A very rare hurricane (Leslie) slammed into Libson, Portugal and then continued across the Iberian peninsula. Thankfully, we are now a little to the west of its trajectory and so have little wind and not a lot of wet stuff to deal with actually. The temperature is moderate and we get to spend time walking through the beautiful Bierzo.
It is a U shaped valley with slopes and soil perfect for growing quince and apples and figs and pears and walnuts and chestnuts (both the edible and inedible kind). Cherries too, although at this time of year we are seeing the trees laden with everything but. The Bierzo region is also known for its vineyards, and increasingly strong wine culture. There is a modern wine museum in the small town of Camponaraya. Only independent for 2 years (in the 1820s), the Bierzo sits in the north-west corner of Castillia and Leon.
Originally it was a region known for cultivating hermits, and in the 7th and 8th centuries there were more than 20 communities of hermit monks who set themselves up the slopes of these mountains. As we walk through the valley, we pass small villages every few kilometres of ancient origin and currently of varying degree of prosperity. The smartest ones have a bar or albergue open at all hours to provide coffee or orange juice or toast in the morning, sandwiches at lunch time, a pilgrim menu in the evening, and beer and wine all day, to locals and pilgrims alike. The goal is to be the first bar in town, because that's the one everyone stops at, unless you are able to market yourself on the Camino so that walkers know that there is more than one cafe bar available.
Another indication that one village is more switched on than another is having one or more person (usually a woman) by the main church in town, with the door open and the ability to provide a stamp. All pilgrims must have their Camino credential stamped at least once a day (twice a day after Sarria) to show at the end to prove they have completed the Camino. Some pilgrims go a little crazy and get a stamp at every hostel and bar and shop they visit, but we try to limit it to one a day, and we prefer it if it can be from a church. A pleasant lady in a church with a stamp will pretty much guarantee a few coins will be dropped in the donation box, which is no doubt appreciated for churches that need constant upkeep.
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| Able to see a renovated village church just before mass on Sunday |
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| unusual round apse with painted ceiling |
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| cherubs opening the curtain on the last supper |
The rain wasn't really that bad as we walked along country roads and tracks, passing farms with cows and horses again after weeks of seeing only large sheds where they lived indoors. We saw our first real shepherd, with about a dozen scraggly sheep and a lovely dog who kept things in order. Most of the fruit on the trees was rotting on the ground, but one old lady was washing walnuts she had collected. The sun even tried to come out once or twice, and there was a fleeting rainbow before the fine misty rain moved in over the hills again.
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| small rainbow just fading |
The Bierzo narrows after Villafranca del Bierzo, a lovely town built on the steep banks of two rivers as they converge. A commanding castle at the entrance to the town was built for the second Marquesado of Villafranca, who had served for many years in Italy as viceroy. A lot of the nobles who had served with him there joined him in Ponferrada and the houses still bear large stone crests and insignias attesting to their importance.
The town was important before that however. By the 10th century, it was such a popular stop on the Camino that its name Villafranca was first used (meaning "Foreigners' Town"), as half the inhabitants hailed from foreign climes, being French, English, Italian, German, Flemish, Portuguese, Jewish, and Scandinavian.
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| main square in Villafranca del Bierzo, the only part of the town that is flat |
Although it suffered the setbacks of most towns, with plague, wars, floods and so on, it seems to be untouched by modern times and is a lovely romantic town with steep cobbled roads, narrow alleyways and charming houses with slate rooves on either side of two clear, fast moving rivers.
Being a conscientious traveler I tried several of the Beirzo wines over the few days we passed through this small lovely region. Red and white, they were all absolutely and completely adequate. I do not need to press my local liquor store to stock Beirzo wines, but it has been pleasant sampling them, and I feel fortified to tackle tomorrow's steep climb into Galicia and its mountain slopes.
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