Inside 200k

It's a distance known to all randonneurs. If you are not familiar with how far 200k is then you are not a true randonneur. Now imagine it without a bike. That's what we have left. We can do it but there is still a lot of meat left on the bone.

Each week we treat ourselves to a hotel stay. Last night was one of those nights. We had our own room and our own bathroom which had towels and soaps and everything! We had a small balcony that looked out over the Roman bridge. Amy loved monitoring the pilgrims entering the village across the bridge. She had the perfect view. We knew all of them. Most we knew by name. Here comes Freddy. Some we knew by home country. The Spanish couple is coming. Some we knew by what had happened to them. Here is the woman that had her pack stolen today. Can you believe that? She went into the bushes for a nature break and left her pack at the edge of the trail. Just then a car stopped and grabbed the pack. Two mountain bikers saw the heist and gave pursuit but only succeeded in gathering clothing items as they were being discarded from the fleeing car. Fortunately she had all her valuables in her fanny pack which she was still wearing. When we saw her at dinner she had already been given a new pack from the hostel where she was staying that night.

We reluctantly left our hotel and sought out breakfast. None was to be found. Café con leche would have to wait until Ponferrada. Oh was the wait ever worth it. We scored the best coffees of the trip. Top notch latté art paired with a gofre with strawberry sauce and cream and you have a breakfast worth walking 5 miles for.

Across the street was an impressive Templar Knights castle and we had a look around the outside but decided against the full tour as we had 16 K to click off before our sleep stop.

Ponferrada is a big city. It's a bustling place and like all of the big cities we've traversed along the Camino, we found a longitudinal park/greenway to follow. This time it was as we exited to the east. Many locals were walking their dogs. One older lady told her dog to "look at the pilgrims!" Of course the dog had already smelled us long ago. It did run up to us briefly but then was diverted to another dog who was entering the area. Pilgrims are a dime a dozen in this park.

We hip hopped with the hippest peregrinos of the Way, the French long-boarders, all day. After crossing a few nondescript suburbs we re-entered beautiful vineyards. These are of the Bierzo region. We found time to stop at a vineyard that gave pilgrims a free tasting with a small bite to eat. We felt obliged. We then knocked off the last few K through more grapes with leaves of splendid fall colors of yellows and reds, although difficult to capture with mostly overcast skies. We now find ourselves in an albergue in Cacabelos and we've hit the jackpot again. We've got a triple room all to ourselves and our own bathroom. This time we are supplying the towels though. We know most of the people staying here. All pilgrims. Time to grab a beer and some pulpo (octopus). There is less than 200k to Santiago.