Visit Foncebadon

[sillydoll]

If you would like to visit a restaurant in Foncebadon, go on a virtual tour here. Looks stunning!

http://www.latabernadegaia.com/esp/index.htm

 

[Minkey]

See! Told you it wasn't just a wreck of a place!

 

[Ulysse]

Minkey, you must have been suffering from a lack of oxygen :wink: to admire Foncebadon.

It's obvious from this picture there is no wreck in this place... which used to be quite a spot.... in the Middle Ages :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Other comments from pilgrims re: Gaia's taberna:

"Gaia's tavern is a beautiful place, with great food. Enrique Notario, the owner, fell in love with the area when there was only one house standing and he decided tu put up his business there. Their pilgrim menu is fabulous, one of the best I've seen on the Caminos, with a cost of 9e. Enrique's wife is quite a cook. Both are very nice people, like the place."


"...there are too many tourists..."

Personally, I will check it out...peregrinos, turigrinos, tourists, bicigrinos, or not...

Best,

xm 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Pilgrim's testimony re: Foncebadon

"(Foncebadon) is a great place. If you want peace and quiet, you will find it there. There are starting to be more tourists around the town. It's got two albergues, one's private, the other is run by the Archidiosecis. They sell ecologic products from their farm at the private refugio. You'll find two cafeterias. The tabern is very "guay," (cool)..."

Best,

xm 8)

PS: Haven't been there, yet...

 

[Whalleyranger]

I stopped there for a coffee in 2005. I would have liked to wait around for lunch but seeing as I'd only been walking from Rabanal it was only about 9.30-10ish when I was there.

Last year I deliberately paced myself to try to arrive there for lunch and it was closed!

 

[Anonymous]

Whalleyranger, hi.

"...Last year I deliberately paced myself to try to arrive there for lunch and it was closed!

Oops, that's happened to me with so many places along the Caminos! My attitude is to think that it wasn't meant to be that time around! Hopefully the next...Best, xm 8)

 

[Minkey]

Aha... I said I wasn't JUST a wreck of a place. Does facility = greatness? Not necessarily, I don't think. The views, the sense of detachment, the people... That's what I loved about it... Then again it might just be because I'm a bit odd

 

[Anonymous]

Minkey, have only heard raves about the place. The first comment I posted came from Spanish pilgrim singer Maldonado. You are in good company (or is it them?) . Best, xm 8)

 

[Anonymous]

MORE ON FONCEBADON:

A friend just shared that Foncebadon was not always just a simple little village, that one of the first Christian councils in Spain, the Concilio of Monte Irago or Tabladillo, took place there in the year 946 AD, under the tutelage of King Ramiro II. He also says that apparently Coehlo stated that Monsieur Lucifer has made appearances there. Without a doubt, the more I hear about the place the more appealing it sounds! Who brought this subject up to begin with? Best, xm :arrow:

 

[Minkey]

I thought I was the only one!

 

[Anonymous]

Sil and Minkey, you'd like reading this from a pilgrim:

"Foncebadon is an important place on the Road to St. James. It’s not an abandoned town; Maria and her son have been living there for quite some time. Towards 1998, Enrique moved in and started his business, a great place to talk, eat, and have a nice time. The hostal next to the tavern was opened in 2002. The albergue was built towards 2000, as well as the chapel, right on the grounds of the old church. In 2003 the Archidioceses' albergue, “Domus Dei,” was opened to pilgrims. It’s run by hospitaleros that keep it up with donations. As a result, Foncebadon has regained a charismatic place it had on the Road. Some of the old houses have been rebuilt, their owners returning to live in them during the summertime, making the town livelier, then. There’s a new, private, albergue, since last year. where I understand they sell natural products.

"

For some reason I think I've been there. As it happens to many of us, after walking through so many villages, towns, cities, and what not, with so many names, I've given up remembering each one. Need to check it out some more.

Best,

xm 8)

 

[Minkey]

Yeah, it's about 5k after Rabanal and just before Cruz de Ferro.