Day 26: Molinaseca to Cacabelos (Wendy)

Today was a perfect encapsulation of the balance we try to strike on the Camino between planning and letting serendipity bring us unexpected experiences.


On the planning side, I had read about a gluten-free bakery and cafe in Ponferrada on a Camino gluten-free Facebook group I’m part of. I’ve been looking forward to visiting for weeks, and we deliberately adjusted our schedule, stopping a bit earlier yesterday and leaving an hour later this morning so we could walk into Ponferrada and arrive when the bakery opened at 9:00. The Eggs Benedict on gluten-free waffles, along with the gluten-free pastry and cookie I carried away in my pack, made all the planning worth it. Amazing start to the day.



Then the magical unplanned delights started. Ponferrada is a beautiful, bustling city nestled high in a mountain valley. Even though we were walking through on a Sunday, when towns are often dead quiet, this town was alive with people on their way to church, hanging out at cafes, and attending youth soccer games. Rather than approach through the typical industrial bleakness, we walked in through the wealthiest neighborhood we’ve seen in Spain, glimpsing swimming pools behind high fences and security systems.



As we meandered through the town, the Camino took us past the largest, most intact castle we’ve seen yet. Since we’d done no research on the town (beyond the all-important bakery) this was a delightful surprise. We then walked through tree-lined neighborhoods that gave me a strong Champaign/Urbana feel, up a steep hill out of the valley, and spent the next several hours walking along a country road  through small towns also full of cheerful people wishing us a “buen camino” as they walked to mass. One friendly local pulled his bicycle over to have a long chat with Bob about our experience, where we’re from, etc. 




We finally left the road for the last few kms heading into Cacabelos. We headed into town walking past vineyards and small farmyards with a few sheep, maybe a horse, trees clustered around a small stream winding through it all. The autumn colors added the final bucolic touch to the afternoon, especially when we finally stopped by the side of the road to have a quick picnic of cheese, jamón, and oranges. 



Our hostel, while nothing special, is on a pedestrian-only street in the old part of town. After booking our last few albergue stays for next week, we went to the farmacia, stopped for a quick drink before dinner (where I had my first gluten-free beer in Spain!) then had dinner with some of our Camino friends. Lovely end to a gorgeous day. And did I mention that it didn’t rain once? And we’re now officially less than 200 km from the end!




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