Longer Walk Than We Thought

We had a late start after our long day yesterday. We headed out thru Ponferrada past the Templar Fort followed by several churches - then continuing out the suburbs into the countryside. We went through many small villages including one where we stopped for Coca Cola next to a small church in the middle of the road. This area is a Micro climate named Bierzo which is known for the different crops including a large number of grape fields. The grapes are grown somewhat differently than Napa with individual plants growing without trellises and newer plants just dropped into the old growth. Some of the new fields are done with trellises but that is the exception. As we looked back over the valley behind us the views were spectacular. We could see Ponferrada in the distance with the foothills rising up to where we stood. Ahead of us we’re more mountains which we will climb tomorrow. Quite a bit of the road was on pavement so our feet had a tough day. Luckily the finish was in the country so gravel trails to finish. The last stretch was downhill into Villafranca which is an old and small village nestled in a valley. A highlight of the day was that the hotel where we are staying did our laundry for us! Happy Day!

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