Day 12: Alde del Cano to Cáceres (22 Kms)

It was a very quiet night in Aldea del Cano. We ran into Hans, one of two other pilgrims now walking in our group, at the one local restaurant open in Alde. He was just arriving and we were just heading out for something to eat. As would likely happen we shared a couple of beers and agreed to meet later on. Our room for the night at the Casa Rural Via de la Plata was quite good. Breakfast and laundry were included in the 50 euro price. Hans checked into the albergue for 6 euros and had the place to himself. He picked up the key at the restaurant (Restaurante Las Vegas). So we whiled away a couple of hours with Hans and that was that. We all headed off to our rooms at around 7:30 hoping that sleep would come quickly. It didn't (at least for me). At close to 1:00 am I think I went under.

Morning came and Robin and I went through our usual pre-departure ritual. This morning we added a semaphore lesson as we tried to get the automatic light sensor to sense we needed some light as we headed down for coffee and toast. Once that hurdle was conquered all went smoothly and we had another on time departure as we stepped out the door exactly at 8:00. The town was still asleep as we made our way through the morning fog out to the Camino where we turned right and set out for Cáceres, 22 Kms to the north.

Into the fog

The fog stayed within seconds all morning making for some interesting photos. It was cold at 40 F and we broke out buffs and gloves to counter the chill in their air. We walked along watching things appear out of the fog ahead and then quickly disappear as the fog rolled them up behind us. We were in a small cocoon of limited visibility that moved with us as we inched along. At one point I was sure I saw some houses ahead (fog does tricky things). As we moved closer my mystery pueblo turned out to be a herd of sheep. Continuing on in the fog we actually crossed an abandoned airfield. The ghostly mist enshrouded hangers and buildings seemed to echo life in an world now long past. We moved on and the mist closed up behind us entombing the airfield once again. At about the halfway point the sun finally won out and the fog lifted. We grabbed a sandwich from a gas station along our route, and continued on to Cáceres where we arrived at our hotel at 1:45. It was a good day and Robin did well so that made me happy. We are now sitting in the bar at the Parador debriefing today's walk. Some things never change. Santiago is now one day closer.

The mystery pueblo

Robin on the runway

All roads lead to Cáceres

 

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