Out of Villafranca, which I think was my favorite town on the Camino so far, there were three path options - easy but along the highway, moderate which required one significant climb and difficult with three significant climbs. We didn't think we were up to three mountain climbs so we chose the medium difficulty option.
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| Villafranca Below |
We were glad decided to have the simple breakfast of toast, cereal and coffee because the climb started immediately out of the city. As we passed by the last of the houses in the city, a old woman leaned out of her window and gave us what felt like a Camino blessing.
We were immediately rewarded with our efforts as the view over the city of Villafranca was mesmerizing. I kept stopping to take pictures, as well as provide respite from the climb, of this little town nestled at the base of the mountains surrounding it. The trail led through pine and chestnut forests with birds singing all along the way.
About 10 kilometres before Ruitelan where we had planned to spend the night, we stopped for a lunch of bocadillas. It was unusual as there was playground equipment right next to the patio tables where we ate. Maybe we were supposed to work off our food after we were done eating, as if walking 24 kilometres was not enough!
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| New Camino Sign |
The next section of the trail, although along the road, was not unpleasant as it also ran through small farms and was next to a small stream. Houses along here had primarily slate roofs. It seems like a huge undertaking finding the right size slate and then getting them on top of the house. The top of the roof line were placed pieces of slate in an upright position similar to the spines of a dinosaur - interesting!
For just the second time, we made a reservation at our albergue at the recommendation of our previous hospitalero. It is surprising that Ruitelan even makes it on the map as the town is essentially comprised of the albergue and a small bar. Even more surprising is that Sarracin, a town immediately prior to Ruitelan and merely a blip on Brierley's guide, had what appeared to be several nice albergues and restaurants. Not sure what was up with that! In Sarracin, there was one restaurant with a cow pasture just outside of it's front door. In the background was an elevated freeway spanning the valley that rivaled the elevated freeway at Coeur d'Alene.
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| Freeway Above |
Once at Ruitelan, we hesitantly approached our albergue as unlike the newer ones we saw in Sarracin, from the outside this one looked a little sketchy. Once inside, we were warmly greeted by our hospitalero who showed us to our more than adequate room. Here we met Ben and his mother Suzanne from Boston as well as Amy from Australia. Ben had been studying abroad in Madrid and invited his mom to join him on the Camino, starting in Leon. Neat to see a parent and child doing the walk together. We also met Shamus, a nice your man from Ireland and Heidi (pronounced Haiti) from Estonia. Pia, our friend from Venezuela was also here.
Before we showered, we decide to head down to the lowly bar and get a beer while we blogged and journaled. After a couple hours, the beer turned into ice cream and coffee. Back to the albergue to clean up before our delightful family style dinner with everyone who stayed at the albergue. Dinner consisted of cream of lentil soup, salad mixta and ham and cheese spaghetti - all very hearty and good.
It seems like there are all new people on this part of journey. While it is fun to continue to meet these new peregrinos, most who started camino at locations after Leon, we miss our initial peregrino mates. Hopefully we will all meet again in Santiago.
Lesson of the Day: Easy does not make for great views.
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