Villafranca to Herrerias

Day 24

Last night I sat down for dinner in the plaza by myself but soon struck up conversations with pilgrims Conor, from Ireland, and Ella, from Australia. We decided to regroup at one table and were soon joined by Laura, from Texas. Great pilgrim’s meal and conversation. By the time we left every other table was packed – so it was a good job we didn’t dine solo. I was grateful to retire early in a comfortable, clean bed. 

There was quite a bit of road construction on the Camino path in town, making several detours necessary under the streetlights until I could find my way across the only bridge over the river. Stopped for First Coffee in the first place open on the other side and ran into Yunus again. We walked together for several kilometers.

The terrain and sounds throughout the day in the valley are influenced by two major factors – the river and the highway. Rio Valcarce runs through the whole valley and is a wonderful habitat for wildlife. We saw wild boar at the water’s edge and heard a wide variety of birds. I veered off at one point to go through a village and Yunus continued on. I didn’t find a place open for juice – but saw a couple deer run across the path, having also just come from the river. 

The highway crisscrosses the valley at several points on massive bridges overhead. There’s an ongoing, echoing play between truck traffic and the roar of the river. I prefer the river.

At the entrance of any town the first cafe typically gets most of the pilgrim business. In Trabadelo that’s Bar Crispeta. When I walked up, most of the seating outside was taken and the tables were full of dirty dishes. The situation was the same indoors. There was one little lady behind the bar single-handedly trying to keep up with orders. She clearly had no backup. It’s like the broken window theory. One person leaves their dishes and it makes it more likely that the next person will. Since there was a bit of a line waiting, I asked her for a tray and started bussing tables outdoors – then inside. Three trays packed by the time I was done. She was so grateful. When it was my turn to order she told me to pick any pin from the souvenir display, gratis, which I gladly did. Had my toast, fresh OJ, and a second coffee. Before I left I asked the little lady her name and gave her a hug. Victoria. I got a selfie with her and then she grabbed her camera and asked someone to take our picture. New friend in Trabadelo.

The river was a pleasant, relaxing sound the entire walk today. And it was a shorter walk for me – only 20 km.  I stopped in Vega de Valcarce for a break and to find carrots for the horses tomorrow. There are a couple albergues in Hererias and I opted for Casa Lixa.  It’s not the least expensive- but it’s top notch and very clean. After yesterday’s incident, I was impressed to see new metal bunk frames, mattresses encased in plastic, and that they’d taken the extra step of adhering thick double-sided tape all the way around the room about two inches off the floor to trap any creepy crawlies trying to scale the walls. 😳

Herrerias is cowboy country.

I think I’ll go soak my feet in the cold river and try for a siesta before dinner. 

More later… 

If you’d like more information about my walk for charity:water, please follow this link. Thank you!

https://www.charitywater.org/marilyn-peterson/marilyn-s-camino-for-water