Stage 25: Molinaseca to Villafranca

Lea makes a friend in Molinaseca 

Cathedral in Villafranca 

My tub at the Parador

Vista on today’s walk

Typical old town 

Today’s walk

Getting closer to Santiago 

Me moving fast today 

A scene fro the walk today 

Fixer upper 

Lea and I found a nice restaurant in Molinaseca for dinner last night. I had octopus and a ribeye steak.

There was a threat of rain for today. Everybody had their rain gear ready. Lea and I got on the road at 6 AM. we didn’t see a single soul for an hour and a half. not too cold, very dark, a little drizzly. we didn’t need the rain gear. 

We got to the next town, Ponferrada by about 7:30. Michele, TDFSF and their posse, stayed in that town. They got an earlier start. 

I didn’t feel great when I got up today. I felt tired and groggy. It was a monster day – 19 miles. I had a little bit of doubt. 

After we passed Ponferrada, I started to feel better. I sped up and left Lea a little bit behind. we passed a few towns with no place to stop for breakfast. At about 9 AM, we found a breakfast place. We were about halfway. I got there first and started to eat my breakfast. after Lea sat down with her breakfast, I was already ready to go. I asked her to hurry up so that we can get moving. She wanted to relax and take her time. She suggested I go on without her. So, I politely left the Señorita behind. 

I was on a mission today: partly because I felt good, partly because I thought it might rain. I started walking extremely fast. a blistering pace (pun intended). I passed almost every pilgrim out there. I passed TDFSF ATP, Juan and Maria, Sting, et al. I drank water on the fly. I only stopped to pee twice. I made it to Villafranca by 12:30. 

It drizzled again toward the end. No jacket necessary. I walked through extremely beautiful vineyards and Rolling hills. 

I decided to splurge. I had booked a room at one of the finest hotel chains in Spain - The Parador. I got to my room and took a hot bath. Huge bathtub. One of the best baths of my life.

Then I sat in bed and Booked Albergues, hostels and hotels for the remainder of my trip. No more worrying about where I’m going to stay. It wasn’t very hard. there is no need to hire a company to book everything for you in advance. Between the guide books, the apps and booking.com you can easily book things a few days ahead. this gives you a lot of flexibility. The people who used companies to book in advance had a lot less options. A lot of people are afraid to stay in the Albergue bunkhouses. I think that’s a mistake. The bunkhouse is a part of the Camino experience. That’s where you meet people. you learn to sleep in a crowd and just deal with the occasional snoring.

Michele and I had a delightful lunch at the Parador. More octopus. As we sat at our table, we saw Justin approaching the hotel with his backpack. Yes, Justin is staying at the Parador. His mommy booked him a room. Life is not fair. Michele gave Lea a nice hotel room in town. Michele had booked it but upgraded to the Parador. Very generous.

Tonight we had a big plan. Chuck was going to stream, “The Way“ on his phone. We would cast it onto Michele’s TV at the Parador. She rented a suite for this purpose. The Way is a Hollywood movie starring Martin Sheen which deals with the Camino. My job was to provide “dinner“. Justin asked what I was going to get for dinner. I told him I would get whatever they had at the supermarket. The selection was limited. 

Let me add that I wanted Chuck to come over and make sure that he could cast the movie, before I bought the stuff for dinner. I had a lot of doubt. Michele seemed to be able to cast something from her phone onto the screen. They decided it would work. Lea and I bought a bunch of cold cuts, bread, wine, potato chips, etc. for dinner. We got paper plates and cups at the dollar store.

I love the dollar stores in Spain. today just as I saw Juan And Maria, The rubber tip from one of my poles got pulled off in a metal grate. I got new rubber tips at the dollar store, for a euro. The call the dollar store the “bazar” in Spain. 

So, we set up “dinner“ in Michele’s suite. The crew showed up. We all ate and drank.  Movie time. Of course they couldn’t get it to work. they started to watch an episode of a series which dealt with food in Spain. I went off to my room to write this.

We are now less than 200 km from Santiago. It makes us all sad. Whatever has a beginning has an end.

Time for another bath before bed.

Love,

B