Day 26 - Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

A day of pleasant countryside.

Here we are in Villafranca del Bierzo, on the eve of our final rest day.

Last night's hotel window looked out over this park.

We passed a restless night in Ponferrada. It was hot and we slept with our second-floor window open, looking straight out into the treetops. Under the trees, all the Friday night revellers walked and talked loudly on their way home, or sat and talked loudly on their phones. They were still going for it at 6am, at which time I leaned my elegant naked torso out of the lighted window and asked in my most polite tones if they would mind going elsewhere.

We were on the road soon after 7am. The temperature was in the low twenties, but it was overcast and didn't get any hotter for a few hours.

The little church opposite our coffee shop.

Coffee and tortilla at Fuentas Nuevas after about 7km.

Some great buildings as we walked out of town. They weren't at all unusual for methods of construction and degrees of dilapidation all through the Camino, but we can't take photos of all the quaint buildings - these ones just got lucky.

The cemetery at Fuentas Nuevas.

One thing we've noticed is the cemeteries - they are all outside the various towns and villages and walled in. People seem to be interred in mausoleums. This one had a positively holiday camp atmosphere about it. Cathie's been checking online and it seems they aren't buried (the people that is), possibly because of the effect on the ground water and this may also be why they are out of town. Could the walls be to contain the ghosts and other spirits of the dead? When you start to search for policies, it seems it's quite political, between the secular and the state and practices vary.

A hash shop in Camponaraya.

Occasionally we've detected the aroma of marijuana on the breeze. Like most countries, Spain is dealing with its legalisation.

With about 5km to go, the clouds started to break up and the sun was about to break through.

We wandered along on hard flat surfaces which allowed us to make good time - after four hours we'd covered more than 18km. We'd planned a final coffee food shop at Pieros, 5km from our destination at about 11.30am. Our Camino app had a definite picture of a knife and fork there, but we weren't able to find either, so we pressed on.

Rural splendour, even walking along the highway.

We came to a point where we had to choose between continuing on the edge of the road, or branching off into the countryside. The scenic route was longer and we were enjoying the smooth surface, so we opted to stay on the road. There weren't many cars and the scenery was excellent.

The 11th century Romanesque church Iglesia de Santiago.

Eventually, we turned on to gravel roads and headed uphill. It was getting hot, but we hadn't far to go. We were joined by Scottish Wendy for the last couple of kilometres and soon we reached the town of Villafranca del Bierzo.

It was getting even hotter by then and sadly we had to descend through the town, then climb a hill on the other side to get to the hotel, Tres Campanas (Three Bells). Readers with a good memory will remember that I used a song of that name as the earworm of the day a few weeks ago, but Wendy's memory doesn't go back that far (even though I lustily sang a few stanzas as we walked into town). She's very young, so for her benefit alone, here it is again: https://youtu.be/UGoCXt50usk

Having settled in and had a shower, we walked into town, bought some beer for Ron (before the supermarket closed for siesta at 2pm) and shared a pizza and beer in the plaza, before drifting back up to the Three Bells for our own little kip. We may return tonight.

For today's music, I've been thinking of a great Turkish musician, Farid Farjad and one of my favourite little video clips: https://youtu.be/lwud6b3G52Q

Today's Relive video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vDqgMXNwmGO

We didn't take too many photos today and the wifi here is pretty slow, so the album is small and not quite complete. More photos may drop in later: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bFhgjrZikVqbK1c38

As a quick addition. Hi to Mickey with whom we shared dinner at the plaza and also to the South African/Scottish family, who we keep seeing.