Ponferrada

A glorious Sunday night in Ponderrada, the evening promenade is in
full swing.
This an institution in Spain, where people dress up in their best
clothes and meet and greet friends and family on the inner city
streets. They seem to eat and drink quite sparingly but socialise
heavily.

The Templar castle looks magnificent now that restoration work is
complete. Of course, it closed at 2.00 this afternoon (I arrived at
3.30) and doesn't reopen till Tuesday - I'll be long gone by then.

The walk today was tough due to the steep descents, especially into
Acebo. Otherwise it was a beautiful day. Walked again in sandals, much
easier than boots for the steep descents - nothing in front to crush
ones toes.

Passed Alto Polo which at 1515 metres is the highest point on the
Camino. Last year walking up these hills was really hard for me and I
was always soaked in sweat, today I cruised up without a sweat and
only just puffing on the steep bits.

From Molinaseca I walked with two French peregrinos (I met them
separately over the last few days). Amelie works for a French saddle-
maker and has worked as a jillaroo in Australia.

She is making a photo record of everyone she meets along the way.

I couldn't catch the Frenchman's name, it's a name I'm not familiar
with and it seemed rude to try to get him to repeat it again. His
English is limited but better than his Spanish or my French, he is one
of the very few people I have been able to assist with the local lingo.

We shared a similar love of the villages in this area.

Cheers
John