Day 20: Santa Amalia to San Pedro de Merida. 18km.
It was on tar nearly all day.
What a change from yesterday, well I suppose with the clocks moving forward it was the first day of Summer Time. It was a cloudless blue sky once again, no wind and it was warm. We started off expecting the worst but had only gone about a kilometre when off came the rain jackets and the socks from my hands. When we stopped after 2 hours for coffee we took off our waterproof trousers, so we were back to shorts. Towards the end of the day's section we were starting to sweat but we didn't think it quite warm enough to remove our fleeces.
The first half of the walk, 9km, to Torrefresnada was along the hard shoulder of the N430. Yesterday when we arrived here we thought this was a busy highway but now it was quiet; maybe it being Sunday. It was another case of a long long straight road and at the end of it we could see the white houses of Torrefresnada. The worst thing about walking along a road is the distance markers, I keep searching for them and counting down the kilometres. The N430 joined with the A5 Merida - Madrid motorway at Torrefresnada but the arrows ( there were a few of them along the road) guided us onto a Camino Agricola, farm road, into the town. It was still tarred. Just as we reached the edge of town there was a gravel area with benches and palm trees in front of the church. We stopped here to make a cup of coffee and the church bells began to peel, calling the faithful to mass.
We continued on this farm road that ran along the edge of town never really entering it and was now beside the motorway. As we left Torrefresnada it changed to a gravel track but the warm sun and dry weather had firmed up the ground and it was all right to walk on. It only lasted as gravel for about a kilometre then it was tar all the way to San Pedro. It was parallel with the motorway, crossing from one side to the other a couple of times. The waymarking was now normal with all wrong turnings indicated with a cross, it was also a GR trail so we had the red and white flashes to help as well. Along one side of the highway it was moorland with bushes as the ground rose to a ridge of small hills; on the other it was a fruit farm with different varieties of fruit trees growing in lines into the distance. Some were like the small trees we saw yesterday that Moira thought they might be a miniature variety of apple. It was now very pleasant walking after the cold and wet last few days. The countryside was beautiful as it stretched before us, lush and green from the recent rain. In the distance the flat plains were broken by some high mountains but we wouldn't be climbing these, tomorrow was our last day and it was flat from San Pedro into Merida.
Soon we saw the motorway exit signs to San Perdo. We went under the motorway and followed the slip road into San Pedro. It was a bit of a climb and it was a typical sleepy Spanish town. After asking directions we found ourselves in a large motorway type service area but well away from the highway, with a petrol station, lots of restaurants and our bed for the night, Hostal Juan Porro. It wasn't long before we were in our room, a bit expensive at E45, and watching the Malaysian Grand Prix on the TV; Hamilton won!
We went down for a late lunch at 3pm and this time there were others in the dining room. We had a nice paella to start full of different types of shell fish. Next we ordered a fish dish but didn't know what to expect, the fish was fine but they overdid the tomato dressing. After iced cream to finish it was back to our room for a shower and to relax for the rest of the day listening to the radio on the iPad; the WiFi was very good.
In the evening I couldn't get to sleep at my usual time of 9pm forgetting that it was now Summer Time. It was 'actually' only 8pm and it was still light outside. I checked the reception for YouTube on the computer and it was first class so for an hour I watched some old TV comedies while Moira read her Kindle.
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