Camino Day 21, Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

Published on by Rick

After yesterday’s long trek over the mountain range, we were very happy to have a relatively short walking day today of only 10 miles. While some pilgrims would say we were cheating, by taking a taxi out of Ponferrada to avoid the 8 kilometer industrial zone, I say we are keeping ourselves in a more peaceful state of mind and keeping ourselves safe.

Taking a taxi out of Ponferrada gave Eladio and I time to have a beautiful Sunday brunch as we walked into the village of Cacabelos. We stopped into a beautiful restaurant called Moncloa and ordered all kinds of food. We took our time to really enjoy the food, the staff and the warm Spanish environment.

After brunch we continued walking through the village of Cacabelos as the town church bells where ringing, calling villagers to attend mass. The sun was shining and the locals seemed pleasant and happy, wishing Eladio and I “Buen Camino” as we passed through. We then found ourselves in the midst of the grape vineyards in the wine growing region. Grape vineyards were spread out in every direction as far as the eyes could see, with only an occasional cherry orchard to change things up a bit. We walked through this amazing terrain for miles on the winding Camino. We walked through adorable villages and grape vineyards until we found ourselves walking up and into another mountain pass. Luckily the village we are staying the night was only a few miles into the mountain, Villafranca del Bierzo. Walking into the village was a gorgeous sight, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The village center is lively with several outdoor cafes, all of them bustling with local residents enjoying the Sunday afternoon sun.

After nearly two weeks, we’re in grape growing territory again.
Eladio with our brunch feast at Moncloa restaurant in Cacabelos, Spain.
Pear tart at brunch at Moncloa restaurant in Cacabelos
Eladio at church in Cacabelos Spain
This statue looked like drag queen Jesus. I felt guilty for thinking that. Lol.
Inside charming church in Cacabelos
The charmimg village of Cacabelos
Home with stream running through it.
Can’t get enough of the views today. Trying to soak it all in.
Grape vineyards and the mountains we hiked over yesterday
Cherry orchards between Ponferrada and Villafranca del Bierzo
Door to medieval church next to our hotel
Looking over Villafranca del Bierzo from the church grounds
View of vineyards with the mountains we crossed the day before.
Our first view of Villafranca del Bierzo
Walking into Villafranca del Bierzo after a day of walking
Door on home in Villafranca del Bierzo. Makes me want to look in.
Our hotel in Villafranca del Bierzo, Hotel San Francisco
The village of Villafranca del Bierzo from our hotel window.
San Francisco church in Villafranca del Bierzo

One thought on “Camino Day 21, Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo”

  1. To qualify for the Compostela, a pilgrim needs to walk the last 100 kilometers. You will easily walk 6 to 7 times that far and so smartly skipping a little pavement would never be considered cheating. I wish that we had met before the Camino and I could have learned a better way for the journey than having to walk every step. Then we would still be walking together instead of my sitting in Atlanta nursing a knee injury and enjoying your journey from afar. I look forward to your blog every day and have been motivated to get over this setback and hopefully return next year to complete what I started this year. Buen Camino Paul aka Bob

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