New friends, loving memories - and our first rain!
Tuesday, September 27th
Rabanal to Acebo
Weather: Misty and windy at first and then warm sunshine late morning and all afternoon
Today has been a short day in terms of mileage but long in terms of scenery… and emotion!.
Last night we had a Pilgrims’ dinner and joining us was Ann from northern Carolina who had just completed her first day’s walk from Astorga. As we were the only two going onto Acebo today we agreed that we would meet for breakfast and walk together.
Ann is a GP and her husband sadly is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s so we had plenty to talk about. It turns out she is also a member of the Episcopal Church of the US - the nearest equivalent to the Church of England.
At the Cruz de Ferro I laid my box, suitably inscribed, with the neckerchief that the Scout Group had presented to Susan posthumously. Ann knew what I was planning to do and asked if she could say prayers for Susan. And so we did, and of course the tears flowed. Having regained our composure we resumed our journey. I think the photos and videos tell the rest of the story
It’s been a remarkable day, one I will never forget for the magical weather, the amazing scenery, and of course the small ceremony at the Cruz de Ferro.
And now I think I might go and find a beer!!
Wednesday, September 28th
Acebo to Ponferrada
Weather: mist first thing then cloudy and dry
I had an interesting night in Acebo where the main accommodation was at the end of the village and my sleeping accommodation was 500m up the hill at the beginning of the village. So dinner in the evening was in the main accommodation and then breakfast in the morning was also in the main accommodation. I reckon that I have walked an extra 1.5 km during overnight stay!
Today started with a real mist but given that we were at 1000m I suppose it’s not so surprising. However the track was downhill all the way today and so we quickly dropped out of the mist. You can see in the videos that the going was not particularly easy and certainly my legs knew they had been doing some work by the time I got into Ponferrada. I think I said in my videos it reminded me of some of the routes off the Fells in the Lake District. We had shalely rock and stone for almost 8 km.
We arrived in Ponferrada at lunchtime which gave us time to look around the town. It was the Centre for the Knights Templar and the cathedral is the Knights Templars’ church. The castle, which is a huge fortificaion of 8000 m², was built by the knights and has been well preserved.
Tomorrow we have a flatish day although the forecast has suggested we might get some rain.
Thursday, September 29th
Ponferrada to Villafranca
Weather: wet to begin with, the sunny intervals and heavy showers
For the first time today is we started our walk in the rain and which required donning waterproof equipment. As is always the case after about an hour the rain ceased and the sunshine sun came out. So as you would expect we discarded waterproofs and changed into fair weather gear. Then the rain came again, and then another sunny interlude, and then the rain and another sunny interlude, by which time I was fed up of taking waterproofs on and off so I kept them on for the rest of the day!
We walked through six villages today with varied scenery in between. To begin with some arable cultivation and a small unit with some animals, and then through vineyards as far as you could see.
Unfortunately we had to visit a doctors on the way for Ann to have a swelling checked out, but he thought it was of no significant and so we continue our journey.
I’ve walked again with Ann from North Carolina and with Greg from Victoria Australia. This afternoon we met a young girl from Italy and another young girl who was Spanish but had spent five years in England working in Herefordshire.
As ever the Camino throws up all sorts of different situations especially for the two girls from Italy and Spain who both needed accommodation for the night, had not met each other before, but quite happily went on their way seeking a bed in town.
This evening we’ve looked at the sites in Villafranca and enjoyed a meal in the local restaurant where we met Jill and (I think) John, who are from Canada
