Pilgrims on the Way

The Camino crosses the Rio Boeza at this stone bridge. Beyond lay the old center of Ponferrada – you can see the tower of the basilica in the background. What you can’t quite make out (yet) is the Templar castle that dominates the town center. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: Ponferrada (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s maps! Since Ponferrada is […]

Thanks to suburbanization, Campo bleeds seamlessly into the large town of Ponferrada. We walked with Billy for a bit, but he uncharacteristically fell behind and by the time of this photo, we had lost him. Note the various places listed on the sign include Castillo de los Templarios – that’s one of the few surviving castles of the Knights Templar […]

Lovely coat of arms on the side of a house in Campo. I love this tradition of arms on old houses, which we have seen in villages and towns throughout the Spanish Camino. I would love to have something like this on Pistachio House, but every time I raise the idea, Francine quickly changes the subject… Date: 23 April 2016 […]

After an hour’s tromp through the countryside, we come to the village of Campo. As you can see, although this village has a similar population to that of Molinaseca, it is not nearly so well preserved. On the other hand, I’m reliably informed that the building on the right is for sale. It’s what we call a fixer-upper. Date: 23 […]

You know you’ve well and truly entered into the Catholic corners of Spain when you again begin to see shrines like this. It seems like the region of Castilla is much less Catholic than, say, Navarra or Galicia – the beginning and ending of the pilgrimage. Somehow, there’s always that mushy middle, where the churches are only open on Sundays […]

Molinaseca’s medieval center is just lovely. This is, I think, a quick shot down one of the streets we crossed as we walked through town. It’s a good place to visit for those wishing to get a glimpse of what living in a medieval town might have been like. Minus the horse poop and sewage, of course. Date: 23 April […]

Molinaseca’s medieval center invites further discovery. As I said before, I really want to spend some additional time here on a future Camino. Here we see Francine and Rebecca catch up as we stroll through this beautiful little town. This is where Rebecca definitively joined our little Camino family; we would walk together the rest of the way to Santiago. […]

This cat was hanging out near the place we ate breakfast (and I remember eating enough for first and second breakfast). Eventually, she jumped up into the window, trying to get our attention, presumably so that we would help provide her with her second (or possibly third) breakfast. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: Molinaseca (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s map!

Following a leisurely breakfast, I walked outside and snapped this photo of the medieval bridge upon which we crossed the Rio Meruelo. For me at least, on Camino I rarely remember to look back and take photos from the other perspective. You can see the structure of the bridge clearly, as well as the feisty little river below. Date: 23 […]

In Molinaseca, the Camino takes a sharp left turn over this medieval bridge over the Rio Meruelo. Beyond this footbridge is the charming medieval town center, with its narrow streets and overhanging buildings. More important for us at the moment, at the end of the bridge is a restaurant where we can finally have our breakfast. During breakfast, we run […]