Ponferrada – KEVIN CRAIG

Today, we began our walk at 6:58am. It was in the dark, but close to daybreak.

This was my third time walking out of Ponferrada. Everything looked very familiar.

It was a long day, and according to Google Fit I burned more calories than any other day. I honestly thought the two previous days were harder, though. Go figure!

It was quite a slog out of town. Our first stop… I didn’t pay much attention to the name of the place. I felt like the person there was miserable in her work. The service was good, but not friendly.

As always, there were great views along the way. And we went through Cacabelos. This is the place where one of the main characters of my novel THE CAMINO CLUB was introduced to Creepy Jesus of Cacabelos. Clair takes Troy for a late night walk in Cacabelos to show him Creepy Jesus at the church with the albergue.

You can pick up your copy of The Camino Club wherever books are sold.

After Cacabelos, we headed for Villafranca del Bierzo. We took a different route this time. The last two times I made this walk I went through the vineyards. This time, we chose the road… which was shorter. At the end, we still got a taste of the vineyard path. It was nice to be in them, but also nice to shave off a km or two. If you’re doing the Camino for the first time, I suggest you cut right into the vineyards instead of taking the road. The famous house on the hill that has been in countless Instagram shots is much nicer on the vineyard path. We still saw it today, but from a different angle…

There were some gorgeous vistas to spoil us with beauty again today…

Follow the yellow arrows to Santiago de Compostela…

The walk into the destination town is always the best feeling! Seeing Villafranca del Bierzo was such a blessing! Our albergue is lovely. We’re staying at Hostel El Campano, which is just a short walk from the main plaza with the restaurants… Plaza Mayor.

We ate at Restaurante El Casino. The menu del Dia has lots of options to choose from. We spent €32. We had Two salads, two mains, two desserts, bottle of wine, one Coke Zero.

Time to crash for the day. Yes, I know it’s only 5:03pm, but it’s been a long day and we are climbing to O Cebriero tomorrow! We need our sleep.

Onward (AND UPWARD!) to O Cebriero tomorrow! Buen Camino, peregrinos/peregrinas!

On we go!

Click here to jump to DAY 6 – Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebriero!

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While you’re here, I wrote a novel set on the Camino Frances route. You can check it out at Amazon here: THE CAMINO CLUB

Hola, peregrinos and peregrinas! Day 4 is completo! We are in Ponferrada.

We left the wonderful El Trasgu de Foncebadón at 7:02am. It was a longer day, and we knew we were going to stop for a spell at Cruz de Ferro.

Michael, placing his rock at the foot of the cross at Cruz de Ferro.

We got there as the sun was rising. It was beautiful.

This Camino, I am dedicating to the person who first introduced me to the Camino de Santiago. Sue Kenney, also known as Barefoot Sue. She is a force to be reckoned with. Sue has walked 29 Caminos! And for quite a few of those Caminos she led groups of peregrinos/peregrinas. She gifted me with the Camino de Santiago back in 2009 or 2010. It was so long ago, I don’t remember the exact year.

My first Camino was with Sue leading the way… from Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela. It was in May, 2014. There were 8 of us…all wonderful people. Sadly, we lost one of our tribe the following year. CLICK THIS LINK TO READ MORE ABOUT CONNIE.

This Camino, because I sincerely cannot thank her enough, is dedicated to Sue… who I have been calling Captain, my Captain since our walk together. I hope it doesn’t drive her crazy. It is one of my favourite poems… So I see it as a way of honouring her.

Anyway, some pics, right?! The Camino provided so much beauty today it was hard to take it all in. Vast open spaces, mountains to the left of us almost all the way! It’s funny how the mountain views are there all along, but you’re walking on such treacherous ground you’re forced to look down. Funny–cruel, not funny–haha.

The first picture, I had to point my camera down. We were above the clouds. Yes, I know we are crazy privileged to be here. I thanked the universe all the way, even through my pain. This day was hard… extremely hard. But it was made a bit harder realizing how extremely lucky I am to be here. It’s breathtaking and I’m so privileged, it’s crazy!

We made it to Ponferrada around 3pm, give or take. But first, there was El Acebo and Molinaseca.

La Rosa del Agua was the cafe we stopped in at El Acebo. I’d go back for the limón cake alone! YUM!

In Molinaseca, we stopped at Taberna Señor Pepe. But only for a delicious Aquarius!

After Molinaseca, it was the last great haul to Ponferrada. It’s a lot!!! The hardest part of the day is usually the last km or two. From Foncebadón to Ponferrada, it’s the last 5km. Trust me on this one.

But we’re here. And we’re ready to head for Villafranca del Bierzo tomorrow. Last time we walked through that town, there was a festival and we got to watch a mariachi band… so much fun! Fingers crossed something fun happens tomorrow too!

Oh! Pics of Ponferrada. Did you know there’s a Templars Castle here?! Los Templarios Castle. It’s magic.

That’s enough for today. We’re about to crash! Onward to Villafranca del Bierzo tomorrow!!! It’s going by so fast.

Oh, our stop for supper tonight. Just across the street from the castle. Godivah. We had hamburgers, cerveza, cheese fries, and guacamole nachos. So good! We did not take food pics. We sat on the patio, but here’s some interior pics. It’s a wild and crazy place… and they play THE best music! You should check it out.