Author: Thom

We arrived in the hamlet of Pereje (population 37) about noon. It was a little jog off of the highway, for which we were grateful. By this time our little band had grown to six: Smith and Tara from Indiana, Iain from Glasgow (who we met entering the village), Anya from Nuremburg, and the two of us. We had a […]

The Camino after Villafranca del Bierzo is a lot of roadwalking. And not just any road, but a highway. This always makes me nervous, and this sign didn’t help. What on earth does it mean? There is an alternate route through the countryside, but it’s a bit longer and the afternoon heat was already starting. Date: 24 April 2013Place: between […]

Leaving Villafranca del Bierzo the Camino crosses the Río Burbia. This is a look back at the town and castle. It’s 11 o’clock in the morning, and we’re pushing on hoping to make it to at least Trabadelo before the afternoon heat set in. Spoiler: we did not. Date: 24 April 2013Place: leaving Villafranca del Bierzo (Region of El Bierzo, […]

Personal coats of arms are ubiquitous in the towns and villages along the Camino, particularly on older houses. They don’t even really need to be grand houses. Some of them are quite beautiful, and rarely are they understated. Here are some of the examples we found as we walked through Villafranca del Bierzo. At some point when I walk with […]

Here we see Francine leading Smith and Tara through the streets of Villafranca del Bierzo. We are on the Camino route, but looking for a Correos – a post office – to mail home some of the equipment we’re note using, not to mention the extra stuff we’ve acquired. I’m pretty sure we beat those packages home. Date: 24 April […]

And we’re back! Villafranca del Bierzo has a castle! It’s not nearly as impressive as the one in Ponferrada, but then Villafranca is a small town, whereas Ponferrada is a city. This particular castle was inhabited by the Counts of Peña Ramiro, who at some point were also Marquises of Villafranca. The current construction dates to 1515 and stands atop […]

Welcome to Villafranca del Bierzo! This was our first clear view of the town, which sits below the main Camino road in a valley within a valley. I’ve taken some variation of this photo both times we’ve walked past this site. The Camino runs down into the town, of course, past two churches and a castle. As for us, we’re […]

Regardless of what the sign says, we’re still a couple of kilometers from Villafranca. Still, we will see any number of signs over the next half hour or so advertising Refugio Ave Fénix. Twice we’ve walked this section of the Camino, and neither time did we stay in Villafranca del Bierzo. If I ever do, I’ll have to check this place […]

Much of this stretch of the Camino is over undulating dirt roads through vineyards. There are countless little hills. None of them were difficult, but they were relentless, one after the other. Still, the countryside was beautiful, the morning air cool and clear, and the company good. We could already tell, though, that the heat would set in again in […]