5/16 Eres Muy Amable

Today's walk started out with some uncertainty and a nice surprise.  The albergue we stayed in...San Nicholas at Ponferrada...was very nice and I highly recommend it.  But it is about half a mile off the Camino route.  I remember seeing the yellow arrows pointing off to the left as I walked by yesterday to get to San Nicholas.  When we left in the dark this morning, there were few pilgrims out and the ones that were out, were not walking back to the point where I had left the Camino yesterday.  I don't think Polly was all that confident of my sense of direction...a couple of times she said, "I'm not sure this is the right way," but I assured her it was and forged ahead.  A half mile back we found the yellow arrow pointing off to the left.  There was not another pilgrim in sight but I was relieved.  We were right where we were supposed to be.  We walked the back streets through Ponferrada and then, something I had totally forgotten about rose up out of the darkness...the Templar Castle of Ponferrada, built in 1178.  It is magnificent.

It took us awhile to walk through Ponferrada...it's a big town...and then I walked through Camponaraya and Cacabelos.  I really liked Cacabelos...it seems to have a lot of wine industry.

While I was walking through Cacabelos, an elderly man came out of his house with a large cherry branch.  He wanted to give it to me.  The branch had hundreds of cherries, that's probably why the branch broke...it was heavy.  He spoke no English, but I told him I would take a handful of cherries and he could leave the branch for other pilgrims that came along.  He seemed satisfied.  I told him, "You are very kind!" and that I wanted a picture.  He obliged and I think everyone was a winner.  I have used "You are very kind", often enough that I figure I need to know it in Spanish.  So...next time I hope I can remember "Eres muy amable!"

The last 6 or 7 kilometers were beautiful.  I love the gnarly old grape vines planted in straight rows.

Today was 25.5 kilometers and tomorrow will be 24 with a good climb at the end of the day to La Faba.  My shoes have carried me more than 600 kilometers...and today they left me deliciously tired.

Today's song of the day is from Ennio Morricone. I love his music and today's piece is from Once Upon a Time in America.  He is an Italian composer and you will hear another piece I love tomorrow.