Today was another early start at 7:18, walking in the dark. We had to watch carefully because signs and arrows took us on a detour off the usual path. After an hour and a half, we stopped for first breakfast.
The spiritual passage for today focused on the need to let go and set aside the old in order to embrace the new. This spoke to us since it is how we’ve begun our own new journey. Having sold our house and given away just about all that we own, and then taking this walk on the Camino, we have really begun a whole new phase in our lives. We are embracing a whole new way of living. We greet each day with excitement and anticipation wondering who we will meet along the way, and what great surprises we will find around each corner.
Today we passed the 200 km marker, so we have about 120 miles left to reach Santiago. Oddly enough, that just does not sound like such a long walk anymore.
It was another sunny, comfortable day. We were tempted as we passed a winery offering tastings, but at 9:30 in the morning, we decided that was probably not a good way to prep for walking more miles. We walked for some time with Denise from Colorado.
Once we arrived in VillaFranca del Bierzo and checked into our hotel, we went out to find lunch. First we found Cameron (another Floridian) at an outdoor café in Plaza Mayor, so we chatted with him and enjoyed Sara’s new favorite beer. It’s called Radler, a beer with a lemonade flavor – they have it on draft. Very refreshing. We could have stayed there for the usual menu of the day, but Cameron told us about a restaurant around the corner, where the locals hang out, and it was still open until 4:00. We happily took his advice and had an incredible meal. We had a glass of local white wine, quite good, while waiting for a table. Then it was red wine at the table. Sara enjoyed a delicious cod and potato soup while Evan had a noodle soup, after which we dug into their famous lamb chops – as always, served with French fries. The meal also included dessert, so we chose our favorite custard with cinnamon.
Once again, we were happy to enjoy our major meal in the late afternoon rather than waiting until 8:00 for dinner. Back at the hotel the WIFI would not work for us, and our room was quite hot. So set out later for another walk around town. Back in Plaza Mayor, we found Candace and Jane and sat to visit with them as the sun went down, We quickly felt cooler without our jackets, so we knew it was time to head back to bed.
