We stayed at the Hotel No-Mad, a 4 star hotel just over the river on the edge of town. When we arrived there were a couple of “first communion” parties going on so the hotel, and garden, was very busy.
The view from my, very comfortable room, was over the hotel garden – empty this morning after yesterday’s parties. Thankfully the music, and singing, was over by 9pm. We left earlier today as we had 30+K to walk and wanted to avoid the mid afternoon sun and, as we passed the town photo opportunity the sun was just getting above the mountains we climbed yesterday.
The first part of our walk today was the road into Ponferrada – the skies were menacing for a while and we got a few sprinkles of rain a couple of times, and a rainbow, before the skies cleared over the nearby mountains. We crossed the Rio Boeza for the first time before entering the city.
We walked past Ponferrada Castle before crossing the River Sil and heading ever westwards. The Castillo de los Templarios is a large Templar Castle. In 1178, Ferdinand II of León donated the city to the Templar order for protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St James who passed through the El Bierzo region. The castle hosted the Knights Templar’s Grand Master of Castille. However, the Templars were only able to enjoy the use of their fortress for about twenty years before the order was disbanded and its properties confiscated in 1311.
We then walked a considerable distance, in a straight line, through the city and its suburbs. It wasn’t difficult walking but then it wasn’t particularly interesting either – just occasional views of the mountains to keep us going. The sun was sporadic but this only seemed to drive up the humidity so, at about half way, we stopped for a drink and a chat to some other pilgrims.
Via another interesting iron sculpture we then ventured back out into the countryside and through vineyards. Some were well tended and some seemed not so loved – as they were close together it may just be a wilding experiment rather than neglect.
We walked through Cacabelos, the last town before our destination, crossed the River Cua and passed an Albergue masquerading as a church. Then it was a couple of long uphill stretches, on or beside the road, before turning off onto a dirt / dusty path for the final stint.
More uphill walking, in the sweltering heat, before a relatively sedate downhill into the town of Villafranca del Bierzo and our accommodation for the night. We will try and find a bar with DAZN for the last round of premier league games today as we all have a keen interest in the outcomes.
