18th May 2024 Rabanal del Camino to El Acebo

 We decided to have breakfast downstairs and ended up with our usual coffee with toast and jam.  It was quiet most of the time – until the group of young pilgrims arrived!  Thank goodness we had almost finished our breakfast so it was a rapid retreat upstairs to clean our teeth and head out the door to gain some space.

I have noticed that there seems to be a lot more people on the Camino this time and others are noticing it too.  The blogs are saying that a lot of people are still starting their journey at the main cities along the way (as was always the case) but are now starting at some of the other cities too.  It is strange when you leave a town in the morning as there seems to be a constant stream of people and it is a little disheartening as, while I like being around people some of the time, it is always lovely to just have each other and enjoy the birdsongs and the wind without other voices.

It was a very cold morning, and we hadn’t realised until we went outside that it was drizzling so we quickly stopped and pulled on our rain gear.  We knew that we were going to get soaked from the inside if we sweated as, while the rain gear keeps the rain out, it doesn’t breathe.  This was especially true today as we were climbing in elevation so hydration, especially for Steve, was going to be a major factor.  We ensured we stopped regularly to have a drink.

The track had been very wet in places so thank goodness for waterproof shoes!  It was actually easier to walk right through the middle of the puddles rather than trying to find a way around them as the mud around the puddles was thick and very sticky.  At least the boots got a wash and previous mud came off!

We arrived in Foncebadon where we went into the same little café I stopped in last time.  Our wet weather gear came off and we were quite drenched under it all so we decided to stop for a while as there was a free table.  Everyone coming in was freezing and I think this has to be our coldest day yet.  The room complained every time one of the transport companies came in with bags as they left the front door open! 

Eventually we mustered up our courage once again to brave the elements and put on our layers of clothes (some of these had dried off quite a bit) and off we went – this time to Cruz de Ferro where we said our own little words before heading off again.  On to Manjarin, where Tomas the Hospitalero was in 2018 but is no longer there.  His little stop was closed and it was a bit of a disappointment but I wondered what had happened to him.

Past the antennae on our right, which signals the highest point of the Camino Frances (1515m) we followed the muddy and rocky track into El Bierzo.  This region has quite a distinct character with it being mostly snow free and where mixed agriculture is practiced including the production of chestnuts and some grape varieties.

The track was incredibly beautiful with a mix of wildflowers and birds, and snow on the distant mountains.  There was a small descent into El Acebo where we headed down to our accommodation only to find that we needed to go back up to the first café in the town as that is their other business.  We were welcomed by a beautiful wood fire, so we stripped off our wet weather gear and dried them while relaxing.  We met a lovely young couple from Spain who chatted to us for about an hour about politics, life in Australia and their love of travelling (in their motorhome now) and by air when they have the time and money.  The café was closing so we said our goodbyes and followed the owner down to our accommodation which was very pretty and tucked away with wonderful views of the mountains.

The window in the bathroom was up a “square vent” about 2m from the bathroom roof and, unfortunately, it had been left open, so the floor was quite wet.  Steve managed to close it with the long handle that was in the bathroom.  Time for a quick clean up before we could have a shower. The room was lovely and warm as the heater is on a thermostat with an upper limit of 23 degrees that felt like the middle of summer compared to the air outside.  All the washing was draped around the room in various configurations and it was nice to know that it will all be dry by tomorrow morning.

There were really only two options for dinner.  The place around the corner had variable reviews and the owners were not very friendly - constantly telling people not to go into the dining room even though it was supposed to be open from 6.30 and we were all hungry.  We had heard from another pilgrim that the place down the road had delicious food so we decided to go there instead but they didn’t open until 7pm so we trudged back and eventually had quite a nice dinner before heading back to our nice, warm room to settle in for the night.