Day 30 - Las Medulas, Knights Templar at Ponferrada and driving on the N 6

 

Peaceful night and the rain kept away so we wake to another sunny morning, though there are more clouds today. 

It’s an easy morning for me as I rest up whilst Graham walks back to the viewpoint . From here it’s about an 8km loop and will allow him access to that cave! The route out goes via the village and some stony steep paths. At the top access to the ‘gallery’ is via the original Roman tunnel (€3) and it involves a hard hat as it’s very low. 

 He’s early enough to beat the crowds so has the cave to himself when he reaches it. The view isn’t as spectacular as the one from the mirador but is a good experience. The route back down cuts through the mined land and resembles something from a western movie. It’s an easier path too and definitely one I would have enjoyed. 

That said my time at the van has been lovely. The area is alive with birdsong and whilst I didn’t see them, I did hear wrynecks and a nightingale (annoyingly Graham did see the latter on his walk back). There was the small matter of a bee sting when I inadvertently sat on it, but otherwise very peaceful! By the time Graham got back there were five or six other vans in the carpark but all very spread out and no bother at all. 

From here we head to Ponferrada. The road is higher that it perhaps seems and there are lots of bare trees and even snow covered mountain tops in the distance, but there are also plenty of apple trees in bloom and spring looks near! The town is a really big one and doesn’t hold much promise as we drive through industrial estates and past retail parks but we head towards the castle managing to park fairly close. 

The castle looks like one a child would have for their knights … it’s a beauty! Obviously we have arrived at closure time again but the surrounding streets are picturesque too and it makes for a lovely place to wander and drink coffee. 

As we head back to the van we realise that we are only 20 mins from opening time and decide to hang on after all. This is made much easier when we sit and chat to two retired Swedish women who have been walking the Camino over a few years in stages and are fascinating to chat with. 

 When we get in the castle is vaste and there’s a waymarked route to circle it at all levels. I give it a good go, there are great views and it’s a delight to look out but it does lack information about its history. I don’t manage all the towers though Graham does and we both feel we’ve done enough before reaching the palace and library section so duck out before the end. 

Always the wrong time, it’s now the wrong time to get a meal so instead we grab some snacks and hit the road … We are keen to start covering some of the miles to Bilbao so have picked a random place on the map which happens to have a castle and is a couple of hours away on the N road that is sort of direct ish !

It’s a fascinating drive, largely on the N VI which it is alongside the A6, but could well be route 66 with lots of buildings that appear to have lost their use when the motorway was built. At times it looks much like home with gorse and heather bringing a distinctively New Forest vibe and climbs almost imperceptibly to 1200m, by which time it’s largely pine forest but still more ‘rolling’ than mountainous. By the time it’s down in the 800/900m mark it actually looks like the fens , totally flat and largely agricultural with occasional animal shed but a lot of tractors! We are seeing nesting storks again including a couple standing proud on the apex of a ruined church roof. 

When we reach our ‘random’ destination of Valencia de Don Juan the time feels right for a stop and the castle by the river looks like it could be a good morning activity. There’s a brand new ‘aire’ beside the leisure centre which looks out over fields at the edge of town, nothing special but very clean and feels a fitting stop following our ‘trucking’ afternoon. A bit drizzly to walk back to the town tonight so it s dinner and wine in the van and some research to help us for the next few days. 

Cumulative Mileage: 1476

Overnight: Aire at Valencia de Don Juan, free 

Spending: Las Muenas entry (1) €3, Ice creams €5.60 , Coffees and more ice cream €8 , Castle entry(2) €8