15. Etappe nach Vega de Valcarce

Today I could have slept a little longer, but since rain is forecast for the afternoon and today's stage is a little longer, I got up at 6:15 and then set off at half past seven. I've slowly found my routine with packing and preparing. Sometimes it only takes a few steps in the morning and everything in the backpack is in place. And now I know which ointment I need to have in my side pocket and where I should get it at any time. So I walked out of Ponferrada, where it was still well lit. Then we left the city and the path became a little darker and quieter. Most of the time I hiked on pebble paths and I was able to marvel at nature. I love it when you're alone and don't hear the noise that usually happens in a big city. In any case, I went through a few larger places where the travel guide advertised wine tastings for pilgrims. On the one hand it was too early and on the other hand I'm not a big wine drinker. Afterwards I had to walk on the road for a long time, which is sometimes a bit dangerous when the cars come rushing at what feels like 100kmh. But you usually walk on the left side and drivers often wave at you because they are used to pilgrims. I took a break before the next place. At frequent intervals along the Way of St. James there are always área de descanso, i.e. places for relaxation, where comfortable benches, fountains and trash cans are set up. Sometimes there is also a snack or drinks vending machine there. But you can really relax and unwind there when it's not too windy or raining. After the break I had power again and the next place, Villafranca del Bierzo, was nice and I could have taken a break there, but I only visited the church briefly and then moved on. You could then choose between 2 alternative routes: the normal route and the Camino duro. Normally I would always choose the second one, because duro means hard, which means that the path is a little more demanding, but unfortunately it is also 5km longer and since I wanted to go a little further afterwards and it was already lightly drizzling the whole time, I decided to take the shorter route. The path led along a road, but you were protected by a concrete wall and you could admire a lot of nature to the left and right. And also some streams and rivers. On the way I only saw two pilgrims early in the morning, otherwise none later. When I arrived in the next town, I continued walking because I still had 7km to go and the sky was already getting a little cloudy. The weather forecast for tomorrow looks rather gloomy, but that can still change by tomorrow and in general I can't complain about the weather. Of course I had rainy days, but mostly dry and that's because it usually rains almost every day in November. So I moved on and the last part of a stage always drags on, including today. But that's part of it too. In the last town I still crossed, there was a fountain where I quenched my thirst and refilled my bottle. Fresh water like this usually tastes best. I could finally see my Albergue El Paso in the distance. There is a supermarket less than 50m away, which I will visit later. But first, check in, take off your shoes and enjoy a relaxing hot shower. The world always looks a lot better afterwards. Then I looked at where we were going tomorrow, which depends somewhat on the weather. But since I was hungry, I went to the supermarket first. Unfortunately he was closed. So I went back to the accommodation and wrote my blog. I went back half an hour later and lo and behold: he was open. The siesta probably lasted a little longer. Anyway, I went shopping and made myself a warm baguette with tomato sauce and cheese. Was delicious. Plus 2l of light orange lemonade and a dessert and I'll be full until tomorrow. Now I'll devote a little more time to planning for tomorrow and a few people always arrive. But I had a 4-bed compartment just for myself, so it was very relaxed, only the bed made very loud noises with almost every movement, but you got used to that and tried not to move so much. I fell asleep around 10 p.m.