July 9
Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo 31.9km
On the trail before 7 this morning and made the 7km walk to Ponferrada where we grabbed a quick breakfast. This is a big town and the camino markers end up blending in with all the other signage in town. Well, we missed the camino in town somehow, but did connect with it in the next town. That meant we walked a lot of sidewalks since one town runs into the next along here. Finally, back on the camino we began to see many of the people traveling the same distances as us.
We walked into Villafranca at 3pm. Hot and tired, ( it was 38C) all we could think about was getting a shower and something to eat. When we went through the office area of our albergue, the hospitalero invited us to be his guests at his comida. Fresh salad, hardboiled eggs, and bread, just what we needed. Now the laundry is done and we have some time before dinner to blog and maybe take a nap. It felt good to knock off over 30km. We have about 185km or 115 miles to Santiago, maybe 8 or 9 more days depending on this heat wave. We may shorten a day or two when we have a big climb.
So, how do we know where to go while hiking the camino? Most of the time there are yellow arrows painted on the street, curb, backs of signs, or cement markers. There are also modern signs at some intersections to point the way. The most trouble we have is in the big cities where the yellow arrows seem to disappear as was the case today. But, all and all it is very difficult to get lost.
Buen camino
It's very interesting to read about all the people who you meet along the way. The most interesting so far, was learning that people from all over the world have some sort of burden they wish to have lifted, and felt the iron cross was the place to have it lifted, and how it became such an emotional part of the journey. I was thinking, people will sometimes carry a burden for a very long time. If only they knew God walks beside us always,and we can reach out to him for help at anytime. May your journey continue to inspire you, delight you, teach you, and may God keep you safe and well along the way. Love, Mary
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