The Camino from Frómista to Ponferrada, via Camino Frances II / III
The Way of St. James (continuation) also begins with the first step, the walk to the departure trainstation. Early bird catches the worm and the anticipation is huge at that moment, which has also been fulfilled!
The Dreamteam of Airlines at the Airport in Frankfurt ready for departure end of September 2024
...it starts ;-) and it makes so much fun!
- Sports
- Culture
- Landscapes
- Spirituality
- Meet people from around the globe!
Typical Cross at the Camino and there are still a lot of people on the Camino (09/2024)
Only about 420 km to Santiago de Compostela
The first Church at the first stage for that day with lunch in a bistro afterwards.
The church from another point of view
View into the church with view to the altar and the spanish / puristic design.
The bowl for holy water with a beautiful cross
Marian Columns at the following village for that crosscountry day.
Carrion de los Condes with a for me monumental pilgrim statue . The picture covers everything: Ethos, Emotions and the whole thing.
An Auberge and a monastery. For less money (from 7 Euro on) it is possible to refill energy and to find silence from the dayly strain.
New day - new luck! In the morning straight on to Santiago de Compostela. I had to photograph the chapelle!
and like always: I am walking ;-)
next very beautiful Cross on the Camino
Walking into Sahagun, close to Leon, with a view to a chapelle within trees.
who knows the actors from the Camino movie from 2011 ?
Sahagun city gate with my Benedictine monastery (hostel) on the right for the day. The Benedictine sisters welcomed me very carefully and there was a communal program for all guests who stayed overnight. Introduction of the pilgrims, cooking and dinner together and the previous St. Rosary followed by St. Mass and the final pilgrim blessing by the priest and chorale by the sisters.-> The abbess gave the final blessing to each pilgrim individually with the sign of the cross on the forehead!
River crossing with entry into Leon, Spain – my main attraction for this stage 4 / 5 (2024)
View of Leon Cathedral from an alley with many cafes and pubs. Leon is very busy and there is a lot to do.
The huge Cathedral of Leon in a closer look overlooking the central square.
View of the beautiful windows in the light from inside the church
View of the altar area within the cathedral also with very beautiful windows and the ornate wooden structures behind the altar
Side aisle of the cathedral with statues of apostles and saints.
The beautiful view of the inner courtyard of the church area in a very artistic ambience as well as a mixture of the elements shown.
It continues from Leon towards Ponferrada with various gradients.
I also ate a lot of nuts on the Camino and also had a bag of chips as a meal in the evening, followed by gummy bears. 😉Thanks to the most innovative weight loss insulin (fat removal injection), I had little appetite compared to the sport I was doing, despite hiking 20km/day or more. I just couldn't manage to eat healthily non-stop because I had to reward myself somewhere for the exertion. Obligatory breakfast was always croissants with café con leche (milk café in Spanish) 😉
As an outfit I always wore a white shirt with short cargo pants and hiking boots from Meindl. A retired Berlin police officer said to me on this stage that his first impression was:
-> Frenchman + Foreign Legionnaire 😉
If we look at the first stage from Avignon to Lourdes, at that time (2021) I had around 175kg compared to the above (picture) around 132kg (190cm).
The effort to lose weight is worth it! – Sport, deprivation and generally following goals!
another Camino waymark & – 😉 further and further and further – every day (12) from 20km!
Camino path cross with view of Astorga
A day of hiking with a mild climate and a great panorama with 100% visibility! 🙂
Bulls (Toros) 😉 on the way to Compostela
This picture with the statue of St. James was taken in a Benedictine monastery before the last stage of the day to Ponferrada. The monks sang a millennia-old Gregorian chant and celebrated then holy Mass.
-> Now we come to my favorite daily stage of this year's stage, the march to Ponferrada with heights.
It's starting!
I started at dawn and the picture above should have been taken at around 8:00 a.m. after an hour of running.
It was about 31km on a rocky path with ups and downs straight to Ponferrada. The panorama became more and more beautiful as the visibility became clearer (fog).
let there be light 🙂
the first view of Ponferrada and still five hours of hiking ahead of me (until this year's destination)
another look at Ponferrada, pay attention to the rocky path 😉
the shallow view of the small mountains with a panorama towards Ponferrada
Panorama II
Panorama III
the final climb for the day and a more leisurely route compared to the steep climbs and descents on stony paths.
🙂 a donkey and small goats 😉
Suburb of Ponferrada with a view of a church
Fortress of Ponderrada
– where are we going again? 😉
Goal for 2024 reached (Fromista – Ponferrada (220km)) with daily running record under altitude of 31km!
Running load after Ponferrada and the days before with an average of 20km / day without breaks (10).
That was stage 4 of 5 with start in Frómista and end in Ponferrada in 2024. I walked the route with around 133 kg and was already practiced in pilgrimages and in running in general thanks to my job at the train station. It's a big difference from feeling like you're running at around 175 kg starting in Avignon 2021 or the weight on the current stage in 2024 (133 kg). I stayed in monasteries at least twice for very little money and tried to pray as often as I could. Visiting mass in the evening. Leon is a great city and I was very impressed by the cathedral. After Leon I was able to meet a Croatian pilgrim from around Astorga. Obligatory, we bought each other drinks and exchanged ideas. Then my sporting highlight in this stage started, the 31km march to Ponferrada with heights and a rocky path. This stage was more contemplative than the previous ones and I was able to reflect deeply. Then I took the Spanish high-speed train back to Bilbao (a very charming and elegant city) and from there I flew back home via Lufthansa to Frankfurt.
Only 198 km left to Compostela! 😉
