Little did we know what the day would hold for us ... we were still remembering the awesome time we had at dinner with our American friend Dianna the night before and Marcos,the waiter, recommendation of cherry liqueur to finish the night .
We faced our first challenge of just trying to exit the building for a very early start ... we didn't know there was another exit as we bashed at the door we entered by ... close to panic we tried another stairwell and there was an open exit ... we felt a little silly but relieved . It was over 9km to Villafranca including a wonderful off highway walk through sleepy villages and vinyard covered hills .. it took us longer than expected to top up our energy reserves with breakfast at Villafranca( also still suffering from lack of sleep from Ponferrada )
With a nice breakfast under our belt we headed out of Villafranca looking for the scenic yet challenging route recommended in Uncle John's guide book ( John Brierly that is) climbing high into the mountains to the village of Padela and descending to Trabadelo then onto Vega de Valence ...only 24km the Apps indicated.
We should have got an inkling of the challenge ahead when we were the only pilgrims to take the option ,others just followed the highway like sheep ... though the alterate route was not well signed posted . I smiled at the note in the guide book "if the signs warning about fitness concerns don't be bothered .. if you have made it to here you will be fine."
The next 6 + hours, predominantly on our own ,were both amazingly ,exhilarating, challenging and ultimately exhausting... but wouldn't change a thing .. this was another gilt from God just for us ,sorry the pics do it little justice .
The initial climb was as hard as that to Orrison just shorter ... the views spectacular as we walk amongst the heather high above the freeway below . As we both ran out of water we neared the village high above the snow line ... with signs and arrows beckoning us to a bar our imagination turned to a cold coke & water but when we finally dragged ourselves to its door we were less than pleased to find it closed! it ... was siesta time & us pilgrims dying of thirst . Gaining our strength we staggered down the deserted road of this village looking for some help ... finally and old man came out and Anita beckoned for water he pointed to what looked like a cattle trough it was confirmed as good by an old lady and we drank thankfully .
We then had to make a steep descent down ... uses different muscles , crushing toes and is primetime for more blisters and much to our horror that again we picked up some more blisters between us ... but now we know how to treat them so no major concern.
We made it down and staggered to the nearest food source and feasted but we still had 7km's to go and were unsure if our accommodation would hold our reservation.
But after 11 hours and 32km climbing & descending we dropped our packs and slumped onto our beds ... so tired but so full of such an inspiring experience... when you put in the effort and don't just follow the sheep the Camino will reward you ..., and so it is with life.
We faced our first challenge of just trying to exit the building for a very early start ... we didn't know there was another exit as we bashed at the door we entered by ... close to panic we tried another stairwell and there was an open exit ... we felt a little silly but relieved . It was over 9km to Villafranca including a wonderful off highway walk through sleepy villages and vinyard covered hills .. it took us longer than expected to top up our energy reserves with breakfast at Villafranca( also still suffering from lack of sleep from Ponferrada )
With a nice breakfast under our belt we headed out of Villafranca looking for the scenic yet challenging route recommended in Uncle John's guide book ( John Brierly that is) climbing high into the mountains to the village of Padela and descending to Trabadelo then onto Vega de Valence ...only 24km the Apps indicated.
We should have got an inkling of the challenge ahead when we were the only pilgrims to take the option ,others just followed the highway like sheep ... though the alterate route was not well signed posted . I smiled at the note in the guide book "if the signs warning about fitness concerns don't be bothered .. if you have made it to here you will be fine."
The next 6 + hours, predominantly on our own ,were both amazingly ,exhilarating, challenging and ultimately exhausting... but wouldn't change a thing .. this was another gilt from God just for us ,sorry the pics do it little justice .
The initial climb was as hard as that to Orrison just shorter ... the views spectacular as we walk amongst the heather high above the freeway below . As we both ran out of water we neared the village high above the snow line ... with signs and arrows beckoning us to a bar our imagination turned to a cold coke & water but when we finally dragged ourselves to its door we were less than pleased to find it closed! it ... was siesta time & us pilgrims dying of thirst . Gaining our strength we staggered down the deserted road of this village looking for some help ... finally and old man came out and Anita beckoned for water he pointed to what looked like a cattle trough it was confirmed as good by an old lady and we drank thankfully .
We then had to make a steep descent down ... uses different muscles , crushing toes and is primetime for more blisters and much to our horror that again we picked up some more blisters between us ... but now we know how to treat them so no major concern.
We made it down and staggered to the nearest food source and feasted but we still had 7km's to go and were unsure if our accommodation would hold our reservation.
But after 11 hours and 32km climbing & descending we dropped our packs and slumped onto our beds ... so tired but so full of such an inspiring experience... when you put in the effort and don't just follow the sheep the Camino will reward you ..., and so it is with life.
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