Starting on the Camino Invierno, from Ponferrada to Las Medulas, then on to O Barco (July 10 and 11)

After a rest day in Leon, we realized we wouldn't have time to walk the 4-5 days from there to Ponferrada, where the Camino Invierno begins, and still make it to Santiago on time.  After spending the morning and early afternoon chatting with some new friends who are doing a stint as hospitaleros at an albergue in Leon, we took a bus to Ponferrada.  We had a couple of hours there to explore the old city and tour this old castle, which was first built by the Templars, subsequently expanded in later centuries, and recently restored.

We also spent a little time in the afternoon visiting at the pilgrim office in Ponferrada.  When we told the man there we were planning to start on the Invierno, he initially tried to talk us out of it. He explained how the stages are long and without services at intermediate spots along the way. I guess the concern is that pilgrims might be expecting something more like the Frances, where there are generally services available every five or ten km. After we talked for a while, and described our experience on several of the other less-traveled caminos, he started to open up and gave us good detailed information.

Next morning we headed out on our next camino, the Invierno, which splits off from the Camino Frances here.  This is the first marker on the Invierno, steps from where it begins.  Before we'd walked a block, a woman came running after us to tell us we were going the wrong way.  By the time we'd left town, three others had stopped us to make sure we knew where we were going.

This day's stage was along small lanes and roads, through mostly grape vineyards, small orchards, and little villages.

Lots of "buen caminos," little chats, and helpful pointers from people we met along the way. We were missing that sort of interaction this year on the Lebaniego and Vadiniense; it really feels much more like being on the Camino again.

As the day went on it became quite warm, and we were pretty beat after we'd made our second long climb of the day to the small town of Las Medulas.  It's the site of Roman gold mines, and they used 60,000 slaves basically demolish the mountains; all that's left is mounds like this one.

By the time we'd had a bite to eat and headed back to our hotel, the almost full moon was coming up.

The next day started with a long descent from Las Medulas to the small town of Puente de Domingo Florez.  We had a bite to eat there, filled bottles, and from there on our path roughly followed the Sil river valley and the railroad line that runs through it. There are a series of small dams and reservoirs.

The main industries here are slate mining and wine.  Some of the slate mines are very large, and resemble open pit coal mines.

This section of the path passes through very few towns, so we are carrying extra water and snacks.  We stopped for a mid-afternoon snack at the small town of Sobradello.  The proprietor of Bar Mar there is very hospitable to pilgrims and brought us a large plate of meats, cheese, and bread.

Again, a very hot day and we were pretty spent by the time we made it to O Barco.  The path took us through town for about a couple of km following the river, where there's a very nice riverside park.  As we were walking up through town toward lodging, we stopped for an ice cream.   Chatted a bit with the young man in the shop, and while we were still finishing our cones he brought us a fancy cupcake as a gift. Everyone has been very friendly here, and because there's a wine festival in the town we decided to spend an extra night to stay and enjoy it.

Finishing the Ruta Vadiniense: Cistierna to Gradefes, then on to Mansilla de las Mulas (days 10 and 11)

We left Cistierna early in a drizzle, and it alternated between light and heavy rain most of the time until early afternoon.  Cameras mostly stayed tucked away, so not a lot of pictures from this section.  We were walking through farm country, and a lot of the off-road sections were very overgrown with tall grasses.  At one break in the rain we were able to add to our collection of traffic mirror selfies.

By the time we arrived in the small village of Gradefes mid-afternoon, the weather was clearing.  As we walked into town, a man approached us from one of the bars to ask if we were looking for the albergue.  He picked up the keys for us, stamped our credentials, and told us where to find the albergue on the edge of the village.  The only place to eat was a good km away, at a hotel-restaurant across the river and on the main highway; we dropped our packs and walked quickly there just in time to eat.  After eating and then returning to the albergue for a shower, we walked back to the village to visit the 12th century monastery.  Once the sisters enter there, they never leave; they're even buried in the center of the monastery.  There are about a dozen, all old, still residing there.

The building, which went up over a period of centuries, is a mix of Roman and Gothic elements.

Our guide explained the meaning of this carving at the top of one of the columns.  It shows a soul being judged, by God on the right and devil on the left.  The devil is putting his knee on the scale to try to tip things in his favor.

The albergue is in a modern building at the edge of town, and very well equipped with a complete kitchen, a comfy sitting area, and a balcony to dry clothes.

The next day we set off under mostly clear skies for the last stage of this camino to Mansilla de las Mulas.  Poppies are coming up in the already-harvested hay fields.

Lots of storks and their large nests.

Around noon we stopped to visit the former monastery of San Miguel de Escalada, which has been a monastic site since the seventh century.  The present church dates to the early tenth century, and is of Mozarabic style: the architecture and design elements draw heavily from Moorish influence.

These hillside caves seen along the path were dwellings for the early monastic hermits in this area.

We passed the 200 km mark right around the time we stopped for a cool drink in this little bar in the village of Valle de Mansilla.

After this, we had less than 10 km remaining to Mansilla de las Mulas, where the Ruta Vadiniense ends and our path met the Camino Frances.  We took a bus from Mansilla to the nearby city of Leon, booked into a nice pension, and have a rest day here.

Riano to Cremenes, then on to Cistierna (days 8 & 9)

We walked out of Riano in beautiful hiking weather.  This large reservoir is fed by the Rio Esla, and we'll continue following the same river for the next four days.  We're slowly leaving our beloved mountains behind and heading into the flats.

After walking on a combination of roads and trails for several km, we covered the last few km to the dam along road.   Right before the dam we walked through the tunnel at the left edge of the photo (not scary: there's a good sidewalk next to the road surface), then dropped down a little service road to the river below the dam.

Once we hit the Rio Esla it was great walking.  Much of the time we were walking on an old Roman road, on the actual stones laid down two millenia ago.

The old road surface is in remarkably good condition.  Those large blocks along the river side of the road are original.  This river was a favorite fishing spot of Generalissimo Franco.  Beautiful clear and very fast-moving water.  But we were told that there aren't as many fish since the dam came in due to the change in water temperature.

Occasionally we left the road surface to walk through overgrown meadows.  We've learned that tall grass means ticks.  At the end of the day we'd pull many off our legs (one day Ellen took off 20; I don't count).

We ended this day's stage at the small village of Cremenes.  Had a great meal in the sole restaurant (Huelde), and took a very nice room in the same place upstairs.  After washing up we had an enjoyable walk around the village.  Not many pilgrims pass this way, and everyone was very friendly to us.  We had a long chat with an elderly couple outside their home: he was about to turn 92 and she was 89.  They live most of the year in the large city of Leon, but spend summers here because it's so peaceful and the people so agreeable.

The next morning we were back on the Roman road for about 5 km more.  It's quite a feat of engineering.  Amazing the infrastructure projects one can build with slave labor.

Ellen makes friends everywhere she goes.  When our trail crossed a road this fellow trotted over from his home to say hi.  Note the yellow arrow trail marker in the background.  This is the only camino we've been on which is mostly marked in both directions.

Our path continued through the Rio Esla valley.

By mid-afternoon we arrived at the town of Cistierna.  As we were trudging up the hill through town, following our sketchy directions toward the albergue, a man on the sidewalk stopped his conversation to ask us if that's where we were headed.  He then lead us up the remaining few blocks and checked us in to the albergue.  The only other person there was a woman from Leon bike touring for a few days (not a pilgrim).  We had a room with two beds to ourselves; unfortunately there was no hot water so the shower was a quick one.

After washing up we walked back into town and had a truly great meal at the Restaurante Moderne.  In the evening we sat at a table outside one of the town's many bars enjoying a beer and tapas.  It seemed that everyone else in town was doing the same thing on this Saturday night.

Signage on this camino is not always clear.  Right arrow would take us back toward Cremenes, left is the direction we were heading the next morning, no idea about center (the street only forked two ways here).

Espinama to Fuente De (short rest day), then Portilla de la Reina and on to Riano (days 5-7)

The weather forecast was iffy for the day after we arrived in Espinama, plus Dan had a gig to work on requiring a good wifi connection plus several hours of time, so after the long and strenuous day from Potes to Espinama we decided to take a rest day.  We walked only about 3 km from Espinama to Fuente De, which is the end-of-the-road up into the Picos from Potes.

We'd been to Fuente De once before, with Dan's folks in 2009, and it's a stunningly beautiful spot: a cirque of peaks and cliffs around a small valley end, and with a gondola up to the top.  But not this time.  It was socked in with clouds, and in the afternoon (after we'd arrived) it rained pretty steadily.  We booked into the Parador hotel shown below and Dan went to work.

The next stage on the Ruta from Fuente De is described as the most scenic on this entire camino.  It climbs out of Fuente De to a high pass at Collada de Remona, and has outstanding views in all directions.  If, that is, the weather is clear.  It was drizzling when we left Fuente De, with the very low cloud cover seen above. Within a few minutes we were in the clouds, and visibility was maybe 50 m.

Here's Ellen at the top of the pass.  It was windy and, once we stopped climbing steeply, chilly; as soon as we dropped out of the wind we bundled up with extra clothes and gloves.

We descended for several km to Puerto de Pandetrave, where our dirt track met the paved road we'd follow for the rest of the day.  Just as we arrived there we broke out of the clouds.  We sat a bit, took a break, and ate the bocadillos we'd been carrying.

As we headed down the road the sky gradually cleared (somewhat) and the extra clothes gradually came off.  We made the last 10 km in just over two hours.  End of the stage was the small village of Portilla de la Reina (below).  Not much here besides a small private albergue.

After washing up we walked around the village a bit, and then relaxed in the albergue with a beer in front of the fire.  What a surprise to meet another pilgrim here, a young man from Madrid who was following the same Ruta but in the opposite direction.  He's the first other pilgrim we've encountered since starting out from San Vicente.

Portilla de la Reina marked 100 km so far; we took this picture shortly after starting out the next morning.  We followed this river most of the rest of the day.  It's full of fish: any time we stopped to look we'd see good-sized trout swimming.  Although we were mostly on pavement, it was level and easy walking after the mountains.

After about 10 km on the road our path diverted onto unpaved lanes and passed through a few small villages.  We returned to the road when we reached the Riano reservoir, and followed its shoreline the remaining distance to the small town of Riano.

The original site of Riano is now under the reservoir; they built a new town above.  Everything is new except two churches which were moved from the old site stone by stone.  After the mid-day meal we took a room at the Hostal Sainz, with a lovely balcony looking over the town and lake.

Pics from San Vicente de la Barquera to Espinama (days 1-4)

San Vicente de la Barquera, our starting point on the coast

Starting out on the Camino Lebaniego, where it departs from the Camino Norte

Looking back toward the coast

Starting our descent toward Cades.  We were in rain pretty soon.

After Cades we were following this road through the gorge.

The village of La Fuente.  There are no stores here: this truck stops by once a week to sell meats and cheeses to the residents.  We are headed over the pass in the distance.

In front of the Romanesque church in La Fuente

Passing through Burio, on the way up to the pass

And up we go, just under the clouds.  It rained soon after.

Descending toward Cicera.

The village of Cicera

Albergue in Cicera.  The bedroom is upstairs with a door to the balcony, kitchen and dining room down.

Morning view from the albergue

Looking down toward Lebena (out of sight at the bottom of the valley below us) from the pass

The trail down

Lebena.  There's a beautiful tenth century Mozarabic church here which we toured.

San Roque (an early pilgrim, note scallop shells), in the Potes church

River walk in Potes.  The albergue is just above this walkway, between the two bridges.

Heading up the valley from Potes toward the monastery at Santo Toribio

Santo Toribio, site of two of the largest pieces of the cross.

We're heading up this valley to the left, following along the base of the mountains.

Grazing goat on the trail between Cosgaya and Espinama.

Along the trail, near Espinama.