Enjoyed a wonderful breakfast before leaving our Alburgue in El Acebo with our new friends from New Zealand, Nicki & Andrew and another couple from South Africa, Christina & Martin. We learn so much listening to other travelers. Anna & Teresa, our hostesses were so attentive and sweet. They prepared a great breakfast, and even hugged us as we were leaving.
Today we continue the long downhill trek we began yesterday. It’s often challenging for both of us, so we slow right down while others skip by us. And we know that going down now means we will be going up again soon, and then down again, and so on. But the weather remains beautiful with clear skies and a comfortable breeze. As we walk among the mountains, we see other villages just tucked away in the folds between ridges.
We finally reach Molinaseca, more or less the bottom of today’s descent. Sara takes her photos of the great bridge, and then we look for 2nd breakfast. This time we pass up the first bar, sure to find a better one later, but we walk by several that are not open. We end up turning around, along with other pilgrims, heading back to the first bar.
Hitting the road again, we soon see a large town ahead. We assume this must be Ponferrada. It seems so close, but we know it’s at least another seven or eight miles away. So the walk into Ponferrada was a tease. We see the town, but our path seems to lead in a different direction. It was a long haul, but when we finally arrived in the old city center, we saw the impressive Castillo de Templarios – the Templar Castle.
So many choices to make. Do we go see the castle first or find someplace for lunch? We’re very hungry since it’s now after one, and we haven’t eaten since seven, or do we search for our hostal first. Happily, our hostal is right across the street from the Castle, so we checked in and dropped our bags before heading for lunch. We settled on a little pizza place for a break from our usual pilgrim meals and bocadillos. The list of pizza offerings is the most unusual we’ve ever seen: some with smoked salmon or cod fish, some with walnuts and raisins, several with eggs both poached and fried. We settled on a pizza with smoked salmon and white bachemal sauce. It was delicious. Sara also tried a new drink called Radler, a beer with lemon. Very refreshing after a long walk on a hot day.
We sat and visited with another couple from Australia, Kat and Chris. We had a wonderful time sitting with them for an hour drinking and talking.
So it was late afternoon when we visited the Castle of the Knights Templar. Evan is pretty sure he’s seen parts of this castle in films over the years, for it’s beautifully preserved, a picture-perfect medieval castle. A large group of rather loud schoolchildren were there while we visited, but we still enjoyed the castle a great deal. Many explanations were in English, so we could learn about what life was like in the middle ages. It reminded Sara of the Ken Follett books, which she now wants to read again.
After the castle, we found an ATM to replenish our cash supply and a pharmacy for essential supplies, and then back to our room to get ready to go out for the evening. We tried to catch up on our posts, but the WIFI was not strong or reliable.
Later we found our breakfast friends: Nicki & Andrew, Martin & Christina, and another New Zealander named Rachel. We joined them for wine, and when the pizza shop was open again, we headed there along with Rachel, Nicki & Andrew. We had a most pleasant evening visiting. We learned that Andrew had worked for JP Morgan/Chase in England – as our own Benny does in New York. We were also quite moved when Rachel told us of her charitable work in Haiti.
