McHughs on The Camino

May 4, 2017 – 15. 5 miles ( 25 Km)  Left Ponferrada under overcast skies, which was a relief, because the forecast was for pretty high temperatures. It took a few miles to get out of the city and suburbs. The walk today felt very long. We spent most of the day walking on roads, it wasn’t until the last few miles when we walked through some beautiful vineyards, as the area of Bierzo is a pretty big wine producer. Our legs and feet are feeling the effects of yesterday’s long walk and the hard road today. We tried not to walk too much this afternoon as we have a challenging day tomorrow, long and very hilly!!

May 3, 2017 – 22 miles (35 Km) – We had a beautiful day that ended up being pretty hot. We left Rabanal del Camino and right away had almost 1000 feet of elevation, it was in about 3 miles, so not too bad in most parts. The scenery was just amazing! We were so happy to be back in the mountains! 

One of the most anticipated moments on the Camino is Cruz de Ferro. It’s an iron cross that stands on a pole. People leave a rock or token to represent guilt, pain, grief, love, a blessing, hope, whatever you want it to mean. We had both brought small rocks from home, it was a pretty cool moment. We still had another hill to go, and then the downhill started. We went down over 3000 feet, some parts a bit steep. We had climbed some yesterday, so the way down was long. We passed a few very nice small towns. We saw a fox (too fast for a picture), and a few cows, some with a calf. It was such a great walk! We arrived to Molinaseca, a very cute town, and from there we still had to get to Ponferrada. That was mostly on a road, so it wasn’t as nice. We were able to take an alternate route (which added some distance) so we got off the road and arrived to Ponferrada. We have a lot of pictures today, one of our favorite days!

May 2, 2017 – 13 miles (21 Km) Sun was out and it was a bit cool this morning. We left Astorga and walked up a gradual hill to Rabanal del Camino. We had a coffee stop in El Ganso, where a friend, Angel grew up. We met the coffee shop owners, very nice and welcoming. It started getting pretty warm as we went up the hill and finally arrived to Rabanal del Camino. A very cute, small town. We got here early, and there was a bar/restaurant at the start of the town, so we just watched the other pilgrims walk in while we had lunch. Very cool. Everyone you see walking around are other pilgrims. No locals. We’ve been seeing a lot of the same faces again, and every now and then someone from a few weeks ago. Tomorrow we have a big day, the longest walk for us, 20+ miles. So we’ll be off to bed early tonight!! Hopefully the town shuts down early too!!

May 1, 2017 – 12.5 miles (20 Km) – Weather was better today, and as bad as we thought it was yesterday, it was worse for others. Some people had to be rescued from the first stage in the Pyrenees, with hypothermia, and someone we met before texted from the stage ahead of us. They had the wind with snow, so all in all, it wasn’t as bad for us. Last night we stayed at an old mill house converted to a small hotel. It was very cozy, the people who run it are very welcoming, and it’s all done family style. We were there with a group of people from the Canary Islands, a French couple, and a German lady. We had a fun dinner. This morning was pretty cool, and as the day went on, it got a bit windier. Nothing compared to yesterday, but it was colder than expected. We walked by Hospital de Orbigo, which has a bridge from the 13th century. The walk was a bit more scenic today. We arrived to Astorga where they were having a parade with a religious part of it, and a marching band. We visited the cathedral and some other sites like the Gaudí Palace.

In the evening there was another parade. Apparently, when there’s a drought, they plead to the Virgin of Castrotierra for rain. Farmers and people from villages up to 20 Km away walk to Astorga carrying huge flags and crosses and come to Astorga hoping for rain soon.  It’s hard to appreciate how heavy these flag poles are, it’s pretty scary standing close to them when they look like they’re going to fall over.

April 30, 2017 – 19 miles (31 Km). What a day!! We had our first day of real rain today, but the real weather topic was the wind. So insane!! When we left León it was raining, but the wind wasn’t bad. A few miles into it, the rain kind of eased off and the wind kicked in. The gusts were so strong at some points that it would almost stop us, and we spent the last few hours walking against it to arrive to Villavante. I don’t think we’ve ever been happier to arrive at our destination just to get out of the wind!  The scenery improved from the last few days. We had a choice to walk next to the road, or the Alternate Route, which we took that went along fields and a bit of road. There were less towns, so it was a few hours before we got our second coffee. The pictures today include some from last night when we went out for tapas around the old district in León. We tried to eat early, but nobody was serving food until 8:30 pm, and even then, they wouldn’t sell you just the food. We had to buy drinks and then they give you food. Crazy!!!

Tonight we will have a toast for my sister Victoria who has a birthday today!

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This is a video of the wind. 

April 29, 2017 – 11 miles (18 Km) – Another shorter day of walking. It started out a bit cool, but warmer than yesterday and with not much wind. The walk today was pretty uneventful. We left Mansilla de las Mulas walking over a bridge, and right away got onto the trail next to the road and it was pretty much the same until we got closer to Leon where it became more of an industrial zone. Then walked almost an hour through the city to get to the old town part. What a different world from the last few days! The city is full of life and crowded, lots of people walking around. We walked by the cathedral, which we visited this afternoon. The pictures really don’t begin to show how nice it is inside. More than anything, we liked the stained glass windows and the light that comes through them! We also walked around some more and had some pretty good food. We’re staying at a Parador, a very nice place, an old monastery that at some point was also used by the military. 

April 28, 2017

12 miles (20 Km) Day started out VERY cold. Temperature was 25 Fahrenheit (-4 Celsius), App said it felt like 18 F, almost -8C. So we bundled up and started walking. There was a bit of wind, so we walked for the first couple of hours with pretty much all of  our layers. After we stopped for coffee we were able to get rid of some of the clothes. All of the walk was on a path next to the road, not very exciting. Mansilla de las Mulas is a small town, but there’s a bit more to it than the last few towns. It’s an old medieval town, so there are parts of a wall, but most has been restored. There were a few more people, not many! Later in the afternoon there were a of couple open stores, nothing too fun, but good to see a bit of life!! There’s a museum in town, so we went to learn about the province of León. They had some history exposition parts, and current information. Excited about walking into the city of León tomorrow, although the route there is not very attractive (According to the book we’re following).       

April 27, 2017

12 miles (19 Km). It was 28 degrees when we got up. By the time we left, a couple degrees warmer, but there was frost on the cars parked outside and on the grass. 

As we walked out of Sahagun, we saw the nicest part of the city, a nice arch, and a bridge. After that, it was a day of walking along the road, so not much scenery. We have one or two more days of that, then hopefully we get to more scenic trails. The town where we’re staying tonight is pretty empty, we walked around this afternoon and saw more cats than people! 

April 26, 2017

14 miles (22 Km) Not a very interesting day on the trail, most of the walk today was right next to the road. It was grey and cloudy when we left and forecast was for rain. It sprinkled just a tiny bit, not even worth wearing a rain jacket, but it was pretty cool, and it seemed to get colder as the day went on, so the rain jacket did come in handy.

Sahagun is a bit larger town, but not much going on. And again we don’t have many pictures. 

Our day usually starts with a breakfast, then we start walking. Most days around 8 am +/- 30 mins. After 2 and a half to 3 hours we stop for our second coffee, then start walking again. We usually arrive to our destination before lunch time, except on the longer walking days. First thing we do when we check into our hotel is take our shoes off and put on our sandals. Not pretty, but very comfortable. When you walk around town, you can always see who the pilgrims are, everyone wears sandals or flip-flops, and some walk like they’re hurting. Dinner is usually a pilgrim menu, you get a few choices, but mostly the same local foods. Every now and then we have to venture and eat different food. Then it’s off to bed, and start all over again the next day. Just like Groundhog Day!!

April 25, 2017

Shorter walk today, 10.5 miles, 17 Km. Didn’t’ expect such a short walk, but apparently there are no hotels in the area for a while, so we had to stop here. Not much in the town besides our little hotel, and albergue (hostel), and a tiny store. The hotel is pretty basic but clean. The owner is incredible. He offered to do our laundry and we got the best service in the whole trip at lunch time. He made us a special lamb dish which was incredible, some nice wine, and great food all around. There’s rain in the forecast, so it’s nice we made it before it started raining. There are a few other people staying in the town, but not many. Sorry, not many pictures today. There’s one of this man Enric from Barcelona, who is walking with his dog Puça (flea) the whole Camino. He is going ahead and we may not see him again. The dog is amazing.