Camino Invierno - Day 2

6 October 2023

Borrenes to Las Médulas - 17 kms

We more or less had a day off the Camino today. We left the camino path 3.5 kilometres from Borrenes and made our way up to see the remains of Roman gold works above Las Médulas. Had we walked directly from Borrenes to Las Médulas it would have been only 7 kilometres, but the route we took added another 10 kilometres to our day. 

The remains of the goldmine above and around Las Médulas are from the most important goldmine in the Roman Empire. Large scale production began in 77 AD, using up to 60,000 workers at it's peak and extracted over 6,000 kilograms of gold annually. 

The technique used was called ruina montium, mountain destruction. Galleries were dug into the mountain and large volumes of water, sourced from up to 70 kilometres away, were forced into the galleries to collapse the mountainside. 

What is visible today is the result of the destruction of the mountain caused by the mining. If a goldmining company in New Zealand left such destruction there would be a massive outcry. Instead, here in Las Médulas, the ruins of the mountain are now a protected UNESCO site and a major tourist attraction. 

After leaving the camino path from Borrenes, we followed a road up to the Mirador de Orellán, the lookout point at 990m - a 540m climb. 

We were able to go into a remaining gallery and walk along it to an opening which gave a view out over the destruction.

From there we walked down to the village of Las Médulas on a track through holm oaks and chestnuts. It was a very steep descent on a rocky uneven path.

Tomorrow we'll be be back on the Camino proper again. 

Leaving Borrenes 

Borrenes 

Out on the camino path for 3.5 kilometres 

Off the camino and climbing up to the Mirador 

The chestnut trees are quite a way behind those we saw on the Piémont Pyrénéen and Baztan routes. They had mostly dropped their chestnuts. 

Still on the way up.

A Roman and his castle 

Coming into the village of  Orellán 

The Orellán church 

Orellán 

On the way up from the village 

...and looking back at it.

The chestnut trees were very old.

This man was collecting chestnuts. 

On the path up to the Mirador. Cars zoomed past us making easy work of our walk up.

Finally at the Mirador de Orellán, looking down on the ruins of the mountain. 

An image of a Roman and the workers - many of the 60,000 were slaves. 

In one of the galleries 

An opening in the mountainside 

After leaving the Mirador we walked down to the village of Las Médulas through holm oaks and chestnut trees.

A view out from the track down to Las Médulas 

The church in Las Médulas 

This photo was taken in Las Médulas 

A strange Las Médulas creature 

...and cat.

In Las Médulas 

Camino Invierno - Day 1

5 October 2023

Ponferrada to Borrenes - 20 kms

Today we started the third of our three planned chemin/camino routes - the Camino Invierno - and it has been a great first day.

The Camino Invierno is around 270 kms long, depending on which route variations are walked. A wee piece about the Invierno borrowed from another website: "The Camino Invierno is the traditional way to Santiago de Compostela for pilgrims arriving in the late Autumn and winter. The Os Ancares mountains are the great divide between Castille-Leon and Galicia which can often become snowbound during the winter months.

So the Camino Invierno, the "Winter Way" was used - leading travellers around the snow-capped peaks of Cebreiro. It meets up with the last few miles of the Via de la Plata Sanabres to arrive by way of the most attractive approach to the great city (Santiago de Compostela), where you pass through the last remaining ancient pilgrim gate."

The Camino Invierno, now walked year round, is a very quiet camino route compared with the number of pilgrims who walk on the Camino Francés from Ponferrada. Understandably, due to the low number of pilgrims walking it, the Invierno doesn't have the pilgrim infrastructure of the Francés.

It felt good to step out on the Camino again after two full days in Ponferrada, good to be back walking. We were very much going against the flow of pilgrims as we walked towards the start of the Invierno this morning - so many were setting off from Ponferrada to continue on the Camino Francés. 

Today's route was a mix of paths and roadside walking and took us through several small villages - we found a café/bar open in two of them and enjoyed stopping for a drink as this was quite rare on our other two routes.

 The countryside is very different to the Basque country, and the houses and farm buildings are quite different too. We walked past many small vineyards and blocks of fruit trees. We saw apples, pears, quinces, pomegranates, figs, plums of some sort, grapes, kiwifruit, as well as walnuts and chestnuts.

Chestnuts were important to the Romans and are still important to the economy of the area today with chestnuts, and flour produced from them, being exported. 

As usual, the morning was cool and fresh and by midday it was hot, 31°C by the afternoon - fortunately much of the walk was in the shade. 

It was lovely to see hills all around us - I'm guessing I may not feel the same when we hit some steep ascents and descents. What we had today was very manageable.

Setting out this morning, the Templar Castle in the background. 

We went one way and those on the Francés went the other.

Our first of many mojones - there seems to be many on this camino, so far none have shown the distance to Santiago de Compostela. 

Just as when we were on the Camino Francés, we found the age and the way of pruning the grape vines quite unusual. 

Toral de Merayo

A bridge in Toral de Merayo

...where we had our first drink stop.

Our first sighting of a stork nest since arriving in Europe. 

Toral de Merayo

Another massive stork nest. 

We would have loved to have helped ourselves to the fruit we saw - but didn't. 

Priaranza del Bierzo 

Our first sighting of the remains of the ancient Roman gold works - we'll see a lot more tomorrow. 

Santella del Bierzo 

The Ermita de Virgen del Carmen 

Inside the Ermita 

We passed old slate works.

Coming down into Borrenes, where we're staying tonight. 

Borrenes.

Borrenes

The courtyard of where we're staying tonight. 

...and a view from our room. 

Our accommodation 

Some snaps from our wander around Borrenes - a peaceful little settlement.

A man just delivered two baskets of these fungi to our accommodation - he wouldn't let me take his photo but was proud of his findings. He called them boletus something - sadly I couldn't hear what the something was. 

Dinner is about to be served.