Day 24: Ponferrada - Trabadelo

The meteorology predicted 14 degrees Celsius, but it was fairly cold when we started walking. Later on we would regret not having dressed in only one layer, as it became too hot in the sun!





But while walking in the sun proved to be a hard task (even in winter, I can only imagine how it would be like.in summer time!), this was the first time we could enjoy having lunch on the terraza of a restaurant! In the end it really was the only thing we enjoyed, as the food at this restaurant wasn't all that good.


After lunch and leaving Villafranca del Bierzo, we had to make a decision on how to get to our destination: either to face a steep 400m climb followed by a similar descent into Trabadelo or just to follow the road through the valley that led directly to it. Of course, our masochistic minds sent us through the hardest path. The climb was particularly difficult on a full stomach, and coming down was no easy task either since we had descended a total of over 900m just the day before, but the view from up there and the walk on the chestnut groves on the west side of the hill was sufficiently rewarding.




In Trabadelo we stayed at Casa Crispeta, an albergue adjacent to a "Casa Rural" which was surprisingly good value for 6€, although the hospitalera wasn't very friendly.