One of the things Sally and I have admired about the Camino is the lack of people trying to profit from it. All the merchants we have met along the way, with the exception of a few, have provided wonderful services at incredibly cheap prices. 5€ beds, inexpensive meal options, bag transport services and more. There is really no advertising. We use our guide books and web sites to see what others think of a place and use their judgement to guide us. I think of where we stayed last night in Rabanal. Super clean in all aspects. Wonderful food. Tidy, comfortable and well decorated courtyards full of flowers. Immaculate sleeping room. 5€ for a bed, 11€ to feed us both dinner with leftovers for breakfast. This experience is remarkable. There has been a huge increase in the number of albergues, cafes and restaurants along the route, and it is a good thing. There are now so many people walking the Camino that hundreds of beds are required in the popular towns to accommodate everyone. With those beds come food requirements in the form of groceries and eateries. Many of the small towns have adapted to accommodate all the walkers. They have done a good job of including these services without sacrificing the native feel of the small towns, adapting existing stone buildings to these purposes.
At the end of our hike today (more on that later) we walked into El Acebo, the town where we had decided to stay and stopped at the first red chair. I went into the albergue/cafe to inquire about a pop for each of us and met the owner/operator Mike. Mike grew up in Texas, followed a woman to Spain and has been here for 10 years operating this cafe/albergue. He insisted on bringing our order out to us, which he did, then stayed around for a while discussing politics, life in Spain and the Camino. He asked where we were staying, adding “I hope not that monstrosity with the pool at the end of town!!” We confessed that was our destination. He went on a bender about profiteering on the Camino, how the place did not fit at all with the spirit of the Camino, how he hired Philipinoes at slave labor wages and houses them in “brothels” (maybe the last part is a bit of an exaggeration on his part). He chastised us for staying there and we agreed and would have changed now that we understood the circumstances, but we had made reservations, had my pack shipped there, and frankly we wanted to experience all the aspects of the Camino, even the bad ones. So, today was our first introductions to profiteering on the Camino. Details in a minute.
We were up and out by our standard routine and on the road by 5:55am. As always, it was dark with a capital D. We headed out of town, following the signs posted along the road and the GPS. The roads climbed steadily uphill. In the dark it was hard to tell, but the roads appeared to be freshly graded, exposing the red dirt without a hint of gravel as a topping. This went on for most of the way, although at times it would shrink down to a single track trail through what appeared to be small oak trees and other low lying vegetation.
We saw the town of Foncebadon above us when it was still a mile and a half away. In the dark it was hard to tell distances because we couldn’t see the outlines of the buildings, only the street and porch lights. This town was once completely abandoned, but with the rebirth of the Camino, it has been reborn, including a new store/restaurant/albergue that is top notch.
We walked up the steep newly paved cement road into town and heard someone yelling, “Americanos!! Hey over here!” In the half light we could not make out who it was, but soon Renault emerged from the doorway of an albergue and into the light. We laughed and shook hands, talked a bit and then he was off. We got to the store/restaurant/albergue and took our required seat in one of the red chairs outside. It was still dark, but the sun was beginning to brighten the eastern sky. I got Sally a Coke from inside and a bag of mixed nuts for me. While inside we noticed bags left to be shipped to the next destination. We had hoped to send mine, but had been too late last night. Now we had a chance. We filled out the envelope, slipped in 5€ and put it next to the one already there.
Our backs lightened, we headed up and out of town for the “pass” and the monument at the pass. As we gained altitude slowly on this gently climbing road, the sun made an appearance over the horizon.
We gained the “pass” and saw the famous pile of stones with the pole and cross. To many, arriving here is an emotional moment. To fully participate in the Camino you are to bring a stone from your home and deposit it here, hence the growing pile of stones. To me, it was a telephone pole with a cross on top sticking out of a mound of dirt and stones. But, I am not one to judge, so I quietly circled the pile, took a few photos of those that are moved by this monument and quietly went on my way.
The trail oscillates up and down for about 3 miles as we run the ridge top, then plummets 4000’ downhill to the town of Molinaseca in about 7 miles. We worried about the strain on Sally’s knee doing that much downhill in one shot, so we made plans to stay at the afore mentioned albergue halfway down. The trail was fairly steep as trails go, full of dirt and rocks-a typical trail.
We entered El Acebo, met Mike, then wandered down to the hated hotel just outside of town. It was a magnificent piece of modern construction with wonderful materials and artfully designed. Sally was disappointed to learn the pool was closed-something she was counting on. We registered for our beds and were shown to a room with 4 bunk beds. Each had two outlets and a light mounted a few feet above the bed on the wall. Very convienient for charging devices. The bathrooms were large and spotless. The lights in the hall were motion controlled with a short timer. They turned off 15 seconds after you left the area. From our room to the bathroom there were three separate motion sensors turning on three separate lights. Very modern and energy efficient.
I wrote and napped. Sally napped. We walked back up to Mike’s at 5:00pm to visit as he invited us, yet when we got there, he no recollection of meeting us. He introduced himself, fed us the same lines and responses to questions from the morning. Weird. But, he sees quite a few hundred people a day, so no big deal. One of his workers tried to drive home but her Volkswagon would not start (what a surprise). Mike and her had no idea about cars what-so-ever. I helped a little, then had her try to compression start it as she went down the hill. The road descended 2000’ without a break, so she had lots of room to try to get it started. We ate dinner at Mikes and got two croissants for breakfast, then returned to our room and called it a night. The wind was howling most of the day and especially about 2 in the morning when I got up to walk that well lit hall to the bathroom.
The building was amazing, the people running it, not. They never smiled. They seemed put out every time we asked for something, like milk for a cup of tea. They were obviously not trusted with money in the least. Each exchange of money had to be taken to the front desk to be deposited in a central till and change was brought back. Usually a 3-5 minute process. Mike might have been right.
Sally’s early morning caffeine stop at the red chair (grey in this case).
The monument at the pass.
On the descent with Ponferrada in the valley below. We will hike thru and past it tomorrow
Mikes terrace
El Acebo main (and only) street
Mike’s place
Mike from Dallas not living in El Acebo, Spain
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