Day 27 - Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

We had a short but great day in Ponferrada yesterday.

By the time we finished our walk, showered, and blogged, it was 5pm.

We then set off to do some sightseeing but the city was dead - like a ghost town - and the Castillo was closed.

What a bummer!

We then did the second best thing we could do. We found a bar with rock and roll music and had a beer for lunch.

The atmosphere was so good we decided to progress immediately to dinner and order a Bierzo Crianza and a plate of jamon y queso especial.

All was very good.

We then went back to our junior suite at the Marriott and our air-conditioning and had an early night. Just what the doctor ordered after our long walk yesterday.

After a late breakfast this morning we set off at about 8:30am for the relatively short walk to Villafranca del Bierzo.

Immediately we could see the mountains in the distance over which we need to climb tomorrow.

Most of this walk was through the many villages and market gardens that surround Ponferrada. As we progressed further from Ponferrada, we began to walk through vineyards and orchards. 

We purchased some cherries from an enterprising young girl, maybe Amber's age, who was spending her summer holidays running a roadside stall.

Interestingly, we walked past the vineyard from which the wine we drank the previous evening came from.

We saw a group of about a dozen Koreans that started the Camino about the same time as us but who we have not seen for over a week. It is amazing that, with the ebb and flow of each persons individual journey, you can sometimes run into people but at other times not see them at all.

After the long walk of yesterday, the short walk of 23km to Villafranca del Bierzo through rolling hills was a breeze. 

We took a casual approach to today's walk to fortify ourselves for the longer walk over the mountains to O'Cebreiro tomorrow.

Highlight for today: - after a week of not finding a laundry facility, the hotel we are staying in offered to wash, dry and fold our washing for 10 euro. Deal!!

We are staying at the Hotel Mendez where our room is relatively small but the staff are fantastic. We had lunch in the hotel after we arrived with a bottle of Altos de Losada 2008. The lunch and the wine were excellent.

The remainder of the day we will rest ahead of an early start tomorrow and our climb over the mountain.