I went down to the kitchen to eat my yogurt and call American Airlines. I asked one of the hospitaleros for a piece of paper for notes. Another hospitalero who was standing nearby thought he recognized me, but couldn't place where. I hadn't a clue. He finally figured out it was in Bercianos in 2013, when I was a hospitaera there. Strange how I would see him three years later in Ponfedrada.
So, I called American Airlines from the dining room of the Albergue.
So I called American Airlines and they basically said I had to give them a kidney to change my flight. So my next call was to Alianz, my travel insurance company. Their collect number doesn't work from Spain, because Spain no longer uses operators to place collect calls. With American that part is pretty smooth. So , I guess Allianz hasn't fgured it out yet. I tried just calling directly , but after 5 minutes of listening to recorded questions and pushing buttons without being connected to a human being, I gave up. I sent Allianz an email saying I needed help and their collect number wasn't working. I got an automated response email saying that their business hours are 8 to 5. I'm like really'!? And two days have now passed and no further emails and no help. I will write them when I get home and express my displeasure.
So I walked directly from the Albergue to the Cafe across from the Albergue, had a grande café con leche and a croissant a la plancha ( basically cut and toasted on a grill.) I tried to sort this out. No luck, so, I figured it was a sign that I was supposed to walk. Here is where you start to leave Ponferada.
The start went well, and then I got lost. I had to ask some locals who pointed to an elevator on the street that went down about three stories to the street below. It was strange, but it got me to the right place.
It was a nice walk. Through Ponferrada most of the walk was through a park along the river. I went from Ponferada to Villafranca. A lot of it was through small villages along a road. But then there were some lovely spots.
I arrived a Cacabellos, which is where I stayed in 2013. It was a weird Municipal Albergue. It was placed within the walls of an old round church, most of the ceiling was gone. They placed little rooms along the circular wall, each room had two beds. In the center of the wall were the bathrooms, showers and laundry. In the middle of the whole thing was the open air dining area.
But this year I was just walking through. I did however stop to have a small bite to hold me over and a Diet Coke. I ordered patatas bravas which in all the years I've come to Spain have been chunks of potatoes baked or fried, but dry. What I got at this restaurant looked like potatoe chips that had been refried. They were glistening with oil. I knew if I ate them I would throw up when I started walking in this heat. So, I paid and left without eating. I was not a happy camper. But, oh well, stuff happens.
I got lost again in Cacabellos. It was odd when I asked locals where was the Camino, they had no idea what I was talking about. I've never had that reaction anywhere on the Camino. I finally found some worker guys and they set me on the right path.
I arrived in Villafranca about 2 pm and found an Albergue in what used to be a convent. It was strange walking the hallways and stairwells. I felt the presence of the nuns quietly walking with their habits softly rustling and their beads clacking. The place could be a spectacular Albergue, but the people running it seem to lack business sense and any connection to the pilgrims. It's a shame.
The rooms are nice with single beds. There were three beds in the room I was in. It had a private bath and a tv. I don't know whether or not the tv worked, because none of us turned it on.
I went to get something to eat in the Plaza Mayor, then came back for a shower and to take care of laundry. I was so tired I couldn't think straight and I went to sleep at 8:30 pm, and slept until my alarm went off at 6 am.
No comments:
Post a Comment