Thursday in Villafranca del Bierzo

In Molinseca I was contemplating taking a rest day so that I dont push my body too hard. Well I had enforced rest day a little later.

Tuesday morning I set out for Cacabelos, thinking to make 2 30km walks into 3 walks of 20km each. The walk to Cacabelos was pleasant, although it meant going through Ponferrado which is a city. I dslike walking through cities - much preferthe countrysde and small villages. After Ponferrado, we went throgh rolling hills, lots of vineyards, and the day got steadily hotter. In Cacabelos I settled int a hostal which is more expensive than a albergue, but you get single rooms. I decided I needed to treat myself. I was wandering through Plaza Mayor (every village seems to have a plaza mayor - it is like the main square of each village) to find out when te pilgrim´s mass was. At a cafe there I bumped into Franz and Gunter and some other Germans I last saw in Terredillos and we had a great reunion. We were drinking Klara allemagne ( no idea of spelling) but i s half beer half fizzy limedrink - great on a hot day.

That evening I had a light snack at a local cafe - and that was my downfall because I woke up the next morning with diarrhea and nausea. I guess I had eaten or drunk something not quite kosher. So I checked in for another day in the hostal, got rehydration stuff and tried to get it all out of my system. So I had my rest day, but not in theway I imagined.

Today, Thursday, felt well enough for a short walk only, and so walked only 7km to Villafranca del Bierza. Villafranca is a lovely little village and most pilgrims stay here because there is a tough climb up to O Cebreiro. O Cebreiro is in Galicia, and that means you are on the home stretch to Santiago. Galicia is always green and verdant because it gets so much rain - so the rain gear wll be put into action again.

Between Villafranca and O Cebreiro there are a few stops, so how far I wak will depend on how I feel.

Just a little correction for Monday´s post. The Ferro Cruz is not the higest point on the camino - it is a waymarker for pilgrims to find their way through the mountains. The high point is about 30min walk after the Ferro Cruz.

So that is all my news at the moment. By walking more slowly, I am losing a second day here, but I reckon I still have time to reach SAntiago.

So, Adios from Villafranca.