Communal Dinner, Sunrise on the Trail, Flies, Rest

The communal dinner at the albergue last night included fresh tomato salad, local sausages, potatoes (not french fries!), liver!!!!, local melon, and conversation with pilgrims from Denmark, Finland, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Switzerland. We cleaned up and washed dishes with the Swiss man and Italian woman.

It was cool enough for long sleeves when we hit the trail at 7:45. The first 8 miles through gently rolling farmland was beautiful. The next 4 up a steep, rocky ridge were horrid. Flies landed on us like we were cattle or horses and I longed for a swishy tail.

Then it got really hot and we caught a cab for the final 8 miles to town. No reason to be miserable, right?

It Keeps Getting Nicer and Nicer

This morning when we left our albergue, it was down right cool outdoors. No complaints from us. The trail was through farmland with sheep, cattle, and horses all day. We walked on wide, level, packed dirt roads lined be stone walls. Trees shaded the road some of the time. The sun shone bright but the coolness and breeze stayed with us all 12 or so miles. There was even a cafe bar at about mile 7...with a clean bathroom.

We are now resting at an albergue that is sort of a Camino legend. It was founded and is still the domain of a local priest who is reputed to be quite the character. We'll meet him at the communal dinner.

The American Pilgrims on the Camino provides some support here and we have a tiny room in "American House".

The photos show today's trail and this albergue.

Roman Baths, Cool Temps, Horses, Cattle, and a Roman Road

The Via de la Plata is beginning to pay us back for those first hot, hard days.

Yesterday I found that pilgrims get special treatment at the spa in Banos so I spent much of the afternoon in the pool pictured below. Sweet.

We left town this morning as a gentle shower was ending, climbed a well built trail up a long way, followed a Roman road for about 8 miles through much changed and more attractive landscape which we shared with horses and cattle but seldom with traffic. Now we are at a nice albergue and chatting with a young Danish pilgrim fresh from 3 years in Silicon Valley where he founded a company. We're learning a lot about venture capital.

Dinner will be a home cooked one here at the albergue.

Hanging out with the Pensionistas and Enjoying the Roman Baths

After a couple of days off the trail waiting in Plasencia for the weather to break, Sunday afternoon we rejoined the Camino in a pretty little town, Aldeanueva. We spent much of the afternoon and evening hanging at a sidewalk cafe bar at the Asociacion des Pensionistas. All the locals were friendly and greeted us although they didn't really try to strike up conversation.

This morning we hit the trail at first light. We arrived and settled into Banos, a resort-spa town before noon. The temperature seems to be moderating and tomorrow we will have a longer walking day.

The photos show the variety of "trail" we walked today as well as our Pensionistas cafe from yesterday.

One More Plasencia Photo

The cathedral took so long to build that the "old church" tower, on the right in the photo taken from the citrus garden in the courtyard, is Romanesque style and the "new church" towers on the left are Gothic. It is all one building.

In Plasencia

We're here in this small Spanish city while revising our walking plans to avoid the unexpected heat--95 degrees F. expected this afternoon, and we've been walking through desert-like landscapes. Will probably leave tomorrow for Aldeanueva, heading northward and avoiding long legs that would have us walking until mid-day. A break in the heat is expected by mid week.

While in Plasencia we've been seeing the few sights (photo) and sipping drinks on the Plaza Mayor (photo). We thought about sitting around in front of the cathedral until we spotted someone (photo) who had been stuck there for at least 700 years!

A Challenging, Enjoyable Walk for a Friday

As hoped we found good picnic food for dinner and avoided the hostal with a less than great recommendation.

We were on the trail at first light. We had a hard climb up a rocky trail early when we were feeling refreshed and strong. At the top was a pretty pine woods. We walked in shade! Lovely and a bit less brown and sun scorched looking.

Soon we entered into a cork oak woods where the bark has been harvested. Miles of trees growing their bark back.

Down through a dry creek, across a wet one, and finally up a narrow trail into Grimaldo, a tiny town.

We decided to hop a bus for 3€ and spend a day or two in the historic little city of Plasencia. Now we are resting in a 4* hotel...pilgrim priced at 75€. Later we'll see what this place has to offer.

In no order I can control the photos show: Our picnic dinner. The trail at day break. The cork oak woods...note how they harvest off the bark. The black is new bark growing back.

Left Early...Stopped Early

We have had no connectivity for almost two days and are catching up on posts now that we are on wifi.

Yesterday we walked about 8 miles, although we'd planned on about 12. We left at sunrise to catch the cooler weather.

On Day 2, when we were too hot and having to walk along a highway, (again!) we decided to hug the rocks of a road cut to rest in semi shade. Alas, we both lost our balance and fell in the ditch. No real harm but I twisted my knee and it hurt more today than when it happened so we shortened our day.

This route is not well marked, like the one we hiked before. Worse, Spain is building a railway in the area and the Camino is right along the construction.

Today the ill-marked trail led us up to a dead end with a precipice into a construction canyon big enough to hold a major railroad. We retraced our way and could see no solution to getting across. A Camino Angel, taking the form of a young heavy equipment driver, told us to go ahead and walk across the construction. Holy Cow! Imagine the liability issues at home.

Arriving here in Canaveral, we found a casa rural on the main square. Lovely room in a very old building. And a welcome big old bath tub just perfect for tired bodies.

Later, when the stores open after siesta, we hope to find cheese and sausage and bread to have a picnic in our room instead of a pilgrim dinner. Our guide says the only restaurant that is open today has awful food.

I do not know in what order this iPhone app will post the photos but what you should see is Russ adjusting his walking sticks in front of the albergue yesterday morning and him walking the dawn-lit trail. The precipice above the construction and Russ walking in it after we found our way. Pretty white Canaveral in the distance from the trail as we got a few miles away. And a couple of photos at the casa rural La Posada. 

  

 

 

Sweet Morning. Killer Afternoon. Lovely Evening.

In the 70s, warm wind, cloudless blue overhead. Good breakfast at the casa rural and we were on the trail at 9:00. The landscape is bleak but we enjoyed the walk. Saw old Roman trail markers (milarios), tamarisk trees, oversized Spanish titmouses, lots of sheep and sheep poop. I didn't expect to learn about poop on this hike, but all knowledge is good, right. Yesterday hare poop, today sheep. In the photo it looks like black earth... Not.

By afternoon it had reached above 90 degrees. It about did us in. We had 2.5 quarts of water each...5 lbs. Not enough. We rested under the only tree we saw all day. Also not enough.

We are staying at a nice albergue tonight. If tomorrow is equally hot before we arrive in the next town, I will not be happy.

PS. Feeling better after pizza and about a gallon of water. I'm adding the pictures now. The albergue is on a reservoir in the middle of nowhere. What a sunset.

We hit the trail today

After nice decompression days in Seville and Caceres, today we started hiking. We chose a short day...about 7 miles.

Our packs feel pretty good, with our efforts to keep them light. The temperature was in the 70s at first and probably never above the low 80s, although it felt hot in the wonderful sun.

The walk out of Caceres was leisurely...along sidewalks, past gardens and parks and the bullfight arena. Then along a lovely promenade. Until...wham...dumped onto the 18 inches outside the white side line on a road where they all drove about 60 mph. Not fun.

In a couple of miles we were to turn onto a dirt road. Alas several nervous, hobbled horses had first dibs. We chose the fast drivers over the antsy horses. We were able to scramble to the dirt road after a ways and it redeemed the way.

The terrain is spent, scorched, brown, shale-embedded, strangely appealing.

We noticed lots of poop, not from horses...small, like deer or sheep. Then we saw a hare. It was quite a sight hop/running across the field. Given the amount of poop, there must be many hares.

Arriving about 2:00 in Casa de Caceres for the day, we met two local men who directed us to the albergue, except they couldn't agree on the directions. Also I think they thought I have big feet. They kept pointing to my boots and talking about Zapatos grandes.

We found the albergue. In the first room there were 4 bunks beds. They were so close the middle two were pushed together like a double bed. The 'aisles' between the 'double' and the 'singles' on either side were about 18 inches. We might have stayed except the 4 showers were right next to the first bunk bed...perhaps 2 feet from it. How would you not get wet in your bunk? How would the showeree not be showing you more than you wanted to see?? Room 2 was about the same.

Dang I wish we'd taken photos! But leaving was on our minds.

We found a nice Casa Rural with a pool. I swam in my Hiking shorts and sports bra. Much nicer than the shower experience I foresaw if we stayed at the albergue.