Day 20: San Pedro de Rozados to Salamanca (23 Kms)

Moon over San Pedro

Thanksgiving Day morning was sporting a beautiful moon as Robin and I made another stealth departure along cold and deserted streets and out into the countryside. Our stay in San Pedro consisted of many hours in the bar, where a heater roared away and the locals gathered. Robin managed to requisition a couple of space heaters for our room so it also eventually warmed up. We didn't venture out once the laundry was done. We just killed time enjoying the heater in the bar. The señora, true to her word, had the espresso machine grinding, hissing and frothing at 7:30. Perfecto! We shared a coffee with Eve, a Lithuanian girl who now lives in Iceland. She spent the night at a local albergue. She plans to walk on to Santiago as well. No other pilgrims spotted.

Today, Thanksgiving Day, is always a wonderful holiday back home. But, we also have much to be thankful for as we approach Salamanca and mark the half way point in this pilgrimage to Santiago. We have had some challenges, but we have come this far and we remain hopeful of reaching Santiago around December 19th. Many blessings received. Many prayers answered. Thank God.

The road to Santiago follows many routes with some being more interesting than others. Today's walk was one of the nice ones. It had a nice mix of terrain and elevation changes without forcing us to climb up a pile of broken rock as we did yesterday. The scenery was calming and beautiful, and the clincher, we would sleep in Salamanca tonight. So the time passed as we swung through livestock gates, crunched along gravel paths until we climbed the last bit of hill, stood at the hilltop cross, and took in the magnificence of Salamanca that was spread out before us. About an hour later we were at the cathedral. We have checked into a hotel right across from the cathedral. A couple of days of luxury are in the offing. Robin has located a Japonese restaurant for dinner tonight, and there is an 8:00 pm mass at a nearby church which we will happily attending. Much to be thankful for on this brilliant Thanksgiving Day in Salamanca.

Looking back

Hilltop cross before entering the city

Yet another Roman bridge

Salamanca cathedral (wow!)

 

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Day 19: Fuenterrobles del Salvatierra to San Pedro de Rozados (26 Kms)

Crossing the plain

This morning we were dropping the keys to our Casa Rural in the mailbox at 8:15. Enough daylight was pushing through the scattered cloud deck for us to easily find our way out of town. It was a quiet stay for us in the small village of Fuenterrobles followed by an even quieter departure. Pilgrim sightings have been few since this pilgrimage began and have grown even scarcer as we have moved along. Last night we walked the deserted streets looking for something to eat. We stopped into the first place we saw. The bartender was sporting an eclectic cold weather outfit including a hat with long ear flaps that could have passed for an old flying helmet. He agreed to pull together a meal for us, and we were very thankful. Later we stopped into the Bar Jose, the only other bar that was open. There was no colorful flight leader at the bar but the food certainly looked better. Later I came back out for a few things at the tienda and then it was back to our house and the warmth of the fire that has been crackling away since we arrived. Our evening consisted of sipping wine, rotating laundry in front of the fireplace, followed by bed.

So this brings us back to our departure this morning into another day on the Via de la Plata. Salamanca is 50 kilometers away so we set our course for the village of San Pedro de Rozados which is about half way. Today we started out across a very level plain, climbed up to a windmill installation and then descended back down to a road that led us to San Pedro. The day was a bit warmer than yesterday but a persistent cold breeze canceled the rise in temperature and kept us zipped up most of the way. Our 26 kilometers dragged by and Robin and I were both happy to finally arrive at 2:45. We took a quick look at the albergue around the corner from the Bar El Claveles, and moved on to find a room at the Bar VII Carreras which also offers rooms behind the bar/restaurant. Tomorrow we arrive in Salamanca and will layover an extra day. Looking forward to our day off, and a change in the menu. Robin is scouting Asian restaurants. My tenera meter is in the red zone. Looking for vegetables. Still, two happy pilgrims.

A much welcomed sun reaches us

At the top of the windmill climb

View from the top of the mountain

Almost there

We made it.

 

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Day 18: Baños de Montemayor to Fuenterrobles de Salvatierra (32.5 Kms)

Robin geared up for departure

Freezing temperatures cooled us as we climbed out of Baños this morning. It was yet another crystal clear morning. As we climbed we could see the sun trying to reach us on the distant hills. We pushed on anticipating a stage where most of the walking would be off road. We were not disappointed. It was a gorgeous fall day alive with color and light as we moved through the morning. It was just spectacular. On a side note just after Baños we crossed into Castille Léon. No drum roll just a waymark on this journey. We are still alone having seen no other pilgrims since we said goodbye to Hae in Plasencia. We climbed up to the somewhat worse for wear village of Calzada de Béjar right around 11:45. This appears to be a truly poverty stricken village. All the buildings seemed ready to topple over. At least those that hadn't already. We pushed on without stopping, as we couldn't see anything open. The second half of today's walk was through mostly flat ranch land with sizeable cattle herds. We saw a bunch of cowboys, without horses, yelling at cattle reluctant to follow orders. We just kept up a good pace and eventually raised Valverde de Valdelacasa where we found the Bar Santiago open but with a broken espresso machine. The kindly man at the bar told us he could produce two coffees (casero) in five minutes. True to his word he came back with one of those stove top espresso makers and served us two very fine cafe con Leches. We have a reservation in Fuenterrobles at the Casa Rural Familia Garcia. We called Señor Garcia from the next town, Valdelacasa, and he picked us up. This shortened today's walk by 7 Kms which was just fine with us. He whizzed us into town, handed the car keys to his wife who whizzed us to the Casa Rural. It is right on the Camino as you leave Fuenterrobles. A fire was going and the heat works so all is well. Tomorrow will be a 26 Kms day to San Pedro de Rozados. No short cuts are in the offing so off we will go. There is no wifi here and there is no Orange service so this will have to get posted from San Pedro. Buena noche from Fuenterrobles.

Baños de Montemayor

And then there was light

Approaching Calzada de Béjar

 

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Day 17: Aldeanueva Del Camino to Baños de Montemayor (13 Kms)

Aldeanueva Del Camino

Another cold but brilliantly clear morning greeted us as we began da 17 on the Via de la Plata. Today was a short day to Baños de Montemayor. Tomorrow will be a 32 Km day and without this short day it would have been 43 Kms. That is too much for our feet these days so we set our destination on Baños forget tonight's layover. The guidebook mentioned taking a detour through the village of Hervás which is reported to have one off the best kept Jewish barrios in Spain. As we came to the turnoff we decided to go have a look. An hour later we were in Hervás, a very charming tourist oriented town. We poked around a bit, went over to the old Jewish neighborhood and wandered a bit through there. All very nice especially under the crystal clear blue skies. A bracing autumn wind kept temperatures cool to cold as we climbed up and down. Eventually we found a connecting road to our beloved companion, the N 630, and 30 minutes later we turned right on it and set our course for Baños. A little less than an hour later we were walking into Baños. We found our way to the Plaza Mayor and the one bar that seemed to have every shivering person in the neighborhood in there ordering some sort of fortified coffee. We had ours before departure in Aldeanueva (thinking ahead) and avoided the surge at the bar in Baños. We have booked into another Casa Rural, Los Postigos. Very nice and very well heated (big plus). We will push off for Fuenterrobles de Salvatierra In the morning. Not many photos to post today as I somehow deleted them from my camera's memory card as I was clearing memory storage on my iPad. I believe I know what not to do going forward. Fingers crossed. All is well.

Hervás with Jewish Barrio to left

Hervás

Hervás

 

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Day 16: Cáparra to Aldeanueva del Camino (20 Kms)

Today was a repositioning day. We spent the night in Plasencia and then right after breakfast we caught a cab to Cáparra. This was supposed to leave us with an 18 Kms walk but it just seemed a bit more according to our walking speed. Nothing scientific here just a hunch it is a wee bit longer than what the guide books say. Could be wrong as well. We had a great stay in Plasencia. We just wandered around the old city and eventually went to the 7:00 pm mass at the cathedral. Beautiful setting. Beautiful mass. So many prayers to offer and such great gratitude for coming this far. It has been a wonderful journey. We parted company without our Korean friend, Hae. She had some blisters and decided to take a bus to Aldenueva and walk on to Baños de Montemayor. So she is now a day ahead of us.

The first thing we saw this morning was the Roman arch at Cáparra. Many people have passed through this ancient arch but it still gets your heart rate up when you think about the civilization that could produce such things. To realize that the Via de la Plata passes right under it is a kind of a special treat. But it was soon time for us to be on our way to Aldeanueva. Today was the first day I wore my wool beanie. Temps were in the mid forties and only rose a notch or two above that all day. It was dry to start but as we moved along it was evident that change was in the air. As I watched the distant hillsides I could see low hanging nimbus slowly descending their flanks. Sooner or later we would meet. Just after noon a light rain started to fall and stayed with us for just over an hour. Not bad. We chugged along under the cozy dry canopies of our umbrellas and wondered where the heck this village of Aldeanueva was. It just seemed to draw back as we drew forward. Would we ever get there? We renewed our acquaintance with the N 630 for a bit, wandered off into the hillsides for a bit, and came back to the N 630 just as we approached our destination. Our lodging for tonight is the Casa Rural Caminante. Oddly enough it is right on the N 630. We had a reservation, but had to ring señora to come let us in. She was very nice as she buzzed around explaining switches, washing machine, door keys and who knows what as it all came in a machine gun burst of Spanish. I did much better with her daughter who actually handled the paperwork. I would guess she was around 10, and very professional. She soon had me checked in and the señora swept her up in her whirlwind vortex and departed. Big smiles all the while. It is a 3 bedroom new home. Robin and I have paid 40 euros for the entire house for one night. There is a fire burning in the grate. The laundry, fresh out of a brand new washing machine, is strung across it, and Robin and I are enjoying some left over wine from a late meal at the Bar/Restaurante Seba, which is 300 meters down the street. Just a note on how jam packed that bar was. Yes, it is a Sunday, and perhaps nobody in this village cooks on Sunday, because that is the only way I could explain the throng of people trying to get seated for a meal. It was absolute chaos, even by Spanish standards. Even close to 4:00 pm they were coming in three's and four's. The noise level was defeaning. The man and woman running the place were putting a brave face on it, but it was crazy. Maybe it was free food Sunday. Wow, what a scene. My head is still ringing. But, we are very well situated, stomachs are full, and now with the laundry taken care of we can think of bed. Another day on the Camino. Another gift to be grateful for. Loving that fireplace as well.

And one with Robin in it

Leaving Cáparra

Following the road

The sky is changing

Clearing up, camera back out

 

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