Well, back on the trail. I woke up in Leon after a sound 9 hours’ sleep which sort of made up for the 2.5 hours the previous night, thanks to having to leave absurdly early to get to Luton for a 6:30 flight to Madrid. Incidentally the Pope was reported to have announced at the end of May that there was no such place as Hell. Which tells you that the Pope has never been to Luton airport at 5:30am on a Saturday morning.
I digress. It was the heavy rain rather than the alarm that woke me up. Not the best sound to wake up to when you are about to walk. Still, I reasoned I was starting from Ponferrada some 70 miles away. The taxi driver was reassuring. He ran a bar in Leon when not driving a taxi (he said everyone needs 2 jobs to survive in this part of the German empire – he reckoned that if they had a referendum in Spain it would be a big leave vote and, as he said, that’s why they will never be allowed a vote….) and his supplier of ice-cream sells twice as much in Ponferrada.
Albergue of St Nicholas, Ponferrada
Sure enough as we arrived in Ponferrada the sun broke through the clouds. I need to stop at the Municipal Albergue as that is the official start of the Invierno. I met a delightful Brazilian hospitalera who made me tea and then stamped my credencial. She had been walking caminos since 1999 and was very excited as she would be walking with her daughter on the Del Norte in a few weeks. No pressure kids but I think this woman’s daughter was a truly wonderful human being…cough cough…Fathers Day….cough cough….I wonder how many years of life I have left…cough cough….
So I started with a little detour into Ponferrada for breakfast and found a clean and buzzing café who did tostada and café con leche for me.
I was rather glad I was heading off on the Invierno; the café was full of those severe, unsmiling American woman with short hair who are doing the Frances to deal with their grief over Hilary losing 18 months ago.
So off I went away from the madding crowds. Any doubts I had were vanquished by a party of three amazingly loud American teenage girls who went screaming past me closely followed by some creepy guy who had attached himself to them. As I left Ponferrada, I came across a party of people dressed as Templar knights preparing for a church service – obviously the correct thing to do would have been to do the whole BBC/Guardian thing and condemn this display of far-right extremism but actually I found their sweet Christian devotion rather touching.
Spanish extremists on the march
The Invierno is described as the route that pilgrims take in the winter. The passes over the Galician mountains get closed by snow so the Invierno is a gentle detour which adds some 60 km but follows gentle river valleys to avoid the heights. I did wonder therefore why the first thing the path did was to climb a mountain while I got some great views – from on high – of said river valley. No matter after 6 km I was ready for a coffee. The café in the guide at Toral de Merayo is described as friendly. The friendly staff don’t work on Sundays. So after a surly coffee I wandered across the plaza to look at a rather interesting old church. It had been turned into a school some 27 years ago. As I was admiring the stonework, a rather majestic stork returned to its nest on the roof. Unfortunately it must have had a vindaloo last night. Funnily enough, in Leon last night I had watched the episode of the IT Crowd where Roy’s attempt to pick up a girl is ruined by the fact that he had chocolate mousse on his forehead which the girl thinks is crap. So it was somewhat coincidental that I also had crap on my head, on my sunglasses, on my cheek and my new rucksack. Fortunately as an Englishman I always carry a handkerchief which then found its way into the nearest bin.
best observed at a distance
Onwards and upwards…mostly upwards. About 4 km late in Priaranza Del Bierzo I found a nice looking bar for lunch. And they sold special Estrella Galicia pilgrim beer with a companion cat thrown in.
A short walk followed lunch to Santalla and then I took the option of a “stiff climb” to reach the castle at Cornatel. It would have been helpful for the guide to quantify “stiff”….if it had been a little more specific ….”walk 3 km uphill so you get a great view of the castle from above”, I might have chosen the easier route. I wear a Fitbit with pulse monitor and I had to stop when I hit 170; I suspect I’m not as fit as I would like. I did enjoy the traditional non-existent Spanish concern with health and safety – it was only when I looked back at the path I had descended on that I realised I had been walking on a cliff edge with a good 200 foot drop. Anyway Cornatel castle was great and well worth the visit.
Pilgrims enter for free and get a stamp. I also got a small lapel badge. It’s slightly awkward as I can’t really imagine wearing said badge to many business meetings; still I thanked the ultra-enthusiastic ticket seller and I’m sure she reckoned she made my day. There was a great view from the castle and I could see rain hitting areas of the Bierzo valley.
Then to make my day, about 1 km from Borrenes the rain finally got me. But the rain cover worked well and I trod or squelched into Borrenes at speed. Before I could check in, the rather crazy woman who was doubling as bar staff at the bar across the road as well as receptionist insisted on taking my photo….perhaps it’s a new crime prevention measure. I waved “hola” at a couple of German pilgrims at the bar and then went to inspect the damage to my feet.
190 floors climbed today according to my Fitbit. I’m sure that is more than the climb into Galicia on the Frances. Do they have anything like the Trade Description Act in Spain?
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