Foncebadon!!!

[Anitra]

On my second Camino Frances, and it's been 9 years.
The single biggest surprise has been Foncebadon. Oh my goodness, what a transformation since 2014. It's gone from a small collection of buildings, some still ruins being resurrected, with a stony track up the centre.
It's now a collection of elegant stone buildings, which include what might be the best general store I've seen in Spain.
We ate at the Albergue Gaia and had a fantastic venison stew, and the biggest delicious hamburger ever.
Some may mourn the passing of the eery, quirky old Foncebadon, but this current version is a hamlet full of quality businesses, doing things with a lot of love.

 

[CWBuff]

Reading up on all various posts about how it is nothing but a wasteland, I was quite surprised on my Camino last year.
I believe I stopped for Desayuno Numero Duo at Gaia as well

 

[Annette london]

On my second Camino Frances, and it's been 9 years.
The single biggest surprise has been Foncebadon. Oh my goodness, what a transformation since 2014. It's gone from a small collection of buildings, some still ruins being resurrected, with a stony track up the centre.
It's now a collection of elegant stone buildings, which include what might be the best general store I've seen in Spain.
We ate at the Albergue Gaia and had a fantastic venison stew, and the biggest delicious hamburger ever.
Some may mourn the passing of the eery, quirky old Foncebadon, but this current version is a hamlet full of quality businesses, doing things with a lot of love.

Ah ha, you should have seen it in 2005
As you said, an amazing transformation

 

[Former member 104756]

On my second Camino Frances, and it's been 9 years.
The single biggest surprise has been Foncebadon. Oh my goodness, what a transformation since 2014. It's gone from a small collection of buildings, some still ruins being resurrected, with a stony track up the centre.
It's now a collection of elegant stone buildings, which include what might be the best general store I've seen in Spain.
We ate at the Albergue Gaia and had a fantastic venison stew, and the biggest delicious hamburger ever.
Some may mourn the passing of the eery, quirky old Foncebadon, but this current version is a hamlet full of quality businesses, doing things with a lot of love.

Thanks @Anitra A friend of mine spoke glowingly of Foncebadon when she walked the Frances a few years ago. I was last there in 2013 and her description in no way matched my memory. At the time I wondered if she was confusing it with somewhere else. . We will be walking the Frances again late this year. I’m looking forward to seeing what you describe

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I walked through Foncebadon in 2015 and again in 2017. It was a rather quirky "hippie" looking village at that time with many run down, dilapidated stone structures. I still liked it and I enjoyed a fresh squeezed orange juice on my way to Cruz de Ferro. I'm sure it's a lovely village now, but I really liked its uniqueness at the time.

 

[Bradypus]

I passed through Foncebadon in 1990 when only one building was occupied - the home of the solitary resident Maria of church bells fame. The rest of the place was in ruins. Passing through in January this year the change was extraordinary though there was nowhere to sleep or to buy food that time either

 

[dick bird]

I passed through Foncebadon in 1990 when only one building was occupied

As did Shirley Maclaine and Nancy Louise Frey around that time. They both describe it as a bleak, remote wilderness haunted by packs of stray dogs. Even by the time we passed through in 2018 it had been transformed into a bustling, thriving little community (and the dogs were gone). People often complain about the commercialisation of the camino but another way of looking at that is to accept that the camino has revitalised a lot of villages and communities along the route in areas that would otherwise be depopulated and depressed.

 

[andonius]

A reflection from a Spanish.
As Dick bird has perfectly stated, There are a lot of small towns in Spain along the trail, like Foncebadon, that have returned to life or mantained it thanks to us, Pilgrims on our way to Santiago.
For them the Camino and Pilgrims are the main or one of the main economical resources they have.
Abandonment of small agricultural and cattle tows is a serious tendency in Spain and the Camino gives life to them, reconverting their economy.
That's one of the reasons for the interest of our authorities and the investments made on the Camino.
So when you pass one of those villages on your Camino, you can be proud to think that you're also helping to keep alive those places and their economy.
So thank you all for that.
As a curiosity, I'll be beggining my next but not last Camino on June the 22nd, exactly from Foncebadon!!

 

[dick bird]

As a curiosity, I'll be beggining my next but not last Camino on June the 22nd, exactly from Foncebadon!!

Buen camino! This is why we also try to promote some of the alternative caminos, not only do you have more contact with local people, you can subsidise the bars and cafés that keep the communities alive. Plus you get to visit even more parts of an amazing country.

 

[danielle aird]

There are other places that have blossomed like Foncebadón. In her book What The Psychic told the Pilgrim, Jane Christmas talks about the dismal pub and its owner in Redecilla. Since the publication of her book, that dismal place, now a pub/one-star hotel has been purchased by Lourdes who runs the business with smiles and efficiency and the help of her employee Christian. The rooms are affordable, beautifully decorated and comfortable with modern bathrooms... things change. In The Camino is not just for Walking, you can read about Redecilla as it is now. Quite a change. Indeed, our meagre dollars and other currencies are helping a bit.

 

[nycwalking]

On my second Camino Frances, and it's been 9 years.
The single biggest surprise has been Foncebadon. Oh my goodness, what a transformation since 2014. It's gone from a small collection of buildings, some still ruins being resurrected, with a stony track up the centre.
It's now a collection of elegant stone buildings, which include what might be the best general store I've seen in Spain.
We ate at the Albergue Gaia and had a fantastic venison stew, and the biggest delicious hamburger ever.
Some may mourn the passing of the eery, quirky old Foncebadon, but this current version is a hamlet full of quality businesses, doing things with a lot of love.

In 2001 Foncebadon was run down.

Having read Shirley MacLaine’s book prior to setting off on initial Camino; I spent the night in Rabanal quaking in fear awaiting her mad dogs of Foncebadon.

Following morning no dogs, and nothing much else either.

On my next camino I may spend a night there instead of Rabanal.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

In 2001 Foncebadon was run down.

Having read Shirley MacLaine’s book prior to setting off on initial Camino; I spent the night in Rabanal quaking in fear awaiting her mad dogs of Foncebadon.

Following morning no dogs, and nothing much else either.

On my next camino I may spend a night there instead of Rabanal.

Possibly Shirley walked through there in 1960 and those mad dogs are now resting in peace.

 

[Sherpa47]

On my second Camino Frances, and it's been 9 years.
The single biggest surprise has been Foncebadon. Oh my goodness, what a transformation since 2014. It's gone from a small collection of buildings, some still ruins being resurrected, with a stony track up the centre.
It's now a collection of elegant stone buildings, which include what might be the best general store I've seen in Spain.
We ate at the Albergue Gaia and had a fantastic venison stew, and the biggest delicious hamburger ever.
Some may mourn the passing of the eery, quirky old Foncebadon, but this current version is a hamlet full of quality businesses, doing things with a lot of love.

I had the same surprise when re-visiting Foncebadon in 2017, the changes since my first Camino in 2008 were quite amazing!

 

[EugeneB]

There are other places that have blossomed like Foncebadón. In her book What The Psychic told the Pilgrim, Jane Christmas talks about the dismal pub and its owner in Redecilla. Since the publication of her book, that dismal place, now a pub/one-star hotel has been purchased by Lourdes who runs the business with smiles and efficiency and the help of her employee Christian. The rooms are affordable, beautifully decorated and comfortable with modern bathrooms... things change. In The Camino is not just for Walking, you can read about Redecilla as it is now. Quite a change. Indeed, our meagre dollars and other currencies are helping a bit.

una mochila en la cama?

 

[cathietherese]

Possibly Shirley walked through there in 1960 and those mad dogs are now resting in peace.

Paulo Coelho mentioned ‘the dogs’ too. We stayed in Rabanal, after reading his book on our first Camino Frances, 2012.There was a little bit of dog barking at the moon, nothing too malicious. Quite the opposite happened. An also a mythical like horseman, for some reason rode repeatedly past our room window. Up and down. A wonderful sight, and sound. This meant a lot more than barking dogs to us as my husband, Tim had recently lost his father who had been a wonderful horse whisperer and farmer. Little wonder the Camino is so legendary because it offers such reflections.

 

[jbreuner]

I had quite a different experience when I walked my first Camino last year. I had originally planned on spending the night in Rabanal, but decided instead to push on to Foncebadon, with the thought of "splitting" the stages and making it easier to find a bed. I'll quote from my blog on that day, May 24, 2022: "It didn't quite pan out that way. Foncebadon was all full up, except for ONE albergue that didn't open up until 14:30. I was well back in line, waiting in the freezing cold wind. They had 18 beds only, and capacity for eight more on sleeping pads on the floor! Guess where I ended up? In this tiny little room attached to the church, on the floor with seven others. The place has no blankets, no heat (!), and no kitchen. I almost didn't care. It's a roof over my head, out of the rain. But when I made it to registration I was shaking so badly from the cold my fingers wouldn't work. When I got to the room I pulled out my sleeping bag (a very LIGHT sleeping bag) and crawled inside to warm up. Something tells me I'm going to be very stiff in the morning! Aww well, it's a Camino experience!"

 

[Camino Chrissy]

@jbreuner, I love this story even though I'm glad it is not mine!
The unique, and or, difficult situations we sometimes find ourselves experiencing on the Camino are special in their own way. They provide vivid memories for the re-telling, and yours is a good one.

 

[jbreuner]

Thanks, Chrissy! I might not have done it at all but for the fact that before I left for the Camino, my 14-yr-old granddaughter, who was an avid follower of my journey, gave me a shiny rock and asked me to place it for her at the base of the Cruz de Ferro. Mission accomplished! It was, indeed, a special memory.

 

[Luka]

I digged up an old photo album. I took this picture in August 2014. This is what I wrote:

Foncebadón is deserted from everything, on a plateau where a chill wind blows. The only road in the village is a dirt track. There are about 15 buildings, of wich 4 or 5 are an albergue. There is a shop, a restaurant, a single house and some ruins. No wifi. An interesting contrast with the touristy infrastructure on this route. The village would most likely have ceased to exist if the Camino Francés wouldn't have started its second flowering about 20 years ago.

 

[Anitra]

View attachment 149556

I digged up an old photo album. I took this picture in August 2014. This is what I wrote:

Foncebadón is deserted from everything, on a plateau where a chill wind blows. The only road in the village is a dirt track. There are about 15 buildings, of wich 4 or 5 are an albergue. There is a shop, a restaurant, a single house and some ruins. No wifi. An interesting contrast with the touristy infrastructure on this route. The village would most likely have ceased to exist if the Camino Francés wouldn't have started its second flowering about 20 years ago.

Yes, that's how I remember it in 2014 also!

 

[grayland]

In March 2009 there was only one building that was occupied...or for that matter not in ruins without a roof.
That building was kind of an albergue/coffee shop. Completely unkept and dirty. It was very cold and raining and there were about 20 pilgrims very crowded (standing) in the 1st floor "coffee" area just inside the door.
Strangely, it seemed just as it should be on a camino adventure in that time.
Our expectations were low and everything added to the enjoyment of walking across Spain.
We were never disappointed....

 

[Sherpa47]

View attachment 149556

I digged up an old photo album. I took this picture in August 2014. This is what I wrote:

Foncebadón is deserted from everything, on a plateau where a chill wind blows. The only road in the village is a dirt track. There are about 15 buildings, of wich 4 or 5 are an albergue. There is a shop, a restaurant, a single house and some ruins. No wifi. An interesting contrast with the touristy infrastructure on this route. The village would most likely have ceased to exist if the Camino Francés wouldn't have started its second flowering about 20 years ago.

In 2008, I recall only one albergue in the village! But I fell in love with the place and was so excited to return in 2017 and witness the changes.

 

[Seekingpeace]

We made the decision on an early arrival in Rabanal to push on to Foncebadón and hobbled in to the first place we encountered, El Convento, on the right when entering the village. They had plenty of availability (mid June). It turned out to be a wonderful and memorable evening among new friends, and the restaurant also had a counter of fruit, other take away food and quality Camino essentials for sale that we needed just at that moment.