This morning started out really nice. There are more and more people on the Camino every day, and it’s only going to get worse. We had a huge group of young Italian guys in our albergue last night and they were obnoxious! Literally everyone in the albergue was making eyes at each other like “WTF”. We passed the first cafe they were in and found one far from them for breakfast!

This was all lovely until we tried to leave this freaking town. It took us SO long to get out of Ponferrada. These big cities make me absolutely crazy. They have the worst signage in these towns telling you where to go. So many times so many of us get lost and confused and today was no exception. Along with other pilgrims. It was SO frustrating. Eventually with vague maps and understanding of where we needed to go, we got back on track.

After that it was just, flat. We walked through cities and towns, that were just beautiful. We worked hard to get away from that group of boys we came across again!

We also stopped to have a drink and rest and they gave us octopus and bread for free! As a complimentary appetizer. Which apparently is a delicacy here, but we were not about to eat it. I thought about it though.

We decided to take the shorter route into Villafranca which got a little sketchy. I was super frustrated and unsure of the road- but we made it! And then we walked into Villafranca to be reunited with Emma, Jen, Kieran, and Kat! It was SO lovely to see them again. We relaxed, napped, showered. I went down and sat with Kat, Jen, and Emma for a while before we all went to dinner! We went just down the street and I had my first hamburger here! It was yummy. We had Anne join us, a woman from France Debbie and I have seen often and said a few words to. It was nice.

D

Day mileage: 18
Total mileage: 365
Personal mileage: 18.96

THIS MORNING WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.

We officially climbed out of the meseta and boy it is like night and day with the weather! It was a cool and BEAUTIFUL morning.

Our hike began by going up, but it was SO worth it and just great to do in the early morning with the weather and the views. Climbing up this hill, away from the streets, finally back into the magic of the Spanish hillsides.

We got to the first town for breakfast and Debbie was glowing! She was feeling great, it was cool, it was beautiful, it was magical. The rest of the day was filled with views just as beautiful. The only problem for today was the terrain and declines. SO many rocks and so many downhills, across the rocks. Look at the photos below and see all the different types.

It was long a long and hot day by the time we got into town. We haven’t done this many miles in one day in a while and it was tiring. The albergue was at the edge of town and we made it. We were in single beds!! A nice break for me not to be on a top bunk. And our room had this beautiful big window out of it that was just amazing. Again, it began to pour. We missed the rain once again and were lucky to not have to do any of that in the rain.

he albergue was okay. There was a big group of boys, maybe High School age staying there that were just SO loud with everything they were doing. It was obnoxious. I also just didn’t like the vibe of this place. Workers were dismissive and it was frustrating.

Day mileage: 17
Total mileage: 347
Personal mileage: 17.44