Thursday, September 12, 2013

Villafranca del Bierzo

This was one of the longest and hardest days of the Camino.  We walked a little over 19 miles  to Villafranca.  We passed through the major city of Ponferrada, 62,000 in population.  Here we passed the Castle of the Templars.  This 12 th century castle has been declared a national monument.  The Templar Order were considered guardians of the Camino.  However the Templar Order was outlawed by King Fernando in 1312 and was disbanded by the Church.
We continued our journey through vineyards and rolling hills that looked very much like Napa, CA., even stopping for a glass of wine for lunch at one of the local wineries.  We finally arriving at our destination around 6pm, almost 10 hours of walking with a few breaks in between.  We now begin to cross our third and final mountain range before reaching Santiago on Sept. 20th.  Buen Camino !!!

Scripture passage - Sept. 11
Genesis 24:40

Prayer Companion(s):
Martha and Pater Posnerowich


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1 comment:

  1. UnknownSeptember 12, 2013 at 6:21 AM

    Hello Ray.
    Wow! 19 miles. Keep it going young man. The wine would have knocked me out. Thank you for the pictures of the castle. What an incredible site to see, along with the bridge. And it did not cost as much as the Bay Bridge I bet.
    Keep up the great work on your walk and thank you for all the great pictures and descriptions of both the walk and the inspirations that fill your mind and soul. I'm inspired as well.
    Boris

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