Villafranca del Bierzo

17 Sept 2025

I don’t mind leaving a larger town or city in the dark before sunrise. Street lamps are on, so there is plenty of light with which to see and the buildings seem even older than they do in the daylight when life is bustling around.

Now I am back in hilly wine-growing countryside; this part of the province of Castilla y Leon is called El Bierzo and its hills and valleys border the more rainy and humid provinces of Asturias and Galicia.

Today was relatively flat (by previous Camino days’ standards) but tomorrow I start uphill for my last big mountain of the Camino. I plan to break up the climb by going halfway up and spending the night. The weather is promising to be extra warm tomorrow, so that motivates me to start earlier in the morning before the sun comes up so that I can be finished with the climbing before the sun is melting me in the afternoon. I clearly was not designed for hard work in hot weather!