Salamanca

What a pretty place! We walked around yesterday in the sun (interspersed with sitting on the Plaza Mayor re-hydrating and people watching), last evening in gorgeous weather, and today in rain. Salamanca seems to be an all weather city.

Longest Hike Ever, Not on Purpose

Friday we hiked about 20 miles. We know other pilgrims regularly hike that far...but never before, and never again we hope, do we.

We planned to hike about 12. The owner of the casa rural where we stayed in San Pedro said there were 2 villages at about 11miles distance. Each was about .5-1 miles off the Camino but one had no accommodations. So she reserved us a room in the other.

We should know better than to trust a non-hiker when it comes to distances. After walking about a mile, the village was still far over the hill before us. We retreated to the Camino.

A sign for the other town said it had a lodging. We headed off route a second time. In about .5 miles another sign had the lodging crossed out. Back to the Camino and onward into Salamanca...about 3 miles to the edge of town and about 2 more to get to the city-center. Then we walked in circles until we found our B&B, which is very nice and had a room even though we were not reserved until Sat.

The morning's walk was great. The afternoon was nice, but being tired makes it less wonderful and the sun gets really hot about noon. We got in about 3:30.

This city is lovely. More to come about Salamanca.

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.