Ponferrada to Trabadelo

Day 26 (Sunday 2 June) 210 kilometres to Santiago. The hotel that I checked into yesterday had a bathtub, as opposed to the usual shower stall. I used it; with great pleasure. Subsequently, I did a recce of the first part of the route out of the city. Then it was my first experience with tapas for dinner. They were good, just don't ask me exactly what I ordered.

Some days ago I got on line with Amazon.com, to sort out why I couldn't purchase e-books while I was in Spain. It turns out that they wanted me to change my country of residence to Spain to allow that to happen. I said "no" and told them that any policy that required the client to lie about his address and telephone number was not likely to be good for business in the long run. They're thinking about that (in theory), but in the interim allowed me special dispensation to buy 5 books. That was good client service and I've taken advantage of it. Whoever said that you don't need books on the Camino is completely wrong in my view.

I looked at my route for the following day and saw that the guidebook was recommending a stop in Villafranca del Bierzo. Fair enough; it's about 25 kilometres away. The rub was that the following day's trek was 30 kilometres, with 700 metres of ascent. I decided that I wanted to get a jump on that day by going further on this one; the total ascent today being about 250 metres and the distance to Trabadelo 33 kilometres. Crunching the numbers, I thought that my day would be about 7.5 hours long. I therefore leave the hotel in Ponferrada at 06:25.

Once again it is a beautiful day. Sunny, clear, light winds, and a temperature of 9 Celcius. The route out of the city is not well marked, but it is less than one hour before I leave Ponferrada behind. I stop in Fuentes Nueves for breakfast around 08:30. As I leave the village I remember that Lorna Unger had told me that she is celebrating a birthday today, on her sister's farm southwest of Winnipeg. I have fond memories of the Classen farm because Diane and I attended Megan Classen's wedding there a few years ago. The most delightful wedding that I have ever been to, largely because of the unique setting and the warm welcome from Marion and Carl. In any case, I telepathically send Lorna a happy birthday wish, which she of course doesn't receive because it's 01:30 in the morning in Manitoba.

I spend the day walking alone. The only English or French speakers that I encounter don't appear until after I have checked into an albergue in Trabadelo. The countryside is lovely, and the temperature climbs into the mid 20's. By the time I reach Villafranca del Bierzo it's just befor noon. The trail has been almost all pavement, with some hard-packed earth in between. That allows me to set a good pace, but it's hard on the feet. I carry on with the plan to go another 9 kilometres to Trabadelo. It's a shallow climb uphill for 2 hours, but the outcome is worth it. A really nice albergue and a much reduced climb tomorrow. I'm somewhat footsore when I arrive, almost exactly 7.5 hours after I set out. That being said, my athletes foot is under control and stretching is helping my heel pain. I'm doing well.

 

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