We did get a fourth roommate last night, but he was a good kid. Only 27 and named Muz from Canada and Pakistan. He’s lived in Canada since he was 10. He agreed to get up early this morning when we did so we could freely turn on the lights and pack at 5:15.
The breakfast was pretty pitiful, so we just skipped it–toast and coffee. We were on the way to the cross promptly at 6. It was very brisk out. Pam and I were dressed for cold weather with fleece jackets, gloves, and stocking caps. It took less than 20 steps for me to start peeling a bit.
It was only 1.25 miles to the cross with about a 300′ elevation gain. We made it to the cross by 6:20. If we could keep that pace all day, we’d be done by noon (we can’t and didn’t maintain that pace). We had the cross to ourselves for sunrise. Pam dropped a rock for her niece, Maddie, who died from Batten’s Disease 7 years ago. I dropped a stone for my sister, Beth, who died from cancer 25 years ago. Beth was the cornerstone of our family. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think about her. Shaun dropped stones as well and was pretty quiet while we were up there.
While we were traversing the mountain tops, Linda and Pete caught up with us. We walked as a group for about 5 miles to Acebo. It was a beautiful morning walk along a forested trail with great vistas of mountains all around. As we neared Punta Alto, the high point of the entire Camino, we saw a refreshment van and decided to stop for some coffee and snacks. Pam hasn’t been feeling well since last night and continues to drag today. We got a protein bar, banana, and a cup of coffee in her and she started to revive some.
Sitting at the refreshment van allowed the morning crush to overtake us. This was one of the few miles that we were first out of the Albergue. Other than a few pics and a cranky wife, there wasn’t much to show for our effort. I don’t understand why everyone is in such a hurry to get out before 6 every morning only to rush to the next Albergue and take a nap until supper. Maybe if they slept in, instead, they could actually stay awake all day and then go to bed at a reasonable hour.
We were all a little scared anticipating the trail down to Acebo. The maps show it is extremely steep and we were all flashing back to the descent into Roncesvalles the first day. It was steep, but not as steep as we had made it out to be. Linda had sent her pack ahead so she wouldn’t have the extra weight on her back while descending. Shaun was a little worried about his knee. It didn’t matter, we all handled it. The worst was for Pam’s hip flexors which only made her feel worse and go slower (this might be why we weren’t done hiking by noon).
Even though it was all downhill, we didn’t make great time. We stopped in Acebo for another break–this time some real food. Pete found a stuffed bread with sausage, cheese, and onions. We all downed a huge slice. It was so refreshing to have a non-croissant breakfast. Pete and Linda took off after breakfast. We knew we were slow hikers compared to them so we didn’t mind.
The next town was only 2.5 miles further. We had already decided this was going to be a “shoes off” break. We went all the way through Riego de Ambros and didn’t find a cafe or bar. In the end, we spied out the town square and decided to have a rest. After all three of us got off the shoes and socks, it was just a race to see who would fall asleep first. It’s hard to pick a winner–we’ll call it a tie.
All of the towns the last two days have been very alpine in feel with stone streets and buildings. Molinaseca was no exception. It was another 3 miles down the mountain to this quaint village, but I was so sick of people by the time we got there I just wanted out. We are seeing so many new people on the trail the last few days. Apparently, Astorga is a big starting point for the Spanish doing the Camino. Molinaseca had a river running through it that you can actually get down to soak your feet–something I’ve been asking for, but with so many people and bikes, I was unwilling to stop.
The final 4.5 miles to Ponferrada was all road walking. Have I mentioned how much I love the feel of road under my tired feet? I don’t. The walk into town sucked. The only thing that could have made the ending worse was to run into a bunch of people that road taxis into town and made fun of us for being so late. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
We checked into a “Donativo” where there are about 190 beds. We got a room with over 40 beds in it so it’s going to be loud tonight. Pam and I took 2 hour naps to try to speed recovery from today. When we got up, we met Shaun for a couple of beers then headed to dinner. For 11 Euros each, we had an appetizer, salad, pasta, pork, beer, and bread. It was way more than we could eat. While we were waiting to pay, Pam had a conniption fit and stormed back to the Albergue because the girls was taking too long to pick up the bill. Spain moves at a much slower pace than the USA.
When Shaun and I got back, she was already in bed having decided to skip a shower since the urinals are right next to the showers. Shared bathrooms are the norm in Spain, so the whole bathroom issue that we are having back home just mystifies everyone here.
