Zamora

 

Salamanca Cathedral

Salamanca was great! I met up with some people I hadn't seen for a couple of days - they'd gone on ahead and then stopped in Salamanca for a couple of days rest or recuperation. I had a night in the municipal albergue - in a hot, airless room. I didn't sleep too well! We were sent out at 8.30am the next day! 

 

The Cathedral

 

Detail of the door

I moved to a hostel with some friends I met on the Camino. That day I wandered around Salamanca and played tourist. It's a monumental city, full of life and ancient buildings. They're also filming the latest Romeo and Juliet film there - for the authentic medieval backdrops. It's called something like "Still Star Crossed", I think.

 

Evening menu meal

 

The next day was quite a big one - 38kms to Cubo de la Tierra de Vino. Which roughly translates as Cube (or bucket) of the Land of Wine! The trail was through farmland until the first coffee stop And then it just followed the motorway albeit off to one side. The albergue was fine - they gave us a meal and breakfast, and the lady washed my clothes! 

 

Way markers 

Today I walked to Zamora - 32km. Zamora is another amazing city. Roman, then Arabic, then Crusader, then Spanish. I'm staying in the municipal albergue and there  seem to be a lot of people who haven't been walking! In some circles it's seen as a cheap holiday - get a credencial and you can get into the albergues for pilgrims without actually doing the pilgrimmage. Hope they get bedbugs! 

 

Entering Zamora

 

 

 

Other pilgrims 

Salamanca!

 

Salamanca is written with an exclamation mark because it marks just over halfway to Santiago. Today's hike was just 22km through a village and  over a bit of a hill. I paused in the village and took the selfie below. It's a statue honouring teachers! 

 

At the top of the hill - having been followed by a herd of heifers - I could clearly see Salamanca in the distance.  It's been a couple of weeks since I was last in a city with lots of people... I wonder how pilgrims of 400 or 800 years ago felt as the spotted the same towers in the distance?

 

The trail now wound between fields of the yellow flower and immature wheat - bright yellow and deep green with an almost cobalt blue overhead. Magic! Until a tummy rumble announced problems... And no where discreet to deal with things... Then a pile of rocks gave a bit of cover. When you've gotta go, you've gotta go! 

 

 

The approach to Salamanca was a bit rough - first we climbed up to a place where Wellington ordered an attack on the French, defeating them too I think.

 

 Then a long haul to the old city through a rough park with the towers of the massive 'new' cathedral on the skyline. 

 

Finally I was able to dump my pack inside the albergue at 2.00pm and return at 5.00 to register, shower and change. Doors are locked at 10 - I'm safely inside and the lights have just turned off! A gentle hint to go to bed! I'm staying another day here to rest and sightsee so I'll have to move tomorrow. One night in the albergue!

 

 

To Valverde de Valelacasa

I was the last out of the albergue again. I have to work on my night before organization! The weather was clearly and cold. I had a great view down the street of the snow covered hills in the distance. The trail was mostly on the road to Baños de Montemayor. There are thermal baths there - very tempting! I settled for some porras (Spanish slang for a policeman's baton ) but here a fat churro! Fuel for the camino!

Baños - 569km to go

We climbed out of  town on a section of Roman road to the border between Extremadura and Castilla-León. 

The walk was downhill after that and very pleasant. It wound through cattle farms along the Camino Real - a carriageway built in the 17th century which parallels the Roman road. 

About one I arrived at the village where I'd though to stay, but it seemed deserted so I carried on, on a ruler straight way. This again was the Roman road - now a stockroute. After 29kms I was in a funny little village called Valverde de Valdelacasa. I stayed the night there - and got a single room! A great night's sleep!

Today was a long day - a short hop to one village: Fuenteroble de Salvatierra, but I was there by 11am, so I decided to carry on - the downside was there is nowhere to stay for another 26km. But it was a wonderful sunny spring day so off I went! The trail entered a large shallow basin, perhaps 10km across. Again it was very straight - following the Roman Road. There were many milestones dotting the way - so many I gave up stopping to gaze at them! 

Granite Fence Posts!

The trail climbed eventually to the highest point on this Camino: 1250 odd metres. I had lunch up top - ruined somewhat by the noise of wind generators behind me. I still couldn't see my destination. 

Santiago and cross at Pico de La Dueña

That took another couple of hours of slog past pig farms, and fields sown with bright yellow flowered plants (rapeseed?)

Eventually I staggered into San Pedro de Rozados. And again I have a single room! And the kind lady is washing my dirty clothes. I've had a feed (great soup, average steak and flan with canned whipped cream) and now I need my beauty sleep. 503kms to Santiago! Tomorrow: Salamanca.

Aldeanueva Del Camino

The albergue at Oliva de Plasencia was great - individual beds with sheets and duvets. No need to break out the sleeping bag or my scandalous silk inner sack. They even had a pod coffee maker - pods sold separately by the manager's wife! 

Today's walk was straight out of the village, past the church and straight into the countryside. Oliva is off the camino but divides a long stage into manageable parts. The walk back to the Camino was very pleasant, along farm tracks between stone walls. Then we came upon a couple of huge pillars marking the entrance to a large finca or ranch devoted to raising fighting bulls. It was an immaculate farm - all the paddocks were fenced with steel railed fences. They had no bushes and quite elaborate troughs. There was even something that looked like brooms suspended horizontally and vertically. I guess they were for the bulls to scratch themselves? And then we came upon the gates! Four bronze busts of bulls. I guess an indication of the Spanish obsession with bull fights. 

The trail carried on to the Arch of Cáparra - all that remains of a Roman city that used to exist there. The site has been excavated and there are displays, but I didn't stay long - I've seen a few Roman ruins of late!

The trail once again became boggy. And before long we came to a stream that we couldn't leap or cross on stepping stones. Shoes off! Ok for the first time, but after three more creeks I'd had enough. On the last stage there was an option - boggy way with a creek crossing or road for 10kms. Road it was!

We arrived here at Aldeanueva quite late. Found the key to the municipal albergue (free) and found there was no hot water. So off  to a private one! Nice hot showers and breakfast to boot!

Now off to sleep - a bit of a climb tomorrow out of Extremadura, after two weeks hiking across the province. We've now done 415km.

Oliva de Plasencia

Another longish day. First after walking through the walled town and down over a medieval bridge we did 9km on the road to Carcaboso. There I had a huge cafe con leche - with sugar! I needed the sugar rush! 

Then the trail was mostly through farm land past paddocks with quite fat cows and calves. The cows have really impressive horns! Luckily the bulls we've passed are too full of grass to move much. They are enormous. Everything is lush and green and plants are bursting into flower. It'll be a different story in summer when everything here gets burnt to a crisp. I imagine the livestock are moved out of the province, which explains the "vía pecuaria" - stock roads.

It was pretty wet underfoot, but not too bad today, although we had to negotiate some streams which seemed to be higher than normal - stepping stones were in the middle of the creeks.

The day finished of with a 6km trudge to Oliva de Plasencia. The Albergue is great - single beds in a recently reformed 18th century farmhouse. There's even sheets! Clean ones! And to boot my blisters are healing.

Galisteo

I left Cañaveral at 7.30 this morning. It was a depressing place - no obvious central plaza like most towns we've been through. It seemed to be deserted - I guess the drizzle didn't help!

Rock Roses - they smell like incense when wet!

The walk to Galisteo was about 22km. The weather had improved, although it was wet underfoot. My shoes were soaked in record time. Even after I stopped to change socks later on they got wet quickly. At one stage we had to cross a stream which was somewhat flooded, so the last five or six kilometres were made in wet shoes. Not very pleasant!

Galisteo is a medieval town, complete with defensive walls and an 11th century church. Unfortunately it was closed so I couldn't get in to have a look. The town has expanded outside the walls. We're staying in the new part at a quite nice Albergue. I had dinner when I arrived - at 3.00 o'clock! A plate of tasty beans with chorizo and bacon for the first course and fries with pigs' cheek stew for seconds. It was delicious. And a dish of yogurt for pud. All this for €9.50 - $15.50.

Galisteo - the walls are from Arab times

Storks nesting on the Church

Year of our Lord 1109...