Where am I? Las Herrerías

How far did I walk yesterday? 31.1 km / 19.3 miles

How far did I walk today? 29.8 km / 18.5 miles

Sorry for the delayed updates. Wifi was bad on Sunday, and my phone battery ran out last night.

At breakfast yesterday morning, most of the company I’d enjoyed for several days decided they would stop in Ponferrada. While a nice town, it was only 9 miles from that albergue in Acebo. I thought about sticking with them, but I still liked my plan of longer walks this week to give me time on the coast next week. So I had brunch in Ponferrada and kept moving to Cacabelos.

Today, breakfast was in Villafranca de Bierzo. Afterwards, there were a choice of paths. All week, I expected to take the flat one, but I looked at the book one last time today and noticed the whole path would be on a freeway. This information, and a slight concern about the symbolism of not tasking the “high road,” led to a last minute audible.

As I started up the hill, and elderly woman started calling out a second floor window to me. I could not understand a word she said, but in hindsight, she probably was trying to warn me one last time about the hill.

It was a big hill, about 1200 feet, but I still think it was the right choice. It was much quieter and there were great lookout points. I got some quality time in with my friend David Copperfield, with the hope of finishing this week and downloading “Go Set a Watchman” for the trip to Finnesterre. (So no spoilers! I’ve already heard more than I want about the NY Times review.)

After working my way down the hill, I still had 7 miles to get to my cutoff for the day. I finally got in around 4:30 PM.

While my Spanish isn’t the best, the small talk at every albergue/hotel reservation desk has been the same: “¡Mucho calor!”

Or in English, “It’s hot out there!”

I have not tracked the weather everyday, but I would say 80% of my walking days had high temperatures over 90, and about half have had highs over over 95. I’m not a scientist, but I know this isn’t normal for Northern Spain. (The south is a different story)

Still, I’m not complaining because of the upside – it has not rained the whole trip! (A little mist as I walked to Orrison, but nothing since.) I’m afraid I’m going to jinx myself here, but I’d rather sweat it out than deal with rain gear.

I reached another milestone today. I am officially 100 miles from Santiago. I’m still on schedule to arrive on Sunday. I can’t believe it’s almost over, but thanks again for following along!