Stage 26 - Molinaseca to Cacabelos

Where We Are Tonight:  Cacabelos                Miles Hiked Today:  14.6 (23.5 km)

Miles Hiked Overall: 364.7 (586.9 km)            Miles to Santiago:  120.3 (167.3 km)

Steps Taken Today:  40,124                           Blister Count: I don't know...

Spanish Word of the Day: pulpo (octopus)

What We Learned Today: If it's an herb, it grows wild here.  So far we've found oregano, thyme, rosemary, lavender, fennel, and lemon balm.

Today we walked through the cool town of Ponferrada.  There we saw an awesome Knights Templar castle from the 12th century.

Walking today was very humid and hot and buggy.   We all looked like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown with all of the dust and bugs flying around us!

Coming in to a small village, we heard the bells of the church ringing.  We didn't think too much of it until it went in for quite a few minutes.   We finally walked by the church and got to see three grown men at the top of the bell tower, outside,  physically making the bells swing around and around to get them to ring.  After watching that for awhile, we continued down the street and saw for the second time a parade for a saint.

Cacabelos and all of this area is well-known for its specialty: octopus.   I'm not quite sure why this is their specialty since they are no where near the coast.  But, oh well, when in Rome....So, we tried some.  The meat inside is actually quite good, kinda like scallops.   We are not too keen on the outside skin.

My book of the Camino has 4 pages of maps and we are now on page 4!!

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” 

―James Michener.