Today’s itinerary had a few spots where there were some alternate paths that we could choose. Before having to make a choice, however, we saw an old wine press and a statue of Mary and Jesus that just makes me question how tight of a grip Mary had on her son.
The first decision of what path to take came early on, and as you can see we were given a shorter path or a pretty path.
I chose the shorter route today. But, I was really left a question how much prettier was the pretty way?
We also went past a statue sculpting studio. All the statues have to come from somewhere, right?
This path brought us into the town of Villafranca del Bierzo which is a cool little town nestled in the mountains. It has its own castle, several churches, and a river that goes through it. I think I might want to live here.
Out of town, we were given another choice of two paths. One of them was more of a woodland trail with a lot of ups and downs. The one I chose to go on (and which seems most pilgrims chose today) followed along a highway. It wasn’t the most wonderful of paths, but it was relatively flat, a bit shorter and was still pretty as we were basically walking through a valley.
We walked through several small villages, each one with its own little village church.
That brought us to our resting place for the evening. The alburgue that I’m staying in is right next to the River Valcarce and there is a lovely little patio that I am sitting on as I write this with the stream rippling by. It is very peaceful.
The river also acted as an ice bath for my weary feet today.
Buen Camino!
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