Walking through the vineyards from Camponaraya to Villafranca is one of the great joys of the camino for me, and the rain had passed for now, so yet again I took a slow lazy bimble soaking up the views and marvelling at all the wine to be. I stopped for a little chat with the … More CF21 Day 16 – Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo
The weather was much better when I woke up, promising a blue sky and a fabulous walk down the still tricky trail towards Molinaseca. I had breakfast with other late pilgrims, including the Musicians from the night before, who were also taking it easy and in no hurry to get to Santiago. Then I slathered … More CF21 Day 15 – Acebo to Ponferrada
Most of the rain must have passed us during the night, but I woke up to thick fog, and though I waited as long as I could, it only got thicker. In the end I just decided to be excited about trying my new rain trousers, yay! With the leg zips at half mast I … More CF21 Day 14 – Rabanal to Acebo
After a good night’s sleep and a quick cup of coffee in the Só por Hoje I went on my way. Leaving Astorga is never easy at the best of times but since 2015 and the disapperance and death of Denise Thiem it has been even less so. The florists would open a little late … More CF21 Day 13 – Astorga to Rabanal
I started my day in the San Miguel albergue the way I ended the last one, chatting and exchanging stories with the wonderful host Arturo. He told me how camino magic had brought him and his wife to that place, and stories of other camino workers, helpers, characters. In the end I had to leave … More CF21 Day 12 – Hospital to Astorga
The distance between León and Astorga is a very clunky 54 kms or so, with Hospital de Orbigo placed at the far end, making it awkward to plan a fabulous and not too strenuous itinerary. As I am principally here to enjoy post-pandemic life, I decided to transport myself past some of the kms of … More CF21 Day 11 – León to Hospital de Órbigo
So what do you do on a rest day in León? Answers are many – sightseeing, visiting the cathedral, taking a historical tour, going to the museums like Casa Botines, planning your route forward, meeting other pilgrims… Or you can follow my rather boring lead and do lots of laundry and invent clever ways of … More CF21 Day 10 – Rest day in León
The first and most obvious difference between Spain and the UK, where I live, is that everybody here is wearing a mask, almost everywhere. Not just indoors and when they are in close proximity to others, but even on the streets and sitting outside. You may have brought a favourite reusable one from home, but … More CF21 Week 1 – some observations
I was in no hurry to start walking towards León – I had my room booked and it looked to be a slightly cooler and more comfortable walking day. I had a good breakfast, chatted to some French cyclists in French-Spanglish and then off I went. Mansilla isn’t big, and soon I was at the … More CF21 Day 9 – Mansilla to León
This morning I woke up early and went outside to look at the stars seeing as I was in a place with so little light pollution. It was actually so early I saw Laura leave! I know I keep saying I won’t walk in the dark, but there and then I could absolutely see why … More CF21 Day 8 – Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mulas
Somewhere Slowly 