Day 7 to Day 13

Via de la Plata
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Day 7

Fuentes de Cantos to Zafra. 25km

I slept quite well last night in our quiet private room even though I had to get up numerous times to the loo, due to all the coffee had been drinking. We got up at 6:00 and it was even more coffee before having breakfast. We didn't rush this morning and it was nearly 8:00 when we hit the Camino. It had rained on and off last night but it was dry this morning, though it was overcast and misty.

It wasn't long after leaving that we had difficulties with route finding due to a lack of arrows, but as we were searching around another perigrino came along who seemed to know where he was going so we followed him. As soon as we were clear of the town and on a drover's trail like yesterday the route was obvious, and there were plenty of waymarks, we overtook our 'guide' and were striding confidently forward.

The going was easy, flat and hard packed earth, we were making very good time and were surprised when we reached the next village on the route, Calzadilla de los Barros. I thought the book said it was 8km to here, but we had only been walking just over an hour, and we weren't going that fast. Later I checked in Cicerone again and it was only 6.5km, which was still fast. There was a correos, post office, there and we wanted to post the Kindle back to Amazon, but it wasn't open for another half hour, we will have to wait until we reach Zafra. We also looked for a bar for a coffee but they weren't opened yet either, we met a Danish couple we keep coming across also looking for coffee and also disappointed.

The track was the same underfoot all the way as far as Puebla de Sancho Perez, a village 4km from our finish and was mainly flat and fast going. The weather was cloudy and misty and always looked like rain, when the track turned towards the west we got a cold wind in our faces which wasn't very pleasant. The countryside was still agricultural but gone were the oak trees and livestock, now it was all arable. The fields had wheat or barley starting to show, and later there were row after row of vines and in other parts olive groves.

We stopped as usual after two hours for our first break, we were at a point where the route came close to the N630 again. Cicerone said, at the time it was written, that the waymarking wasn't very good and to take your direction from the telegraph pole with the storks nesting on top. There were plenty of yellow arrows there now but I pointed out the stork's nest to Moira as sat watching the birds coming and going from the nests. Moira noticed that it wasn't a telegraph pole but an electricity pylon, that must have changed also since the time of writing but probably the same storks had returned and built their homes on the new structures.

We were going to have our second break of the day, another fast two hours completed, when it began to spit with rain. We crested a slight rise and could then see Puebla de Sancho Perez ahead, we decided to push on quickly and find a bar there for coffee and shelter until it cleared. As normal places look a lot closer than they are and it took another half hour to get to the edge of what we thought was just as small village. We walked nearly a kilometre along a quite lane of houses before reaching the town square and a bar, we were exhausted. Fortunately the rain didn't come to anything, but we had our break for a 'cafe con leche" and a cake. My feet were sore with the pace we were setting and I took off my shoes to give them a massage and some air.

The 4km from Puebla to Zafra weren't very nice, we walked along beside a railway line and through the goods yard with piles of concrete sleepers that the route zig zagged between. We got on to the road at an old station and from there we were in the outskirts of Zafra, it was a busy road all the way into the centre. We had a flyer for an hotel doing deal for pilgrims at E32 for a double room but we decided to give the albergue a viewing first of all. We followed the arrows through the city centre but had to ask directions numerous times as we weren't sure what we were looking for. Eventually we arrived at the convent where the albergue was situated and we forgot about the hotel. We were in a two double bunk dorm with sheets and duvets, there were bottom ones for us, and an en suite shower. The kitchen was first class and that was the first stop for our lunch before showering under piping hot water. This was only E10 each, so very good value.

At 4:00 we took a walk into town and had a look at the church on the way, just the outside as again it was locked up. We found a supermarket and stocked up with food for today and tomorrow. On the way back to the hostel the shops were open after siesta and we managed to buy a padded envelope for sending the Kindle back to Amazon. Back at the albergue Silvia had arrived, exhausted, but she had made it in time; the place was filling up fast with lots of late arrivals.

After dinner we discovered there was to be a religious procession through the town and we went along with Silvia to have a look. It took a while to begin and there were large crowds lining the streets in anticipation. When it did begin it was stop go every few minutes; there were long robed hooded men, women and children, some in red, some blue and a few that resembled the Ku klux klan in white. In the middle was a huge structure with statues depicting, I think, a crucifixion scene. I thought it was on wheels and being pushed but Silvia said that people were underneath carrying it, no wonder they were stopping so often. There was also a band that played some mournful dismal music when moving, but when the procession stopped they stopped as well and their instruments put down as they checked their phones and had a smoke. There was a cold breeze blowing and we got fed up waiting for them to move once more, so we made our way back to warmth of our bunks and the covering of a lovely duvet.
Via de la Plata
Wednesday 4 April 2012
Day 8

Zafra to Villafranca de los Barros. 20km

I slept extremely well in a very comfortable and warm bunk. When I wakened at 5:30 I was fully refreshed, so I quietly got up and went to the kitchen to make myself a coffee. I was heating the water in the microwave and for some reason the bottom of the plastic mug I was using melted, and there was water everywhere. After mopping it up I got my coffee and was able to relax until everybody else began to rouse themselves. The only person making an early start was the little Frnch woman, Maria, she tried to leave at 7:00 but the door out was locked, fortunately someone managed to open it for her.

We were packed and on our way at 8:00, it was daylight for a change as we made our way out of town. The weather was looking beautiful, plenty of blue sky and not a cloud in sight. From the albergue the route was straight and well waymarked, coming on to a wide lane as we reached the edge of town. Before leaving I had a look at a guide that a German woman had, it had a profile of today's route that showed it as a gradual downhill all the way to Villafranca. There was something wrong because we began a steady fairly steep climb for about 2km before then dropping very sharply down to the small town of Los Santos de Maimona. Once through and on to a gravel drover's road again the way did resemble that profile and we had the joy of about 11km of very easy walking.

The clear blue sky didn't last long and it began to become cloudy, not rain clouds luckily, but big enough to keep it nice and cool for the fast pace we were setting. The countryside today was a mixture of vineyards and olive groves. Initially the vines were probably late harvest with no sign of any shoots yet on the stubby small stock; they were all the individual plants which are harvested manually. Later in the day the vines were all cultivated to grow espalier on rows of wire, these were showing green shoots and Moira said that the grapes here can be collected by machine.

We had our normal stop after two hours for half an apple and a drink of water, at the same time consulting Cicerone. It said that we would come to a water tower and see our destination from there, though still some way away. It wasn't long, once going again, that we came to the tower and there was a sign on it saying 'Villafranca 7km', as predicted we could also see it and of course it didn't look that far. It was, and seemed further with a busy road to cross and a long hill to negotiate that I don't remember on the profile. On the way we passed Maria who had started an hour before us going at her steady pace.

Last night at the albergue the warden asked if we would like reservations made at a new albergue in Villafranca, we said 'yes please'. So with a map on its flyer we were making for it now, but with some difficulty. It was next to the church and I made for the big steeple we could see, the wrong church, and though the map had street names on it,the streets didn't. With lots of cursing and asking numerous people for directions we at last found it; Maria who we passed half an hour previously arrived ahead of us, she obviously has a better sense of direction.

Anyway it was all worth the effort as we were first there and got two single beds in a private alcove,not bunks. The kitchen was well equipped and that was our first port of call after dumping our bags,for a nice hot drink. It was fortunate that we had made reservations as the place soon filled and people without a booking were being turned away. It was a little dearer at E12 each, but we have the money as Moira keeps telling me.
Via de la Plata
Thursday 5 April 2012
Day 9

Villafranca de los Barros to Torremejia. 28km.

I slept quite well even with the banging of the procession drum, and due to having an early night I was wide awake at 5:30, Moira was also wide awake. we both got up quietly and headed for the kitchen where I made coffee. We decided to have breakfast now as well before everyone else made a move, then get on the trail at 7:00. Maria the little French woman normally leaves at that time and manages through the town streets in the dark and successfully finds the arrows. She was a first class guide and had a small piece of paper with the directions on it, which she peered at every so often through her bright blue framed spectacles. Once we were out of the town and on to a nice wide hard packed track, she told us to go as we are much faster; we thanked her and began to stride out.

As the sun started to show above the horizon we could see for miles, the landscape was as flat as a pancake, this must be the actual 'Plata'. As the sun got higher I could understand what the Americans of the mid-west mean by a 'big sky', it stretched to all the horizons with nothing in between to obscure it. The track for nearly all of the day's walk went straight out in front of us and flat. This made for good fast walking, there were kilometre markers on a gas line which I used for timing and we were doing 11.5m/k, but it became monotonous and tiring. Another monotonous feature was the seemingly endless row after row of grape vines, the only break being some were the free standing types while others were trained along the wires. An interesting thing about the vines was the accurate rows that are as straight as a die as far as the eye can see. The line is also straight along the diagonals showing that all the plants have been equally spaced. As we got closer to Torremejia there were some olive groves spaced between the fields of vines and some land had been seeded with an arable crop that had grown about a foot high and was a bright emerald green colour.

Other than it being flat we had another reason for pushing hard, to keep warm. It was alright initially but the track turned at one point from heading north to going west. This put us straight into a very cold wind, it was like winter. At that point it was time for our first break of the morning but we stopped for only five minutes just enough time for an apple and a mouthful of water. Moira was so cold that she put on her poncho, I was hard and braved it. We were into this wind for about 3km then we turned north again and it was much better, and not much later the sun broke through the clouds that had gathered and it became quite warm.

It was a long section today and after we passed the road down to Almendralejo where there is an albergue, Cicerone said there were 10.5km to go. It seemed much further, we could see a town away in the distance after we had a second stop for coffee, made from our flask of hot water. I thought it was far too far and must be some other town, but our track just went straight with nothing else in between. As we got closer we were both tired and Moira insisted on a short rest before the final push to the finish. When we reached the town there was sign for an albergue, Rojo Plata, not the one that we meant to go to but it was closer. We were first there and we decided to stay, unfortunately there wasn't a kitchen so we will eat out tonight, but the price included breakfast at a local restaurant.

Once we dumped our bags at our beds we headed for the town centre to find the Post Office. We couldn't find it but when Moira asked for directions she was told it was closed, for Easter Holy Week. Strange, I thought Easter holidays began tomorrow on Good Friday? We will have to wait until next Tuesday now to send back the Kindle.

Via de la Plata
Friday 6 April 2012
Day 10

Torremejia to Merida. 15km.

I slept very well last night and was very warm even with it having been so cold outside. I went to the loo at 4:15 and there was a guy up working at the computer, I went back to bed and didn't waken until 6:00. The fee for the albergue was E12 and that included a voucher for breakfast at a local restaurant. We had gone to this restaurant for dinner last night along with Silvia, having the peregrino's menu which was good but Silvia chose from the a la carte, she had a huge mixed salad, then crocettes with wine for E13, only E4 more than we paired paying. When we left after our meal we went to the church, there was another procession here, but it was so cold we decided to head back for our warm beds.

Two German woman arrived last night and were in the bunks above us, they were quiet enough but they smelt, and I felt like saying to them 'B O'. Everybody was up early and even though I slept late we were packed and off to the restaurant for breakfast at 7:00. We had coffee, toasted bread with marmalade and a couple of cakes, enough to keep us going. Before leaving we got directions from our Spanish friend, Jorge, 'just straight down the main street and keep going'.

It was another cold morning when we started out but there was no wind, so it didn't feel so bad. Later when the sun came up we thought it would get warmer but the wind arrived at the same time and it got much colder. Moira eventually donned her poncho and I got my hands curled up in my fleece sleeves. I don't think I was warm the whole section to Merida.

The distance wasn't long today, only 15km, and because it wasn't very pleasant for sitting about we didn't have our usual stop and kept on walking all the way. We covered the distance in just over 3 hours. Initially the route wasn't very exciting or interesting as we made our way along the side of the N630, there was a path running close by the road but we had become bogged down in wet and muddy parts so we stuck to the road. One point of interest on this part was storks flying overhead, there were a large number in groups all heading in the same direction, the gap between the two hills we saw yesterday. We assumed that they were migrating north for the European summer. As we learnt from the programme on birds from the TV they depend on warm thermals to keep them aloft, if there aren't any they have to keep flapping there wings to stay aloft which soon exhausts them, with disastrous results if they are over the sea. In the cold today there obviously not much warm air currents so the birds were low in the sky and flapping their wings vigorously.

Soon we were away from the side of the road and on to some nice farm tracks, my feet had been sore either due to the tar or the camber but now on some rough going they were feeling much better. There were still some fields of vines and olive trees but not the vast never ending rows that we witnessed yesterday. Also now the track twisted and turned with a few slight hills which made it more interesting and varied. Suddenly Merida was in sight, and this time it didn't take long before we reached the river and crossing a Roman bridge with about sixteen arches into the city. When we passed our Spanish friend Jorge on the 'via', he told us that the albergue was just a short distance up the other side of the river, I photographed the map from his book that took us right to it. Maria was arriving at the door of the hostel as we got there and we booked in at the same time. Silvia, who we had passed a few kilometres back, began early this morning while we had breakfast, arrived not long afterwards, we occupied the first four bottom bunks in a row.

The albergue wasn't great but it only cost E6 each, there wasn't a kitchen as such but it did have a microwave so I was able to get some coffee brewing right away. I was still feeling frozen, especially my hands, and I didn't get my circulation back until I had another couple of cups of coffee and lunch. With the walk being short and quick today we had plenty of time for sightseeing, Merida has a history of Roman occupation and there were many archeological sites to visit.

It was still cold as we walked back along the river side to the Roman bridge and the first place on our map, the Alcazaba, a fort overlooking the river. It cost E6 each, as pensioners, but this gave us a pass to visit the other attractions: Casa del Mitreo, a remains of a Roman mansion complete with bath house; next to this was the cemetery with moseleums and crypts; the amphitheatre where the gladiators fought and the theatre with beautiful columns and statues for the performance of plays; there was a museum which was in the style of a Roman forum with all the recovered reliques found in the area, mainly headless statues; down towards the river again was the Roman circus for chariot racing and a long aqueduct for transporting water to the large bath house near the arena for the charioteers to bathe and recover after fierce racing; lastly we visited the crypt of the Basilica of St Eulalia church, with the remains of old graves and tombs beneath the church where above the Easter service was taking place. When we came out of the last of these glimpses of ancient history the rain was pouring down, we waited in the doorway until it eased off then hurried back to the albergue. We made it back dry but it didn't look very promising for the rest of the evening.

Via de la Plata
Saturday 7 April 2012
Day 11
Merida to Aljucen. 17km.

Last night we had to wait until well after 7:00 until the rain went off and we went out for dinner. We were surprised with the search we had to find someplace to eat, whereas in small villages there are places one after the other offering 'Perigrino menus'. We found one at last and had a lovely feast of a huge salad followed by a paella. When we walked back the sky was looking brighter and this morning when we set off there wasn't a cloud in sight and it stayed like that most of the day,though it was still very cold until the sun got high in the sky.
We weren't sure of the route to get out of town and a Frenchman we asked wasn't much help, he just confused us. Fortunately a Danish girl, Michelle,was starting of at the same time and she was confident that she would guide us. True to her word she led us up to near where we walked yesterday and under the railway to a straight road out of the city. The roads were quiet and it was on a tar cycle track to the Roman reservoir at Proserpina. The track round the dam which was followed was even and gravelled, very easy on the feet. A crowd had gathered there for a wonderful photo opportunity. There was Jorge, the German couple we discovered who had an albergue in Bavaria, the two smelly German woman and us.

From Properpina there was a small section of tarred road before getting on to a dirt track through more fields of oak, mimosa trees and some freshly planted rows of grape vines. The scenery had changed, gone was the dreary flatness now we had a rolling moorland type landscape resembling some of Yorkshire. It was delightful walking, the weather was becoming what we expected, and the forecast is that it will get warmer. we had our stop today for an apple and a drink of water. The Danish girl who guided us out of Merida was happy when the Danish couple who we hadn't seen in days came strolling along, she was able to converse in her own language instead of struggle with her English. She didn't leave with us but had a longer break for a smoke, something unusual for a serious walker. She caught up with us just before we arrived in Aljucen, she intended to carry on for a further 19km, we set about finding the albergue.

We found it fairly easily, Aljucenis a small place, Maria and Silvia had got there before us but the place was locked. We set about looking for the keys but nobody had a clue, eventually we bumped into a Dutch couple we passed earlier on the trail, they told us it opened at mid-day. Back at the albergue we had half an hour to wait for the opening, there were picnic tables at the rear and we sat there and waited. The woman who had been inside cleaning opened up on time and asked for married couples. This resulted in her giving us a top and a bottom bunk to share. When I argued there was the language problem but it turned out that she was a 'job's worth' and no bending of rules. The annoying bit is being treated like children surely we can all be left to carry out our own bedding arrangements.

We had lunch, the kitchen was adequate, then with the sun shining and warm everyone was outside, except the Dutch couple who were having a lie down. It's another annoying thing that you have to pussy-foot around in the room because these people are in bed sleeping at this time of the day, but they are probably wide awake at 5am and don't care about the noise they make then. Sitting in the sun we played dominoes with Silvia, it was a bit awkward having discovered that some of the dominoes had got mixed in from another box and we were playing a game with three duplicate tiles.

About mid-afternoon an English couple arrived and with all the dorms full, she made two camp beds up and pushed them together to form double. Why weren't we offered that facility, it looks like it pays to arrive late.

Later in the afternoon the woman in charge obtained the key to the church and took us all there for a look around and a history lesson. Unfortunately it was all in Spanish but what was translated told us of the connections the church had with the pilgrimage to Santiago and also the patron saint of the village, St Andrew, who the church is named after. Above the arch at the entrance were the crosses of both the saints. Inside there wasn't anything out of the ordinary and the windows were plain, no stained glass decorations, but outside there was a stork's nest in the tower with two birds in residence.

In the evening we went to the pub across the street from the albergue for dinner. We decided to go al a carte rather than the perigrino menu. We ordered a mixed salad each but the waiter said it was too much, one was enough between two, he was right, it was huge and very tasty. We both followed this with a cheese hamburger and chips, also very nice, and with two glasses of wine and a coke it cost under E15.

When we got back the Germans and Dutch wet having a sing song, we joined in the ones we knew and did some of our own. At 9:00 everyone started to get ready to go out, they said there was another one the processions at the church. When we got there and discovered it was a special mass that was on not a parade, everyone returned and got to bed early.


Via de la Plata
Sunday 8 April 2012
Day 12
Aljucen to Alcuescar 22km

We got up at 6am and went to the kitchen to start breakfast, Silvia and Maria were also up. We were again creeping around trying to be quite and working by torch light not to disturb these people who arrived late and got 'special privileges'. I said to the others wouldn't it have made more sense for the woman instead of fussing about and putting married couples together if she had arranged for the early starters to be all grouped on camp beds in the kitchen, then we wouldn't be disturbing anybody at 6am. Another thing I remarked upon was that the warden, if she was doing her job properly, would have ensured ample supples of loo paper.

We got away about 7am just as the rest of the pilgrims had decided to move themselves. It was still dark but there was some light on the horizon, so dawn is breaking that little bit sooner with each day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, so the prospects were of a lovely warm day. That didn't help at that moment as it was freezing; it was so cold we were forced to get socks out of the rucksack to put over our hands as gloves. The route out of Aljucen was straight down the main street and continued for 2.5km until we met the N630 and after a short way along the side of the highway we turned onto a track which took us into a beautiful National Park, Parque Natural de Cornalbo. There weren't many big trees but lots of shrubs lining the side of the track especially purple lavender and citrus bushes. There were plenty of noises this morning, first we heard owls to-wit to-wooing, then lots of cuckoos, later Silvia said she heard a woodpecker working away on a tree. Also the sounds from a nearby farm, sheep and cows with bells and lots of dogs howling and barking.

On this Easter Sunday we not only had a glorious sun rise in the east but as I looked south there was a full moon setting just above the horizon. As the sun got higher it did get warmer but it wasn't until it was well up about 10am that we began to get life into our hands and take off our make-do gloves. The way marking could be a little confusing now as there were so many different routes. We had our yellow arrows, the square concrete blocks for the Camino through Extremadura but we are warned to be careful following these, now we had VP route markers and blue arrows. At junctions and points where many different tracks branch we had to search carefully among this proliferation of signs for our particular one.

There were a few hills today some along the track and now high ones in the distance giving a pleasant break to the skyline. Underfoot it was generally flat and fast going but there were places where rain, bicycles and the occasional tractor had caused ruts, and elsewhere stretches where it was loose stones slowing our pace. We made our usual stop for a break after two hours and the Dutch couple came past, we later overtook them again and afterwards Silvia who was relaxing at the Cruz de San Juan. Later with about 4km to go there was Maria plodding along at her steady pace and we slowed down and joined her in the walk into Alcuescar and the albergue.

The albergue was on the top floor of a monastery where they also have a hospice for the care of disabled people. The Dutch couple who got in front of us when we slowed with Maria were first to book in. The rules here were that you got the bunks in order, they got the first pair and we lot the second, so I'm on the top again. I don't mind so much now as I didn't have any trouble last night when I had to get down and up again a few times for the loo. The fee was a donation and we put in E20, this also gets us the evening meal.

We washed and the showers were good, hot water with a strong flow and a shower head that isn't broken and can be fitted in the slot overhead. For lunch we went down to the gardens where there were benches and had picnic of bread and tuna with coffee made from water I boiled for the flask this morning. We had a walk through the town but it was a complete dump, there was church on the top of the hill but when we reached the summit we couldn't find it and just came back to the monastery gardens. Later we took Maria with us to the pub opposite for a coffee and we sat there in the comfortable seats soaking up the sun for the rest of the afternoon.

In the evening before dinner we thought there was a mass for the pilgrims but it turned out to be a blessing. The priest got people to read the blessing from a paper in their particular language then he rabbited on in Spanish that nobody understood for ten minutes before we went for dinner. This was the bonus of the stay here, we had lots of soup and lovely bread, then chicken drumsticks with pasta and a yoghurt for sweet. It was first class.

The girl that had been selected to read the blessing in English turned out to be South African. She was some sort of accountant and worked in London, she also appeared to be an accomplished linguist conversing easily with a number of the others in their various different languages.

We got to bed at just after 9pm and I must have gone out like a light as the next thing I knew it was 2am when I payed my first and only visit to the loo. I really slept well despite all the snoring that was taking place.


Via de la Plata
Monday 9 April 2012
Day 13
Alcuescar to Carceres 40km.

We are beginning to get a bit fed up and bored with doing short distances which result in us having the afternoon to find things to do. The stage to Merida was alright as there was plenty of interest to see when we got there but Aljucen and now Alcuescar were little places with nowhere to visit or sightsee. The stay in Alcuescar was worth while because of the monastery and the wonderful meal they supplied but the town itself was a dump. So the decision was made last night before going to bed that we would go the whole way to Carceres today, all of 40 km, nearly a marathon. The only other alternatives would have been to stop at the albergue in Aldea de Cano which was only 17 km from Alcuescar meaning another boring afternoon or stay at Valdesalor a further 11km where you could sleep on the floor of the local gym if you could find the person who has the key, not a enticing prospect either. One positive about pushing all the way to Carceres was that there was ample accommodation there and we could take as long as we liked to get there without any worry about getting a bed for the night.

I got up at 5:30 am and sat in the dark in the lounge, reading the account of a pilgrim doing the Camino, until other people began to make a move. We were all packed up by 7:00 but nobody could get out, the monastery doors didn't open until half an hour later. When we did get started it was quite light for a change, the sky was cloudless but it was freezing cold again, we both took the precaution of having socks on our hands from the start. It was also some time before the circulation had reached our feet, warming them up and relieving the aches and pains from the blisters we had accumulated.

We hadn't had any breakfast at the hostel before leaving, no kitchen, and the plan was to stop at a bar after 10km in Casas de Don Antonio. The route by-passed the village but we diverted in search of coffee, but everything was closed and a guy in perfect English told us we were out of luck, it was Easter Monday and still a holiday. He offered to drive us to a cafe on the motorway some distance away but we declined, having instead at the roadside some rolls and jam we had left and a drink of water. We had made good time to this point, covering the 10 km in two hous including our break. It was only another 7km to Aldea de Cano where the albergue was and we managed that in 1.25 hours. So if we had decided to stop there we would have been twiddling or thumbs from 11 o'clock. We did stop at the pub there and had a refreshing 'cafe con leche' and met Silvia and Maria who had just arrived before us. They weren't going further but were relaxing having a drink and a snack not having made any enquiries about the availability yet of the local albergue, which surprised me, that's the first thing to do, secure a bed. This was the last time we would probably see them, so we exchanged email addresses and a photograph was taken before we undertook another 23km.

Before our stop the sun had got hot, so off came our fleeces and life was returning to my hands. Now on the walk to Valdesalor it was quite hot but pleasant, we just had to take more breaks, a five minute water and sit down every hour. Before Aldea de Cano I was still dubious about the long distance we had planned, my feet and back were sore but after my coffee I was feeling strong and now striding out confidently; Moira had been going well all morning and was still setting the pace. Our water break after an hour was at the private Carceres flying club, we were more or less sitting on the runway but it seemed deserted and luckily we didn't see any planes. It took two hours to cover the 11 km to Valdesalor and it was another peaceful and quiet little town, there was nobody about and we wandered around the streets in search of a cafe or pub. At last we spotted one with a few peregrinos outside, this was the only sign of life in the whole town.

We had an hour's recovery here with lunch. I had a coffee and Moira a cold beer then there were bocadillos, these are half baguette sandwiches. We had one cheese and one jabon, the local cured ham. We both ate half of one of them, then swopped over. Our predictions about the accommodation in the sports centre here had been right, a couple who were at the pub left in search of the key and the gym with no luck, they had to carry on walking instead. We met a French guy there and had a chat, he had started at 3:30am this morning from Aljucen, missed the turning into Aldea de Cano where he intended to stay and was now making for Carceres, a total of 60km, he was mad.


The route today was again along country tracks with sparcely wooden areas and moorland. Before Casas de Don Antonio there was a lake viable through the trees in the rays of the rising sun which was very stunning. Also the route was an area of Roman activity and the route was an old road they had constructed. There were archaeological excavations taking place in various spots and three examples of their bridges. One was as we crossed the Rio Ayuela into Don Antonio, another over the Rio Salor with fourteen arches near the flying club and a small one over the Arroyo de la Zafrilla with one square arch and a curved one either side, this was shortly after Don Antonio and close to the site of a Roman military post, something like the mile posts along Hadrian's Wall.


When I had checked the profile of the route to Carceres in Maria's book it showed it as all downhill. They must have missed the section out off Valdesalor, it was up and up and up. Fortunately it wasn't very steep and we were moving well, using different muscles. The track was following the motorway that we came down months ago on our way to Conil but we were some distance away. When we eventually reached the top of this climb we could see Carceres and it wasn't far away but when we did reach it the worst part was still to come. That was the long drag along the Calle San Francisco, it seems to go on for ever. There was a private albergue half way along and we thought we were in luck for an early stop but it was full. When we did get to the old town nothing looked familiar and nobody knew where the albergue was, but instead we got directions to the tourist info office. We got a street map there and threaded our way through the narrow lanes of the ancient part of Carceres to the albergue next to where we stayed the night In our campervan. There were lots of 'vans there, about fifty, overflowing from the official section to other areas of the car park.

This was a luxury albergue, we got a nice double room, en suite, with a lovely hot shower and we also managed to wash all our clothes at the same time. We headed up at 7:30 to the old town square to find a place to eat, they were all expensive as the 'menu' was only for lunches. We decided to slash out anyway but the waitress took so long messing about without taking our order that we decided to give up. We looked for another place away from the square but nothing was open, we ended up going back to the cafeteria that is attached to the albergue. We had a fairly good meal there, potato soup, roast chicken, and finished off with yoghurt. That with two glasses of wine and a cup of coffee only cost E15.

While in the square looking for a place to eat we met the Frenchman who had told us he had booked an hotel in Carceres but had miscalculated his walking schedule and couldn't make it all the way from the monastery to here in one go, he got a taxi from Valdesalor. We also spoke to the South African girl and her boy friend, they had found a room in a pension in the square at E20 each which wasn't bad. Wandering around the restaurants there was the Danish couple that walked on further, when we stopped at Aljucen, we didn't get a chance to talk to them. We are catching up with a lot of the old faces while leaving Silvia and Maria behind.