The Camino de Invierno
Day 1 Ponferrada to Orellán (Las Médulas)
Friday 26th April 2019
| Distance |
Time |
Elevation in meters |
Km |
Elapsed
Hrs-Mins |
Moving
Hrs-Mins |
Gain |
Loss |
Min |
Max |
| 25.92 |
7H42 |
5H26 |
662 |
414 |
481 |
789 |
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|
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|
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Courtesy of www.gronze.com
Courtesy of www.gronze.com
The start of the Camino de Invierno
The old Roman bridge over the River Boeza on the right
Crossing the Roman Bridge (Puente de Boeza) to the far side of the River Boeza I turned
right and departed Ponferrada. The first part of the walk was quite nice,
following the river through lush countryside with vines growing alongside the path.
Turning right to follow the banks of the River Boeza
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The area is noted for its wines
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The medieval bridge at Toral de Merayo over the River Oza
| Just after the medieval bridge at Toral de Merayo, I met my first two fellow pilgrims, two Spanish ladies. I only saw them once more, and that was in Monforte de Lemos at Mon ComeySueñya Guesthouse. I soon realised that the path was exceptionally well signposted with "mojons" and yellow arrows, so I hardly referred to my maps again. |
Toral de Merayo
Ermita Santo Cristo at Toral de Merayo
Iglesia San Salvador
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Approaching Villabre de la Jurisdiccion
Villalibre de la Jurisdiccion
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| Next came a road called " Calle Del Camino de Invierno" ........ This all looked promising. I was soon in Priaranza Del Bierzo, and then Santalla Del Bierzo, where I crossed the N-536 road. Here I saw the signs for Castillo de Cornatel and for Las Médulas. I had not been able to get a room in Las Médulas, and had booked nearby Orellán; I knew I was in for a tough climb to Orellán l and that I had an alternative route possibility near Castillo de Cornatel. A decision to make later. |
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Lovely old streets in Priaranza
| I eventually came to the sign for La Villavieja; bearing in mind that this was my first day and that I had a big climb to Orellán, I opted to follow the road at this point. No mistake the road route involved a climb as well, but it was shorter. I eventually came to a small work yard with Pizarra in the name; could I get a pizza here? Dream on, pizarra refers to the local slate industry! I sat on a bench in their yard and ate my sandwich, accompanied by three salivating dogs (all harmless) who delighted as I threw them bits of bread. |
Certainly no lack of signs indicating the way
Reaching Santalla
Fantastic irises coming into bloom
The whole of the Bierzo valley is visible from the Santalla lookout. The barrancas (gullies)
are remnants of Roman mining activities for gold
The barrancas
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Off to the right at Santalla del Bierzo, towards Castillo de Cornatel and Las Médulas
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The climb to Castillo de Cornatel and Villavieja goes off at this point, Rioferreiros
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The route via Villavieja involved a lot of climbing (to approximately 800 m of elevation) , and I estimated it to be 4 km longer than the road route. There was climbing involved in the shorter road route as well, but it seemed to be the better option this being Day 1 and I still had a big climb ahead to Orellán
(Route map courtesy of www.douglasajohnson.com) |
The road route
View across the valley to Castillo de Cornatel. I have to admit, when I saw this view,
that I was glad that I was not climbing it with my 10kg backpack!
I crested the hill by the slate works; the road to the left went to Villavieja,
and that to the right led to my next point of Borrenes
I had three big dogs for company as I ate my lunch just inside the slate works on a bench; they were
harmless and did not bother me........ as long as I kept throwing them a morsel of food!
After a short stretch along the road, the path went off to the left on a track towards Borrenes
Borrenes village
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Leaving Borrenes and back into open countryside. Again, the sign posting was superb
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I eventually reached a road with a signpost; Carucedo to the right; Las Médulas straight on;
the road to the left leading to Orellán
| In hindsight, bearing in mind that I had not been here before and did not know exactly where Orellán was or where the hotel was, perhaps I should have walked into Carucedo and taken a taxi to the hotel. But instead, I turned left and began the big climb up the hill along the road. And what a tough climb it was. |
LE 6220 to Orellán
(Route map courtesy of www.douglasajohnson.com)
At last........ the T-junction with the village to the right
The village sign and the church (Iglesia de San Pedro) .... but where is the hotel? Another 2 km!
| The climb to the hotel involved 280 m of climbing and took me an hour and a half! I reached the T-junction and turned right and could see the village signpost and the church just ahead. There was also a sign for the hotel saying that it was another 2 km ahead! I was pretty whacked by now and phoned ahead to see if Isabel, the owner could pick me up. No such luck as she was serving food to guests, so I had to trudge on. I was in dire need of a beer by the time I arrived, and so glad that I had not made the climb to Villavieja earlier in the day. |
A climb of 280 m to Orellán village
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6 rooms available
A very comfortable room
The bar
The dining room
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View from the dining room
And a good bottle of Bierzo red! What a day it had been! And this was only Day 1.
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