Villafranca del Bierzo to Triacastela

Day 36  Villafranca del Bierzo to Ambasmestas (15.5kms)

Walk outside in the dark at 8.10am expecting 3C as predicted and are surprised to find it is probably as warm as 5C!  We still need the hats, gloves and scarf but with a very steep climb for the first 400m, we soon warm up.  The climb tapers off a little but continues as the sun comes up and it is 9.00am when we feel a flat pathway beneath our feet…albeit temporarily!

We stop for a celebratory drink and then continue to climb steadily to a stand of pines where we have a sit-down-rest.  We find a koala hanging in a tree along with some personal messages of commitment to the world environment and a couple of remembrances to departed friends.



Chestnut grove 



The track is well-maintained generally, with a few wash-outs, inevitable in this type of country, and undulates, but ever-so-gently upwards, through young pines to the high point, just below two communication towers and their solar power source.  From here we can see peregrinos on the road a long way below, one of the alternate routes for the day.

The descent begins through chestnut groves…with nut gatherers and their baskets dotted amongst the trees.  The signage is almost non-existent through here but we do see the arrow that bypasses the village of Pradela.  A young Asian man who passed us on the steep ascent is not so lucky…we see him later in the valley and he tells us that not only did he go the wrong way by following a sign that said, “Bar” with a yellow arrow, but he didn’t find the bar!

We join the “roadies” on the N-VI road at the village of Trabadelo and pass a large, 24-hour Shell service centre.  Continuing along the roadside (separated from the traffic by a concrete barrier) we take a lunch break on a small hill, and are entertained by the frequent collection of cement mix from a very large mixer truck by a small front-end loader, which disappears along a track, presumably to a building site, before returning for another load.

Back onto the roadside for the short walk into La Portela where we meet Ian and Sandy from Yorkshire.  They met up in Astorga, discovered they live about 5km from each other, and have walked together since.  This is a common story along the Camino…’couples,’ often from different countries, many not even sharing a common language, join forces for a day or two, or sometimes for the duration.  Some, like our Canadian friend Chantal, manage several along the way!

It’s easy to find our accommodation on arrival in Ambasmestas…it’s one of only 2 bars in the village, which is about 100m from entry to exit, the only albergue is closed today, the sello stamp is in front of the altar in the only church, and the coffee is grande!

Church at Ambasmestas

Dinner at our Centro Turisma Hotel is excellent.  Our host goes to great trouble to explain all the dishes, which ones are “specialites locale,” the ones which are made in house and the ones which are “fabrica” (mass produced.)  Our menu went like this:

Primero plato:  John…macaroni with ham and peas, supplemented by a tomato sauce which was an added extra.  Elaine…grilled local veggies – red and green pimientos, marrow, onion, tomato, and a “dip” made of pimientos.

Segundo plato:  Both have pork loin and home made patatas fritte.

Between courses, the cook brings out a bowl of roasted chestnuts for us.

Postre:  Both the host who is the waiter, and hostess who is the cook, come to the table to explain that everything on the sweets menu is home made except the Tarte de Santiago.  After some discussion between them, they decide what they will serve…a plate each containing a slice of Tarte de Locale (chestnuts), queso (cheese) made by a family over the road, and a slice of quince jelly made in house.   Translations of each dish actually sent our hostess to the dictionary and we were able to provide English names to various vegetables…zucchini, marrow, etc…which we add to our Spanish phrase book.

Day 37  Ambasmestas to O’Cebreiro (12.5kms)

We are probably the only peregrinos in this village overnight…most people walked through to Vega de Valcarce last night, due in part to the albergue in Ambasmestas being closed, so we take to the road with no-one in sight, at 8.23am again…something about this time!  It is dark and cold but by the time we reach the Vega, less than a kilometre up the road, it is light!  It’s overcast and there’s no frost this morning.  The road rises gently through Vega – a linear village that covers about a kilometre along the road. 

We see the Castilla de Saracin ruins on a nearby hill, and although it is only a kilometre off the Camino, a fairly firm decision is made not to visit!  A reasonably desperate need to use facilities is voiced so we decide to stop at the next bar which is open…Murphy’s Law is proved again – when you don’t need a bar, every senor and his senora wants your custom!  2kms on, the village of Ruitelan is firmly locked and shuttered with only a couple of workmen out and about.  The road is winding through farmland, cow bells are tinkling, and there are only a few cars on the road. Last chance before we take to the bushes is Las Herrerias, a reasonably large village with a number of bars…plenty of people around, except the bar owners!  Eventually, and before it’s too late, in the village of Hospital (how appropriate!) almost the last building is a bar which is open, the man is putting more wood on the open fire, and the coffee is grande!

Just over 1km out of Las Herrerias we are onto the corredoira – a stone cobbled lane – which ascends steeply for 1.5km to La Faba where a lady is saddling up her donkey for a day’s work.  Pass through La Faba and climb more gently at first then very steeply again on the corredoira to Laguna de Castilla, where there is a Refugio Vegetarian, with a stall out the front selling trinkets and offering infusion tea for a donation.  Just up the road we meet a lady carrying a huge load of cabbage leaves on her head, about 600mm high.



Corredoira

 We have lunch just out of Laguna de Castilla, and meet a girl from Sydney who was born in Mornington, walking with a Canadian lady we have met before, and girl from Adelaide, and Sydney, and Melbourne, who hasn’t really lived anywhere in particular for 8 years. 

Onwards and upwards to O’Cebreiro.  It’s very steep, similar to the climb over the Pyrenees, but not quite as long. 

The countdown to Santiago now begins, as we pass from the Province of Leon to the Province of Galicia.  A concrete marker, showing “K 153” is the first.  They should appear every 500m from now until we reach the Cathedral.  

Our accommodation is right near the top of the small village, which is a bit touristy…gift shops, plenty of accommodation, tourists in cars and buses.  We meet a girl from the Goulburn Valley in the shop. 

At the very top of the village is a plaque on a stone tablet bearing the legend of German pilgrim who is lost on the Camino.  He hears the sound of bagpipes through the mist.  They are being played by a shepherd and the sound of the pipes guides the pilgrim to safety and his Holy Grail.

There are 9 round ‘houses’ with thatched roofs in the village which are either restored, or replicas, of original village housing.  And in the simple Church of Santa Maria Real the Credentiale stamp is in front of the altar, as we have found in a number of other villages.

Being a Friday, people are being dropped off here to start walking tomorrow for the weekend; we see some folk dropped off and walking away towards Triacastela at about 3.00pm; and a group of cyclists who have presumably finished their  section for the moment are picked up by minivan. 

We have dinner at our hotel…Galician soup (potato, celery, onion and leafy greens,,,spinach?) which is delicious.  GV girl, now know as Mountain Maid (“I have to walk fast up the hills because I come from the mountains!”  Huh!?) is holding court with 4 chaps in a most winning way…she has apparently brushed off  “a ….  big Italian” who wants to kiss her! 

Day 38 O’Cebreiro to Triacastela (21kms)

Step onto the road at 8.35am in the dark under a full moon, when it isn’t covered by the mist.  The first 3km is along the road to Linares, a village established to produce linen, then onto a corredoiras for the climb to Alto de San Roque (1270m) where a large, dramatic statue of a wind-blown pilgrim braces against the elements! 

We are seeing the countdown milestones most of the way…they are supposed to be every 500m but we haven’t picked up every one.

Most of the morning we have been climbing steadily but the final climb to Alto de Poio (1337m) is very steep.  This is the last high point of the Camino.  Two bar/restaurants sit at the top (on a main road) and, along with many other peregrinos, we reward ourselves with a hot drink!   Meet our ‘mountain maid’ again, this time with “the …. big Italian!”  Go figure!!



View from a chocolate croissant!



The rest of the day is mostly on a corriedoiras, and gently descends to Biduedo where we have a bite of lunch (a chocolate croissant, can you believe it?) and a brew.  Today, being Saturday, we are seeing day and weekend walkers, including what looks like a school group with a couple of leader/guides.  We skirt around the flank of Monte Caldeiron where the final steepish descent begins, first to Filloval, then As Pasantes and Ramil before coming in to Triacastela at the top of the main street.

Our accommodation (Casa David) is on this street, we check in and John does his usual reconnoitre of the surroundings while Elaine has a ‘nanna nap’ to try to shift her head cold which has returned.  After 4.00pm (of course!) the supermarket is open and we buy some supplies for tomorrow’s lunch so we won’t have to have chocolate croissants ever again! 

We get our Credentiale stamp at the church and a hot drink at David’s during a quick internet session (both quite expensive!) finish off the afternoon.  The power goes off intermittently, but we are assured that this is not a problem...and will not affect our stay.  Hopefully the heaters will work because it is cold!

Dinner is in a bar up the street at 7.00pm and we sit in the cold with everyone else, all with fleeces on, but no joy in having the heating turned on there either!   There is no reason to sit around there for coffee, so we backtrack to another bar…a bit warmer…for coffee, then back to David’s where there are still no heaters, but the room is small and the beds are warm.