Molinaseca to Cacabelos

Total distance today = 14.6 miles

Ascent today = 263 feet

Cumulative distance = 368.1 miles

A short climb out of Molinaseca, and Ponferrada came into view - but it took a long time to get to the city gates. 

As always, there are some who don't make it. Look carefully at the inscription.  This pilgrim was 78 years old. I can't imagine doing this hike at that age. Especially if he was trying to follow the Brierly guide. That man's guide is sadistic. We started the trip using his guide, but 31 km days (20 miles) with full packs is really hard to do day after day for 33 days. Some of the guidebook's recommended distances are even longer and can include major climbs. We are very happy to have extended our hike and to have about six rest days to use in the larger cities to visit museums and historic sites like cathedrals and castles. 

The path took us in a wide circle around the outskirts of Ponferrada, keeping us in the suburbs. Much nicer than the industrial parks. The outer suburbs had home sites of several acres, usually with large gardens. The canal irrigation system is available to homeowners. When water is needed, they open a gate to flood their field. 

We entered the city at the base of the mountain seen in the distance. 

Finally we crossed over the old medieval bridge into old town Ponferrada. 

The old bridge is for foot traffic only. A new bridge, built right beside the old, carries vehicular traffic. 

The old town is dominated by the Castillo de Templarios, originally built in the 12th century.  It has undergone extensive renovations and now houses replicas of Templar and other religious texts. 

We left Ponferrada by the iron bridge. Ponferrada got its name from the iron ore that was mined here long ago. The iron and coal mines of this area have long since shut down. 

The streets here are so narrow, that it's sometimes hard to get a good angle for a photograph. The stone cross is not falling over. We passed several small hermitages with murals on the outer walls. 

A odd modern office building looks out of place here. 

Lunch was in the small village of Columbrianos. It was the only cafe in town, so there were a few other peregrinos making the stop as well. Good thing. We misjudged the size of the pizza and our appetites. The other pilgrims helped us finish it off. 

Many town churches like this one in Columbrianos put up poles for the storks to build their nest, but apparently some storks still like to sit on the church. 

We thought this stone cross was interesting. The crucifix is on one side and Santiago is on the other. 

A few more miles and came to this bodega in Camponaraya.  They offered wine and pinchos (tapas) to peregrinos for 1.50€. Perfect afternoon snack to get us through the last three miles. 

We are back in wine country, so spent the last of our 14 mile hike tramping by vineyards. The bunches of grapes are getting bigger. 

The cherries are ripe too. A couple was selling some by the path. They were delicious. It's feast or famine on the Camino. Remember our lunch stop two days ago when we only had nothing but chips and water to share with the kittens?

The ripe cherries were amazing, so gone within a mile.

We finally reached our hotel in Cacabelos. We've been hiking for over a month, but a 14+ mile day with hills can still leave us tired and sore. So, a nap, dinner, blog and bed in that order - except I fell asleep before the blog was done, so finished it after breakfast. 

Today is our shortest hike day on the entire Camino, only 6 km. This was a late insertion by the trip planners, apparently because our destination, Villafranca del Bierzo, has a lot to see. So, we're off!

Acebo to Molinaseca

Total distance today = 5.3 miles

No ascent today - it's all downhill

Cumulative distance = 353.6 miles

We expected to sleep in a little this morning, but a bunch of middle/high school kids gathering for a group hike made that impossible. About 50 kids gathered just across from our room to await orders to move out. Some of them arrived at least an hour early. Oh well, just that much more time to read the paper. 

We left Acebo mid-morning, looking forward to a downhill day. Way off in the distance is Ponferrada, a town we will pass through tomorrow. Our destination, Molinaseca, is a little closer. In the very center of this picture are the steam clouds coming off a power plant. 

This area of Spain is a major producer of electric power using hydroelectric, nuclear and wind. 

Today our path was marked sporadically with iron crosses. 

Unlike yesterday, today was sunny. Cold enough in Acebo to wear our fleece jackets, probably about 45 degrees, but we were down to short sleeves by the end of our hike. Many of mountains that we walked through yesterday and over the past few weeks still have pockets of snow, some of which are visible in blog pictures. 

It was downhill on rocky surfaces all the way today. That is actually much harder on our legs. We need to go slower so as to be sure of our footing and avoid falls or sprained ankles. 

The views were great all day. 

Dave saw this and said, "Great motorcycling road."

I said, "Keep walking."

The town of Molinaseca is reached via an old medieval bridge. It is quite picturesque  with the 17th century Church of San Nicolas on a rise near the bridge 

This town, unlike the ones higher up the mountain, exudes vitality. Lots of people enjoying lunch by the water. The walk through town showed ancient buildings that are well cared for, with lots of potted flowers on the balconies and windows. 

Molinaseca also has a pilgrim statue/fountain sponsored by Japan. 

Tomorrow we will hike through a bunch of towns and one city, Ponferrada, where there is an 11th century castle once occupied by the Knights Templar. Unfortunately it and all the museums are closed on Monday, so we may taxi backwards on Tuesday after our short hike on that day, in order to see what we will miss tomorrow.  

Santiago gets ever closer, and tomorrow it will be less than 200 kilometers away (about 120 miles). We also hope to take the added hike to the Atlantic Ocean at Finisterre, another 90 kilometers. There is only one more major mountain range to cross, but having climbed over the Pyrenees, Alto del Perdon (Sierra de Andia range), Monjardin, Alto de San Anton, La Rioja Alta, Montes de Oca, Sierra de Atapuerca (Matagrande mountain), Alto de Mostalares, and yesterday crossing over the Camino's highest point on Montes de Leon, we expect to be able to handle the legendary 2,300-ft. climb over O Cebreiro on July 3 without much trouble.  There will be climbs pretty much every day on the rest of the hike, but the one everyone on the Camino talks about is O Cebreiro.

Rabanal del Camino to Acebo

Total distance today = 9.9 miles

Total ascent today = 1,968.5 feet

Cumulative distance = 348.3

Today we headed over the mountains. 

Early on our hike, near the village, was a monument and a fuente. 

The overcast skies made the wildflowers really stand out.  Especially the purple ones. Look for them in some of the other pictures. It is past the season for the flowers in the lower elevations, but there are still some in the mountains. Here are couple flowers we haven't seen before. 

It's hard to see in this photo, but this flower is a very light pink. 

A lot of climbing on steep rocky paths today. The overcast skies and altitude kept the temperatures cold for most of the morning. 

A rest hut for poor tired pilgrims with a fuente in front of it. 

This poor pilgrim now has eternal rest.  The inscription says this was her second Camino.  Mmmm think we'll only do it once. 

By late morning the skies were looking ominous. 

And the cows were laying down. We were told that when the cows lay down, then rain is on its way.   We stopped for coffee and hot tea at a "hippie" albergue. It was in a very old, run down house. It reminded me of a camping hut. All very rustic and rudimentary.  While there it began to rain. But it was just a  light drizzle and didn't last long. As we climbed, temps dropped, so we put on our raincoats and headed up the trail. 

This is La Cruz de Ferro - the Iron Cross. It is at the peak of Mt. Irago at 4,934 feet above sea level. It is a simple wooden pole with an iron cross on top. But this is the spot along the Camino the pilgrims traditionally leave a rock or other item from home as a symbolic gesture of love, or the laying down of a burden. 

I'm sure this plaque explains it much better, but I was just stuck by the irony of the Braille description of what we were "seeing". 

As we crossed the mountaintop, it began to rain again. On go the pack covers. We marched on towards our lunch destination. That's it ahead of Dave, and believe me - the picture makes it look 100 times better. Our guide had led us to believe it served food. In reality it's an old falling down building that some industrious person has placed boards, tarps and whatever other material was on hand to cover the structure. On a "table" he offered water, coffee served in plastic "solo" type cups, and graham crackers. He also had walking sticks and trinkets for sale. 

Still, it was shelter from the rain. So we sat down on a makeshift bench, and pulled out our "emergency" snacks, and bought a bottle water.  Soon we were joined by a friendly cat, meowing and trying to beg some food off us. 

She got some chips that I accidentally dropped on the floor, but we didn't have much to offer. So she left meowing loudly. We thought she was indignant. But no. 

She was calling in reinforcements. Four of the most adorable kittens you ever saw followed her back to us all mewing pitifully. They scampered all around, looking at us with pleading kitten eyes. 

I wanted to take this one home. Cooper would love it. 

The rain let up, so we continued without our kitten. Not far down the path, we came across the annex to our lunch stop. It had a little more to offer, but we passed on by. 

As we walked on, we took note of the military observation post just to the left of the antennae tower.  The weather was getting steadily worse. The rain, while not a downpour, was heavier and the fog closed in. It was much colder, so we added our fleece jackets under our raincoats. 

It was right about here that the opening scenes of "The Way" crossed my mind. 

Most of our descent was made very difficult by the rain and fog. It was treacherous to begin with because of the steepness, rocks and loose stones. But the rain and fog made it very slippery going as well.

But after a slow, careful ( and occasional trip) hike down, Acebo finally came into view. Just below the fog - of course. (Look for the flags in the middle just under the mist)

A few more steps,and the whole village magically appeared. 

We stayed in a small Rural Casa. It had four rooms to rent over a small store. We had a common kitchen, where the owner left breakfast for us to eat when we were ready in the morning. That worked out great for us. We were the only people staying the night. And since we only have 5 miles to hike tomorrow, we plan on a very laid back morning. 

La Rosa del Agua, our accommodations for the night.