Camino Day 32: Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

Date: May 2nd, 2022

Distance: 23.6km/14.6 miles

Time: 7 hours (8:00am-3:00pm)

I rolled out of a very squeaky bunk bed, quietly packed my bag, grabbed a coffee, and headed out on my own at 8am. Ponferrada was a very pleasant city to leave… complete with a charming castle, greenery, and a river running through it.

I ran into Nickie early on, and we were morning walking buddies. The morning passed by quickly as we chatted about life and the difficulties of leaving our previous jobs. At 10km, we stopped for breakfast and had a potato tortilla and eggs… Eggs!! Those aren’t always an option, so we were stoked. And they were decidedly the best Camino eggs yet.

The afternoon was a warm and pleasant stroll through vineyards. Spring is here, and it was nice to see the grape vines sprouting some leaves.

We descended into Villafranca del Bierzo around 3pm. Another cool, stony town along a river. Our albergue was built into the mountain and had an exposed rock wall, and our sweet and simple room had a little balcony overlooking the river.

An afternoon snack is always in order after arriving. Chris and I went around the corner for bocadillos (sandwiches), vermouth, white wine, and a game of farkle.

I had some solo blogging/journaling/eating chocolate in bed time before meeting the gang for dinner. It was a nice little reunion, as we have been going at different paces and staying in different places.

We shared patatas bravas and bottles of red wine. Nuno taught Oregon how to properly debone her fish while Chris commentated in sports reporter fashion. We reminisced on past Camino nights. We figured out where tomorrow would take us. Nuno let me wear his magical scarf. Normal Camino fam stuff. 😉