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Day 18 | 12 August 2025 | Walking the Camino Francés
From Villafranca Montes De Oca to Agés | 16 km 10 miles
Today’s walk would be on earth & gravel tracks running through forests made up of oak and pine and would reach a height of 1,120m before a gentle descent to Agés.
About two hours in, we suddenly crossed paths with the delightful Dr. Coffee.
Dr Coffee explained that he made the best coffee along the Camino – he also pointed out that he had made some paintings and trinkets … and coincidentally, all were available to purchase.
We brought a cup of thermos coffee from Dr. Coffee, and found ourselves sitting in a forest at 08:00 in the middle of absolutely nowhere! Listening to ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ as Pink Floyd blared out from his car speakers. Surreal didn’t quite cover it – but it was close.
We arrived in Agés and checked into our accommodation the Albergue El Pajar De Agés run by the welcoming Anna.
Just a few doors down we spotted a charming little restaurant called el Alquimista (The Alchemist), run by the delightful duo Antonio and Amapola.
Once seated inside, Amapola came over to our table with a menu in Spanish, I asked if she spoke English.
“No, my English is not good – I am your living menu.” she said with a huge grin.
And with that, she proceeded to point at each item on the Spanish menu, describing them either by animal noises or with enthusiastic hand gestures. Ordering felt similar to playing charades.
I chose the oink-oink, while Marianne went for the cluck-cluck.
Finally, after many gestures Amapola gave up on the cheese & bread and smiling took us to the counter and pointed it out. A lovely fun dinner was had.
It had been quite a day. Sleep came early.
