Allison Cowie

Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo / 20 miles

Highlights:

• Another 6am departure meant a long walk in the dark with Jeff’s lovely company
• Breakfast in Ponferrada, a beautiful city I’d like to visit properly
• Seeing Philip, an English pilgrim I’d last seen on Day 4, in the breakfast cafe
• A light rain most of the day that kept me cool and the world quiet
• A kind old man in a small town outside Ponferrada who showed me where the water fountain was
• Walking through vineyards for the final 8 kms
• Reaching the Puerta del Perdon, where historically pilgrims who couldn’t make it to Santiago due to illness or injury would be forgiven
• Dinner with a Dutch woman and an American woman in the central square of Villafranca del Bierzo, a charming town
• Digging deep to find the strength for every step past Mile 19 when I was sure I only had that far to walk that day. It’s amazing how much this walk is a mental game… if I’m prepared for 22 miles, I can do 22 no problem, but if I’m prepared for 12, I find myself resenting any additional distance