Leaving the Mountain
Heading out of the mountain village
This Tree Helped Me With It's Arrow
St John Stands Watch
Cheeky Dog uses his size to obtain gifts of meat
Before I could sneak away
The descent continued with Ponferrada in the distance, the lake is beautiful but has the chimneys of a power station on the shore completely ruining the pretty picture. It looks like a dump the closer you get to it and the outskirts are no different.
Templar Castle
Finally a decent pic of a Storks Nest
For the first time I’m actually struck by the fact that I’m over a thousand miles from home, in a foreign country, completely alone apart from a stick and a rucksack, unsure of myself. I tend to think that this was the come down after such a wonderful day yesterday, the fact that I don’t have people I know to talk to in the evenings. I get to the castle only to bump into Rudi and the German girl and the two Austrian Hares in quick succession. I just want to get something to eat, a rest and get out of here.
It’s even worse in town as it’s Saturday and it’s packed, so I make my way right through and out the other side, shocked to hear fireworks going off as a protest of some sort slows the traffic to a standstill. I’m back out into the countryside within a few hours but not much happier. Cacabelos turns out to be a pig, there are no places to stay for the night and I haven’t even got a stamp in my Credencial from a bar today so I must find an Albergue to get one. The place outside town is not yet open for the season, which I have to admit my guide was right about for once but it means another 7km to Villafranca del Bierzo.
This building looked as though it had melted in the heat of several summers but I think it was just another example of modern architecture...
I’ve already walked 32k by this stage and my feet are starting to tell me off in a big way. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I follow the main road even though it’s more dangerous, it’s cutting a few k’s off the new quieter route of the Camino.
Outdoor Sculpture Gallery at an Artists Studio in the middle of nowhere - Trust me the middle pf the middle of nowhere ;)
In a lot of places the original Way was the obvious and historical place to put the roads and they have become busy with traffic, so detours are everywhere giving you the chance to walk in scenery more reminiscent of the Camino in times past.
124.5 Kilometres in four days is amazingly good going in fact I would have completed the whole thing in under four weeks had I been doing those distances the whole time. My body doesn’t seem to mind as long as I soak my feet in cold water when I get where I’m going, eat constantly and sleep as much as I can. The Municipal Albergue doesn’t look very popular so I trudge onto the next, my guide is almost being ignored at this point as I am starting to resent the journey, the extra people at every stop, the loneliness of yet another meal with Germans who occasionally tell you what they’re talking about, the lack of decent company is getting to me even though I’m used to spending all my time alone at home because I’d given up on all my so called friends. I am told to ‘Animo’ as I reach the Refuge and daydream about telling them to ‘Animate yourself’ whilst throttling them, but smile instead of course. Old German guy is there and a lone Pilgrim I had seen on the route much earlier in the day in Molinaseca and who else but Inna from Germany, cheery wave and a smile.
Just as we are seated waiting for the evening meal, Rudi arrives with the German girl from last night. They were waylaid because the first bar in Cacabelos serves free wine to Pilgrims and they too discovered that it’s Albergue was closed only to rush over here like I had. The dinner is overseen by Jesus who is a famous character of the Camino, his helpers do the honours but each person serves themselves at the table. The place is run down and building work goes on around us, the door between the reception and the dormitories slams with a crash every time someone walks through it, if it was me I’d have done something about that by now because it annoyed me greatly when I was trying to rest bo
dy and mind for five minutes upstairs. It isn’t the calmest place but has a great atmosphere. The German girl is upset that she’s got no chocolate to have after dinner so I grab my Orange chocolate from Astorga and breaking it up hand it round the room. Jesus takes a piece too with delight when I say where it’s come from although his assistants are more reticent. The very helpful guy behind the counter is a volunteer from some far flung part of Spain like many others, here to provide assistance to the Pilgrims only. The summer rush is obviously getting closer as more work is being done to shower blocks but I don’t struggle to sleep tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment