Today was very long, very beautiful and included some shortcuts. Melanie suggested that anyone following this, or if we ever walk this path again, it needs to be split up into two or shortened by adjusting the stopping points a few days before and / or after this stage. And as I always say, Melanie is always right.
In the guide, it says that it is 26.6km from Foncebadón to Ponferrada. That’s not tough for us but, you also have to read the rest of the stage’s profile. It’s one of a few that are labelled as “hard” – and that is an understatement.the walk up to the Cruz de Ferro is not challenging but that’s only 2.3km of the trail. After that, there is a lovely bit of up and down on the mountain top over trails that vary from easy to hard. After that luxury, there is a dramatic drop on 900m in altitude to Molinaseca over a distance of 12km. That portion is mostly on very challenging terrain or either a layer of large loose rocks that dare you to step on them or large bits of exposed bedrock jutting up, trying to piece our boots. Everyone we have spoken to on this Camino or previous Caminos has said that it is the toughest section on the Camino, excluding the whole way over the Pyrenees on the first day. Pilgrims in the twenties were either complaining how much their knees ached or they were seen massaging their feet. Finally, once we reached Molinaseca, the guide says it’s 7.3km to Ponferrada, mostly on sidewalk next to the main road. I think their GPS is broke. That barely gets you near the city. To further make this day hard for ourselves, the only private room we could find in Ponferrada was 5km past the center of town and not on the Camino.
I should add that Melanie and I both have to move very slowly on steep rocky descent. We are certainly slowest on the way down, except, of course, when we are in the process of falling – then we move with great speed. We are probably close to being the oldest on that trail too.
To shorten our day, we did a few things. First, we skipped the hardest 4.5km of the descent (Riego de Ambrós to by walking 6.5km down the road. We weren’t alone and, despite the extra 2km of walking, we saved time as well as our knees. There are also two options to enter Ponferrada, the “urban route” and the “river route”. If you are walking this trail for the first time, take the river route and enter the city like pilgrims of centuries ago, next to the Templar castle. If you have already done that and you’re dead tired, take the urban route like we did. It saves at least a couple of hundred meters but it gets you inside the city limits quicker. Finally, once we were inside the city limits, we headed fairly straight to the nearest albergue and ask them if they could call us a taxi. They people at Albergue Alea were extremely understanding and helpful. We should stay there next time.
Now talking about the walk, as always, the Cruz de Ferro is a special place… a holy place, consecrated by the tears of the faithful, the heart-broken, the bereaved and the sick. It has always been an emotional place as is was again. I prayed for my parents, grandparents, siblings and their families. I said extra prayers for a cousin who passed away recently and for a special intention for a family member with a medical issue. I didn’t leave a stone this time to relieve some burden but I did pray that I be given the strength to bear the burdens that come my way.
In Manjarín, I got my credencial stamped at Tomásls place and while I was in a praying mood, I also prayed for Tomás who died in January. He was always a great character of the Camino and worked religiously to keep at least some of the mountain top sanctuary going.
In El Acebo, we shared a snack with Christian who we met at dinner last night. We also walked a little slower through the medieval village with seemingly every building there to help support pilgrims for a millenium.
In Riego de Ambrós, we reminisced about staying at the albergue there on our first Camino. Back then, the albergue at one end of town and a bar/restaurant at the other were the only building occupied. Now the town is growing again and the old houses are being repaired and used as homes or places of support to the pilgrims.
In Molinaseca, an absolutely gorgeous medieval town, we shared a salad for a late lunch but we were also joined by our friends Francesca from Chile and Andrea from Mexico. We laughed for too long but only in two languages. That what the Camino is all about.
After that, the sidewalk from Molinaseca to Ponferrada continued forever. By the time we got to our hostal, it was almost 5:00pm. There is only one restaurant nearby for dinner and it was one floor below our room. The bad news was that dinner is only served at 9:00pm. I was too tired to care. As best I can recall, we have always found a way to get around the late dinner by eating lots of pinchos, eating something we put together from a grocery store or just went to bed hungry. We showered, walked 700m to get to a laundry, then sat in the bar and waited until Spain let us eat. Then, within minutes of paying our bill, Melanie was fast asleep for the night and I was asleep, fully dressed on top of the bed with the iPad in my hands and 3/4s of a blogpost finished.
Peace y’all. And good night.
George, Leo and Stella, we love you kids. You are always in our prayers.
