Day 5 Rest and Refection in Ambasmestas

Posted on by Esther Schorr

ImageThe weather wasn’t getting any better – overcast, rainy…a lot like Seattle winter!  Given that along with both of us feeling a bit weary, we decided to create a rest day for ourselves just short of an anticipted huge climb to O Cebriero. So we walked about 8km to Ponferrada where we knew a bus or taxi would be possible. We ended up in a really funky cafe and Ruth finally got some yummy churros and hot chocolate she had been wanting since the start.  This cafe reminded us of Amelie’s – a coffee shop in Charlotte with the same name as our favorite restaurant in Barcelona!  Eclectic decorations and umpteen baked goods…seemed like every pilgrim on our pace came in as we sat there.  The server was kind enough to call a cab for us and we were whisked about 50 km to a very tiny pueblo called Ambesmestas to chill out for the rest of the day.  Ruthie was very tired and slept much of the afternoon and I napped as well. This

in was truly awesome – just what we needed. The two camareros (servers or workers) – Luis and Laura took care of us the whole time. We were early for check in so we sipped hot tea and sat by a fireplace. They got our room ready early and it was a blessing to rest.  The only thing missing was a way to do laundry so we did the pilgrim thing – hand washing and hanging items over the califactiones (wall heaters) with a close eye to not start any fires. Nothing like a pair of clean and toasty socks!
we decided to have dinner right in the place we were staying – i am pretty sure it was the “only game in town”.   It truly was incredible.  Pasta with fresh marinara sauce and huevos revueltos con queso for Roo.  Pasta carbonara and ternera a la plancha for me.  You will need to look these up as Spanish lesson #1.  Fried leche (milk) for dessert – sounds weird but so yummy. We nearly finished a full bottle of white wine. Incredibly the whole feast came to 24 EU total!!!!   
 
Another highlight of the day was getting to know a little about Luis – the bartender and our server at dinner.  Probably in his late 30s, he was born in this tiny town and has lived here the whole time. Such a sweet, kind soul.  He was helping us with Spanish and we helped him with a bit of English. He was proud to tell us that the scrumptious olive oil that Ruth was gobbling down with crusty bread was totally organic and made in Spain.  He made sure everything was perfect. 
 
In the end, a great night’s sleep was had by both.  

2 thoughts on “Day 5 Rest and Refection in Ambasmestas”

Leave a comment