Day 35 – Vineyard-Hopping to Villafranca

The Templar Knights didn't recruit Dave,

so we are traveling on. 14.8 miles ahead!

It's going to be a scorcher today, but this little

Ponferrada statue-lady will stay in the shade.

An odd, incongruent building on the way out.

This little guy was on the trail today 

catching some dinner. Cute kid!

Portions of the day looked like this trail.

Ingles las Santa Maria.

 She's got a chain of schools in Spain.

Quiet and cool, a refuge from the hot Camino.

Las Angustias, 220 kilometers to Santiago!

That means 137 miles and 9 more towns.

Our goal is in sight...

Cute little homes in Valtuille de Arriba.

A little run-down, but they have character.

We mostly walked through vineyards today.

Grapes haven't come out yet, but neat views.

Such beauty and expansiveness. Love it!

 Scenic splendor on the road to Villafranca.

Ya gotta see the video! Yep, ya gotta.

Iglesia de Santiago. Pilgrims who are unable

to finish the Camino receive penitence here.

The side door is amazing.

The "other" door. 

(Looks to us like the side door wins.)

Castillo-Palacio de los Marqueses.

Ruled by kings and lords in the 16th century.

Entering Villafranca del Bierzo!

Plaza Major has a road running down the center.

The families here must gather somewhere else.

Our hotel tonight.

Cute, but no air conditioning.

"Let me think on it," said the stone tree wizard

as he contemplated our climate conundrum.

(That old fraud came up with nada.)

But who needs him? These cherries offered

some juicy refreshment on a 90-degree day.

Big Dave, cherries in left hand, 

cherry pits in right hand. Efficient.

(He was glad he bought them!)

The Colegiata de Santa Maria. (No storks.)

Not only got us out of the sun for a bit...

...but was lovely as could be!

Tomorrow we head for Herrerias!

13 miles, with inclines. 

A story from Dave:  

The town of Villafranca del Bierzo boasts the 12th-century, Romanesque Iglesia de Santiago with its north entrance labeled "Puerta del Perdon," meaning "Door of Forgiveness." Medieval pilgrims who found themselves physically unable to reach their goal of Santiago received absolution here, the same as they would have in Santiago. 

Today, we passed numerous vineyards, but we also saw a lot of cherry trees. Those trees brought back memories of visiting my Grandfather Anderson's home in Brigham City, Utah when I was just a kid on summer vacation. My brother and I would climb up his huge cherry tree and start munching away. The fruit was SO delicious! Grandpa would always caution us not to eat too many, or we would get sick. I guess we believed him, but it was pretty hard to stop. Many times we paid the price the next day. Soon .....here's the thing: I bought a bag of cherries today and ate quite a few along the way. I figured I could just go to the Puerto del Pardon tomorrow if the cherries took revenge on me. However, accepting the Camino consolation prize would be the pits at the point, so I will forge ahead regardless. With valor. (I know, that whole Knights Templar thing kinda got to me.) Mike thinks I'm a wannabe. 

He may have that right.

                     

A story from Mike:

       We took a route out of Ponferrada this morning that was mostly through the streets of the city.  Saturday, when I went to the eye doctor there to get my frames fixed, he suggested the route to us. He thought it would save about 4 kilometers, so it worked out perfectly.

     As we were were traveling through one of the neighborhoods, a lady came walking out of her driveway. She looked like someone with a lot on her mind, someone who was not looking forward to another hard day at the office. (I used to put in a day's work now and again too, ya know––back in the day, I mean––so I could empathize.) Gathering all the good cheer I've been collecting on this trip, I looked right at her, said "Buen Camino," and gave her a big smile. What can I say? I think we had a "moment."

      Most of you know how much I love to smile and offer encouraging words to people. Those smiles are contagious (in a good way), so why not put yourself out there and change someone's day, for free? Take a chance. Turn around and smile at somebody close to you. And if no one's close to you, it's okay to look in the mirror and smile at yourself. You can even say "Buen Camino," if you want to. I'm willing to bet it will make your day better!

Note: The smiles look better beardless.
Sorry, Dave.

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