One of the memories from our visit in 1988 was a village named El Acebo, between Leon and Ponferrada.  It was clearly a pilgrim village, with a narrow street and buildings dating back centuries, but it was showing obvious signs of rural decline, and frankly looked remarkably primitive.  I made a note at the time: from the cairn at Cruz Ferro, we went down “on one of the worst ‘proper’ roads I’ve ever been on, to Ponferrada.  Going through a place called El Acebo, the road isn’t metalled at all.  Some of it is derelict, but there are a few new houses among the old, and it’s bizarre that such a road survives.” I will post a picture from 1988 when we get back.

Things have changed over 30 years.  The road is now properly made up, and all the houses in El Acebo have been reroofed in the same way – it’s very striking as you come into the village from the mountains above.  Similarly, doors and windows are mostly modern, and the attractive balconies overhanging the still narrow main street (Calle Real).  At the far end of the village is a new pilgrim hostel with its own swimming pool, and half a dozen flags on tall flagpoles, like an international hotel, visible for miles.  

It’s not clear why this has happened, apart from generally greater prosperity and development in Spain, though the greater popularity of the Camino has clearly helped.  It’s the most striking transformation we’ve seen comparing what we remember of the 1988 visit and our current trip.