A Horseback Ride Through Magical Place

 I woke up to my alarm this morning, and that was almost alarming. It was 6 am and no one had flashed any lights in my face, made a ruckus with plastic bags, or let their alarm ring at high volume while going back to sleep. I thought I had been transported home. 

And it turns out there was a third person in our room, a guy. I found out later, when he came into the dining room, that he came at 10:45 last night. The guides say the place closes at 11, and normally there is a hospitalero there who locks up, so no one can come in during the night and rob us all or commit mass pilgrim mayhem. You can usually open the doors from the inside, but no one can get in from the outside. But, the fellow who works in this place apparently wandered off, leaving the place wide open. He seemed barely there anyway, just collecting a paycheck kind of attitude. 

Anyway the guy who arrived called all the numbers for the Albergue and no one answered. By a stroke of luck, the woman I was sharing a room with answered the phone and said there was an empty bed in our room. The guy came in, had a shower and went to bed. I slept through the whole thing. I was dead tired and dead asleep. I found all that out when I was getting ready to leave at 7:15 am. 

I really wanted to ride a horse the last 10 km of today's Camino between Villafranca and O Cebreiro. The horses are in Herrias, about 20 km from Villafranca. So I figured I would walk to Herrias today, spend the night and go on the morning ride. When I called on Thursday evening to try to reserve, the guy said he was all booked for Saturday. He asked where I was and I told him Villafranca. He said I should be in Herrias anout noon, and if another person or more people wanted to ride we could go in the afternoon. He said to call him at noon and let him know where I was. 

So after I got up and got ready I ate a little breakfast of yogurt, cheese, bread and cashews. And then I left for Herrias. 

Leaving Villafranca there are shells lining the bridge and a pilgrim statue at the end of the bridge. 

On my walk I saw sheep, dogs, cows, and a bunch of little kittens in the different pueblos. It must be kitten season. 

There was a river running on my left side and a highway on my right. You can't see the river most of the time because it is down below the road, but you can hear the roar of it's crashing over the rocks. And the road wasn't very busy. There were some nice moments. 

Then we walked in and out of several little pueblos and I had some selfie fun. This one with the two characters that remind me of John and me. lol

I've always said that I know when I'm in Spain, because there are cars parked on the sidewalk. A few examples from today.:

It cracks me up. 

At noon, I was close to Herrias and I called about the horseback ride. He said he hadn't had any calls from people who wanted to ride. But he told me to get something to eat and call him when I got to Herrias. 

He doesn't go out without two or three people. It's just not good business. So when I got to Herrias it was almost 1 pm and I knew I had to fish or cut bait. O Cebreiro is only 10 km from Herrias, but it is all steeply uphill. It is a real tough walk. And I didn't want to get to O Cebreiro too late to get a bed. 

So I called and asked if he would do it if I paid for the second person that didn't go. He said yes and to meet him by the horses. When I met him he apologized about not wanting to do it for just one person. I said, not to worry, I totally understood. 

His two kids, both very nice, self assured, speaking English and Spanish, and very good looking work with him. The daughter works with the horses in summer and goes to college in Madrid the rest of the year. She is studying Economics. It seems a lot of the young folks are studying economics. Hmmm?!

While they are getting the horses ready, a family of four walk up and think riding a horse the next bit is a very good idea. So the mom and two teens want to ride, but dad is wants to walk. The owner said apologetically to me that it will be 15 more minutes. I'm like not caring. I'm just thrilled that I'm going to get to ride a horse. Then he tells me that now  I only have to pay for one.  It just keeps getting better. 

While all this is happening, Daniel and Matt walk up. We chat for a bit, I take their picture and they walk on. 

After the horses are saddled up, we hop on, and off we go. The other three have never been on a horse before and they spend most of the time laughing and uttering startled shouts. I could have done without the noise, but I was so happy I just tuned it out. 

It was just a trail ride, all the horses following the lead horse at a walking pace. But it was through some pretty magical scenery. The part of the Camino from the road to La Faba has always been one of my favorite parts of the Camino. It's like being in Hobbitt Land. 

And here is a selfie, taken while riding a horse!

Of course you can't see the horse because my arms aren't that long. You will just have to take my word for it. 

Here is a picture of the owner's daughter in front of me. 

We get to O Cebreiro, say good bye to the Herrias Horse Family, and I go get my bed at th Municipal Albergue. There was a young woman there who said she lost her ID, but wanted a bed. That is bad news. You can't really get a bed anywhere in Spain without a passport or identiy card, except at a friends house. And there is no place in O Cebreiro to try to replace it. It is a pueblo of about ten buildings and a church. 

Instead of my my usual routine, I went to eat before I took a shower and did my laundry. Doing laundry has become easier, but more complicated. I discovered last night, that I had lost/left my second pair of pants in Ponferrada. I had one pair of stretch pants for sleeping and to keep my legs warm when it is cold. You may recall that the zipper on the legs of my hiking pants broke some time ago. So I was left with two pairs of shorts and the stretch pants, which look a little weird underneath shorts. I would wear my clean shorts, when I washed the dirty ones at the end of the day. Now I only have one pair. It makes life interesting. And there are no clothing stores around, never mind stores that carry hiking pants. Oh well. My Fitbit also died. I'm just falling apart over here. I hope I don't have to fly home wrapped in my sarong. 

Look at these big bridges they build for the roads so it is avstright line from ridge to ridge. 

Decisions and Signs

This morning I got up and decided I was done, or maybe I was done. Anyway Kathy had showed me a really nice place I could stay for 12€ and she showed me the place where the doctors treat Pilgrims. 

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. 

A Long Steep Walk Down The Mountain

Fernando woke us all up, as he promised  to do, at 6 am. This is pretty standard practice at parochial Albergues, up at 6 am and out the door by 7 am. Pack up, have some coffee, eat some toast, and be on your way. 

On this day it was dark. This is what I saw for part of the climb, before the sun came along.

 

It was nice though, because we got to see a beautiful sunrise on the way to Cruz de Fero, the Iron Cross.

There is a tradition on the Camino to carry something, or I suppose many things, and leave them there. I think the most common practice was to carry a rock with you as you walk the Camino and then dropping it here as a physical representation of letting go. 

The cross is at the very top of that pole. 

In the past I've carried stuff for me and others. This year I didn't carry anything. When I was at the Cruz de Fero I enjoyed watching other people climb the mountain of rocks and other stuff accumulated over the years, but I didn't feel the need. Certainly there are a multitude of things I could let go, but I just didn't think of anything pressing. I have no idea what this is about. As with most spiritual lessons, the answer will come when I least expect it and from a place I never would have looked. 

After that it was a long slog down a steep hill on slippery rocks to Molinseca. 

There is a lovely river and an old bridge in Molinseca. 

I took off my shoes and socks and soaked my feet in the icy water. Then I put my socks and shoes back on and walked 7 or 8 km to Ponferrada. In total I walked about 19 miles, but the last 5 mi seemed like 20 mi. Go figure. 

I got checked into the Albergue, took a shower, washed my clothes and went to the market for food. Then I contacted Kathy, whom I have never met in person, only on line. She is from Texas, but has lived in Ponferada the last two years. We went out for ice cream and a chat. She gave me lots of information about where things were in  case I couldn't walk tomorrow. 

When I got back to the Albergue the Italians were in the full dinner preparations. They fed a host of people and were laughing and enjoying themselves until it was time to clean up before lights out. 

There is a black man walking the Camino. I note that, because it's unusual. He's stocky and is not a sprinter. But over the past few days he would pass me or I would pass him and we would say "hola" to each other. Somehow, it got to be funny, and we started doing exagerated "holas" and laughing. There was something about his demeanor that caught my attention. So I asked where he was from, and he said Zimbabwe. Then I asked if he was a pastor, or minister, or priest. He said, "yes, all of those." He looked at me question lay, and I said, "It's the way you carry yourself." He said "Thank you." And off we walked. Some people carry the Word without ever saying anything. I just love that. I hope I continue to see him. 

A Tough Climb to the Highest Point on the Camino

I planned to sleep in today since it was going to be cold and I wasn't walking too far. So much for plans. I woke up at 5:30 am with a light in my eyes complements of the Italian girl in the next bed. Then Weird Man got even wierder, if that is possible. He pulled out a rubber ball and proceeded to roll it in the floor in the room where everyone was sleeping. Scratch, scratch, scratch, etc. Then after five or ten minutes of that, he took out something that looked like garlic on springy string and began pulling it back and forth across his back and shoulders clickers clackers clickers clackers for another five or ten minutes. He then proceeded to do some other weird stuff, but I can't describe it because I got up and left the room. I overheard one of the Spanish men describing his weird annoying beds to the hospitalero. The hospitalero asked what language he spoke. We all shrugged our shoulders. 

So I'm up an out a little after 6 am. I found a cafe and had café con leche and a croissant a la plancha (basically cut in half and toasted on the grill.) I left the bar about 7 am and started walking. My microfiber jacket kept me warm, thank goodness. Tomorrow it's supposed to be even colder in the morning. 

Last night I checked the bus and train schedule with a plan to go to Santiago and start arranging to come home early. But I woke up feeling ok. So I decided to walk a bit more. 

Along the trail to Rabbanal I met these guys. 

And took this selfie

I got to Rabbanal which was about 20 km (12 miles) where I was going to stop, but it was only noon. I figured I may as well go to the next place, Foncebadon which is about 6 more km. Somehow it slipped my mind that, not only is Foncebadon a steep uphill from Rabbanal, it is a rocky steep uphill. 

But at one point there was this strange chair on the trail. 

It got hot and the climb was grueling. At several points I tried to keep within screaming distance from the three pilgrims in front of me in case I needed help. At several other times I said, to heck with it, or something like that, I think I'll just lay down here on this rocky trail and stop breathing. I made it to the tops not two hours later. There were three memorials along this part of the trail, in memory of pilgrims who died here.  Not exactly a confidence builder.rocky with rocks firmly planted in the earth.

I must have tripped ten times today. Fortunately my  poles stopped the forward motion each time The trail was full of rocks. Loose rocks and rocks firmly planted in the earth. The ones planted have no give, so if your toe hits them, the rock doesn't, your forward momentum carried your body forward, while your toe is still getting acquainted with the earth. 

I got to Foncebadon and decided I didn't want to stay in this Albergue. lol

So I went to the Domus Dei Albergue because American Pilgrims On the Camino (APOC) helped fund a new roof for this Albergue. I like Parroquial albergues and I wanted to check out the roof. It looks good from the inside and outside, not that I know anything about roofs. So I took a picture of the plaque they hung by the door thanking APOC for it's help with the roof. 

When I walked up to Domus Dei and there were eight of the Italians sitting on the porch. The Albergue is supposed to open at noon, but there was a little note posted saying it would open at 2 pm. It's a little before 2 pm, so I take a seat and wait.

About 2:15 the hospitalero strolls up. He is an older, about my age, Spanish man. His name is Fernando, he speaks no English, and judging from his body language has no interest in learning any. He goes in and gets a clip board, sits down and proceeds to talk for an hour about the basics lights out, wake up time, leave Albergue time, community breakfast and dinner, and the donativo. In most albergues this takes less than a minute. It is clear the man likes to hold court. Then he tells everyone to go grab a bed and give him their credentials. This is all a little strange, but; oh well. I normally understand spoken Spanish about simple things, but I am so tired I keep fading in and out. The Italians answer any questions I have. 

I get my bed and meet Richard. He is a cook by profession.

Must be nice to have cook with you on the Camino. He gives me three "besas" ( kisses on the cheek. He says Italians do three, not two. 

The Red Cross came and tended to blisters and other pilgrim problems.

I asked them about my feet. They, and a massage therapist studying to be a doctor diagnosed my foot problem as plants fasciitis. Dang. I'm sure I caught it from Leea. She probably spread those little plantar germs around. The Red Cross guy also mention that a 17 year old boy on the Camino died yesterday of dehydration in the next town. I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. I'm sure I caught from Leea. All those little plantar germs spreading around

So dinner was very good but late. 

As dinner was ending Fernando gets a wooden spoon and hands out post card of the print on the wall of a painting of the Port of Glory at the Santiago Cathedral. He proceeds to lecture us like this is a art history class using his wooden spoon as a pointer. I'm telling you, you can't make this stuff up.

He asks a Spanish woman to translate it into French for two guys, and he asks one of the Italian girl to translate it into English for the Japanese guy, the two young women from the Check Republic and me. This is not my cup of tea under the best of circumstances, but at 10:30 pm after a grueling long uphill climb, I can barely keep my eyes open. Plus we still have the whole dinner mess to clean up. And his information is wrong which drives Richard crazy. I finally get up under the pretense of going to the bathroom. Several other people wander off, and eventually It ended and we clean up. 

There seems to be certain older Spanish men who use being a hospitalero as playing out a fantasy of being a priest or a teacher. They are in a position of authority and have a captive audience. I've encountered it three times now on the Camino. 

As a result I'm now a day behind on my blogs, and will be until I can find time to catch up. So for the record today I walked 30 Km (almost 19 mi) and I'm in Ponferrado. 

Astorga A Lovely City

I woke up this morning about 5 am and couldn't go back to sleep. So, I turned off my phone alarm, which was set for 6 am, so it wouldn't wake anyone. Then I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 7 am, which is when I usually leave the Albergue. No big deal. But the strange thing was how few people were awake and how quiet those who were awake had been. One of the other pilgrims who was at the breakfast table when I came out commented on this phenomenon. 

I ate breakfast. They had cornflakes, but all they had was hippy milk, like soy and almond, so I had toast and coffee. I left the Albergue about 8:15 am. Here is a picture from the porch as I left. See how sunny it is. 

The terrain was different today. We had some climbing to do. Lots of winding road up and some down. 

I saw this wagon along the way. 

And this church

I had forgotten that David's hospitality stand was on this etapa. I was pleasantly surprised when I crested the hill and saw it there. David has lived outside on the porch of this abandoned building for quite a few years now. He is there year round. I think the story goes that he was lost and he found his calling in place, welcoming pilgrims and providing them with sustenance. In the time since I was last hear in 2013 he has been joined by Susie whom he introduced as his girlfriend. 

I noticed some other changes, the stand has been moved away from the abandoned building and flowering plants and trees have been planted in the space. When I commented on the changes, Susie said it is a woman's touch. They are both very good looking people. It's hard to imagine living outdoors year round and having to carry water by hand up the hill. 

Here's the stand

And here is the building in the background, with the flowers in front. 

And hear is David and Susie talking to a little boy. 

While I was posting these pictures, I just realized that they have to carry the water for the flowers up the hill too. Good Heavens, I believe I need a nap just from thinking about it. But they both look really happy. 

When you get to the top of a long hill you see this cross and then you see Astorga down below. 

At the bottom of the hill I found this guy drinking water and asked him to share. 

And this is just a random shot of these three plants in the middle of a plowed field. I call it, "Rebels."

Then as you approach Astorga you have to climb up then down the Green Monster to get over the railroad tracks. 

Then to add insult to injury, you get to climb this little hill at the end. 

I checked into the Albergue, took a shower, washed my clothes, and went to the supermercado for food. 

One of the guys in my room is weirder than me. Now that's disturbing. He was sitting on his bed in men' pajamas, top and bottoms, eating seeds when I walked into the room. Pilgrims don't normally wear pajamas. Then when I came back from grocery shopping he was reading and talking to himself out loud. Oh well, I guess I can't always be the weirdest. 

Here is my lunch built from cheese, yogurt, and bread I got at the supermercado, an apple from the basket at last nights Albergue, and an egg from David's stand.