil when I get home) we drove tot the town of Astorga to see some more Roman ruins and walk past numerous chocolate shops. We then had a chance to relax over a beer across the road from Antoni Gaudi’s Bishop’s Palace (which the Bishop never actually lived in) and which looks somewhat out of place amongst the older buildings.
Carbed up from the beer, we drove up into the foothills to the semi-deserted village of Foncebadon to walk to The highest point of the Camino, La Cruz de Ferro, or the Iron Cross, where pilgrims often leave stones carried from home or pictures of loved ones. We hadn’t been organised enough to bring our own stones, though GTB Beach pebbles would have been symbolic, so we had collected a few stones earlier in the day and deposited them on the large pile. Of course if you want a quick getaway, the last place you want to take a geologist, is a pile of rocks from all over the world… Eventually we got John back on the bus and we drove down the winding road to the start of the afternoon walk, passing pilgrims who were negotiating the twists and turns. My admiration to their stamina and motivation leapt even higher!
Our last walk for the day was a steep downhill descent to the village of Samos and our hotel for the night. The loose rocks and gravel made this quite challenging. The path was lined with lavender and rock roses with strong perfumes and the tall trees meant that there was plenty of shade. The village of Samosa was charming, with narrow streets and stone houses with balconies.
It was our 37th wedding anniversary, so we organised dinner at one of the local restaurants. We had delicious octopus, calamari, scallops and beef cheeks. All washed down with local Cava (Spanish bubbly) and local blanco vino and tinto vino. It is an anniversary to remember. We then slept in anticipation of day 9, which many of us had been dreading because of the 600m vertical ascent. We walked 20.6kms for day 8.
Day 9 – Ponferrada to Samos
We woke to a cool misty day and wondered whether our luck with the weather had finally broken on the very worst day possible. However, Jose assures us morning mist was quite normal in the hills and that we would have another warm sunny day. We drove to Herrerias to start our climb.
Disconcertingly the first part of the walk descended rather than ascended as we walked through the village. The path then started to head what proved to be unrelentingly upwards. The first half was quite shaded, although there were a few rough patches to walk over. For some reason, once I start to go uphill, it’s head down & full speed ahead and I mostly walked by myself as I get into the “zone”. I feel that if I stop or lose momentum, I might not be able to stop again. While I took a few breathers to admire the magnificent view, I kept going till I reached the 2nd village, our regrouping point.
After a freshly squeezed orange juice it was off again, this time with fewer trees and more sunshine. The walk towards the ridgeline offered spectacular panoramas of the valley below, with terraced farmland, trees of different colours and small villages and farmhouses visible. On this part of the climb, we crossed from Castillo-Leon into Galicia. It was extremely hot and I was very happy I had decided to use a water bladder rather than carrying bottles of water because I was able to have a couple of mouthfuls while I walked rather than having to stop to get my bottle out of my pack, drink and put it back before continuing. I’m sure it kept me hydrated along this stretch. Lunch was at Cebreiro and afterwards Nancy showed us around a traditional palloza, a house in which the local people lived until the 1960s.
After plenty of recovery time we drove downhill to start of the next walk, mostly downhill, to the village of Samos, where we would stay for the night. I definitely took it more slowly than the morning’s ascent and was quite tired by the time we reached the hotel. A cold beer was very welcome! The friendly family-run hotel was very comfortable and quite old fashioned. Our dinner was local specialities served by the family. It had been a long and challenging day and we were all happy to go to bed! We walked a tough 15km today and were we’re all proud of ourselves!
As the end of our Camino approaches, the authenticity of our Camino compared to those who walk 790km, cycle or bus it is intriguing. As Nancy explained, traditionally, the Camino was about getting to Santiago de Compestella. Unlike modern pilgrims, those pilgrims had no choice but to walk or ride a horse or donkey through rough and sometimes inhospitable terrain. Most likely, had they been able to take an easier way, they would have jumped at it. Today, anyone can fly to Santiago or drive modern cars on modern roads, but now the Camino is about the journey rather than the destination. As a result, as I discussed in my first blog post, there is some contention about whether some ways of doing the Camino are more worthy or authentic than others. Certainly, cycling is a popular and valid way, but cyclists are unpopular because few use bells and fly past walkers. I have been almost collected a couple of times and there was a certain amount of sniggering on the bus when we drove past a group that had clearly lost their way. On the other hand, most of us are in awe of those who carry full packs, stay in hostels (compared to our comfortable hotels) and take on very difficult stretches that we drive past. However, as Nancy discussed, everyone’s Camino is valid and personal. It is not a competition. On the eve of our second last day, we are feeling pride in what we have done so far.
Talking the walk: A non-believer's journey along the Camino de Santiago 