Day 23: Ponferrada to Villafranca Del Bierzo
15 Miles
Total: 373.2 Miles
As we arrived in Ponferrada the night before, it was great to see a lot of pilgrims we hadn't seen for the last few days, but have been hiking "with" since St. Jean. It's strange that you can feel such a strong bond with people that you hardly know and who don't even speak the same language. I guess mutual suffering, experiences, and understanding can have that effect on people.
As we had breakfast this morning and prepared to leave the hostal in Ponferrada, we felt very lucky that we even had a bed the night before. Although the hostel had beds for 210 people, the pilgrims that arrived later had to sleep on mats in the kitchen and outside in the entry way. We ate our breakfast in the middle of 30 or more sleeping pilgrims that likely had a cold restless nights sleep. I imagine they were the last ones to get to go to bed, due to the loud fireworks and parade at the church connected to the hostel, and the first to wake up with the loud morning rustles of people getting ready to hit the trail.
Last nights hostel made us realize that our journey is about to change quite a bit over the next 8 or 9 days. Not only is the landscape changing, from Meseta back to mountains, but there will gradually be more and more people on the trail everyday.
The Festival of St. James is on the 25th in Santiago, so a lot of Spainards will be jumping on to walk the last 100km of the trail so they can finish on the 25th. The catholic church requires them to walk only the last 100 km in order to have all of their sins forgiven and to ensure a ticket to heaven. I will keep my opinion about this matter to myself, but nonetheless, this adds an interesting new element to our trip.
The newbies are easy to spot in their brand new shoes, lack of tan lines, healthy feet, and toiletry bags that include makeup. There are also some larger school and religious groups on the trail now too. Some of the young boys made me appreciate America's general aversion to littering as James and I forced them to pick up after themselves after their lunch break in the mountains. All of the newcomers leave you with a warm feeling of accomplishment knowing how far you have walked to get to their starting line.
I think we were all a bit tired this morning, but the floor sleepers were sufficient motivation for us to get moving quickly so we wouldn't be in their shoes in the next town. We managed to get 15 or so miles in by 11:30, and were one of the first groups to the hostel. Villafranca del Bierzo is a cute little town, whose people, drum circles, and artsy shops, remind us all of Eugene.
Tomorrow will be a tougher day of higher milage and some difficult hills to climb, but I think we are all excited for the drastic change in scenary as we head into Galicia. The girls are doing well with only minor annoying pains here and there, and are usually able to walk a consistent brisk 3 mph pace with only short intermittent breaks. Their families and friends should be incredibly proud of their accomplishments and persistence so far. They are doing something most people wouldn't even attempt and are doing extremely well!
We are getting closer and closer to being done everyday, but as our tan lines worsen and our shoes wear thin, I think we all share bittersweet feelings about reaching the end.
Restocked with food and water, we will head into the mountains tomorrow!
Thanks to everyone who is following our progress!
Be well,
~Bree
Thank you.
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