To Torremejia

Karl from Germany was a great roommate last night. We both wanted to get an early start, so we had lights out about 9pm, and he didn't snore. Jose and Nicole were in another room (they are an interesting couple, he is Spanish and she is French).

They say yesterday was a special day for women. I don't normally get too excited about special days for us/them, it seems to divide us more than unite us, in most cases. But just before bed, I was out on the patio, the sun was down, and the stars weren't out yet. Venus was in the western sky. Have you ever seen it hold court for that extra 20 minutes? It seemed to tell the stars they needed to wait just a little longer to pop tonight. It was the only light in the sky for the longest time.

I thought of all the women in my life. It was a joy to be fortunate enough to know both of grandmothers into my adulthood. My mother is the only one that's been there from the (my) beginning, and I'm thankful she is still doing well. My sisters have been such anchors for me, Brenda when I was younger and Julie now. My daughters-in-law are such a blessing in our lives. I could write a book about Ruth, but dinner is in 20 minutes! Awuvooooo. The youngest woman is the one who's heart you might have noticed in a few of the pictures. I wouldn't trade the world for any of our grandkids, but when there's only one little girl....well you know.

Meditation: Kyrie eleison
Weather: Low 50 High 82 Sunny, and really warm in the sun.
Distance: 28 km
Route hints: This stage has a stretch of straight flat road about 13 km. It is a real mental challenge.
Albergue: I'm at the one on the west side of town, next to the church. It's great, but the kitchen has only a fridge and microwave, no dishes or stove. After a long day, I'm eating in the cafe downstairs.

I got away before Karl this morning, but he passed me before we even got out of town.

What a rabbit.

I'll probably never get tired of sunrise photos

A long straight road, originally built by the Romans.

Spanish farm truck. No "pickups" here. If they need to haul something they hookup a little trailer to the white minivan.

To Villafranca de los Barros

Just a quick post. Bought a new short sleeve shirt because I left one in Almaden de la Plata. I have one small blister that is feeling much better than it did 2 days ago, but a 28 km day tomorrow in 80F will test it.

Today was another great Camino day. Several times there were olive trees for as far as I could see. And so ancient. I ask Ramon (Spain) and Eric (France) how old the trees might be and they guessed 400 years. They ask the farmer we met just a couple of minutes later and he said no one knew, they were too old to know!

They had a funeral in the local church. They rang the bell for about 15 minutes. I started counting the rings but lost track after 50-something.

Meditation: Sunshine
Distance: About 20 km by the time I went shirt and shoe shopping (didn't buy shoes, I think I figured out a sloution with what I have.)

Weather: Low - I didn't look but it was the warmest morning so far, probably 52. High 75F Clear and sunny

Route tips: About 3 km before Villafranca the Camino crosses a railroad and goes back south a few hundred yards. I didn't see any arrows making this clear, but the only other choice was north on the train tracks.
Albergue and Town: Alb. Carmen is great. Sunny patio and common area, close to shops, etc.

Dinner last night, Ramon took the picture for me.

Got out of town just in time to see the sunrise

A short steep section on an otherwise mostly flat day

One of the thousands of olive trees on today's stage

A "St. James Cross" in the local sidewalk

To Zafra

I got an early start from Fuente de Cantos. Probably 7:10 from the albergue. The way out of town is not marked well, I had to ask a couple of folks for help. They're always so kind. It was a dense fog I walked into.

Two other walkers told me the normal route was flooded, so I found an alternate that only added 2 km. They took the highway almost the whole way, but that wasn't necessary. I had nice country roads most of the way, passing two shepards, each with about 40 sheep. The crops varied from grain, to grapes, to olives, to soybean (I think, it was just germinating).

Got to Zafra just after 2pm.

As I was writing, Peter came up the stairs. Albert flew home this morning. He told me the water wasn't very deep.  With the forecast for sun the next 12 days, I think we won't have any more water problems for a while. I'm sure what the other guys had heard was a couple of days ago. These streams rise and fall quickly. Going to a late dinner with Peter, only because tomorrow is a relatively short day, and that I may not see him again. He is taking a day off to replace his backpack, which is 20 years old, heavy, and falling apart. (The cafe doesn't start serving until 8:30 or 9 pm, depending who you ask!

Meditation: Yahweh
Distance: My guide says 25.2, but I'll call it 27 km due to the detour.
Weather: Low 44 High 65 Foggy, then sunny
Route tips: I walked the normal Camino for 2 hours, then took the N630 for one hour. Then I took an unnamed road northwest, turning west into Puebla de Sancho Perez, and caught the Camino into Zafra. This route worked well for me, but during dry periods the normal Camino would be best the whole stage.
Albergue: The Vincent Van Gogh albergue is great. Zafra is a really pretty town. Bigger than the last few.

"City playground" in Fuente de Cantos at 7:15 am

Vineyard just before the sun burned off the fog

My second break today was next to these old olive trees

Three or four generations?

To Fuente de Cantos

"Eagles commonly fly alone. They are crows and starlings that flock together." John Webster

There has been a good bit of alone time in the last six days. It hasn't been bad, just different than previous Caminos. I've lost track of Peter and Albert, but the Frenchmen tell me they saw them yesterday, so I'll probably cross paths with them again.

I took a right when I should have gone left, or some such event. I didn't even see the turn/corner/fork so it was a very odd feeling. There was a good size stream about 3 1/2 hours into the walk, and it was shortly after that I began to realize I was going to much east and not enough north. (Later: Actually looking at google satelite view, it is obvious where it happen, about 2 km after the Bodion Arroyo).  I ended up on the N-630 (the two lane highway), and headed north. It goes directly to Feunte de Cantos, so I could have stayed there, but in a couple kilometers there was a farm road leading back west to the Camino. I took the opportunity to get off the asphalt, and arrived about 30 minutes later than I should have.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Meditation: May all be healed
Distance: Should have been 21 km, probably was about 23 km.
Weather: Low 46F High: I didn't look, but the breeze was cool, probably upper 50s. No rain!!! (mostly cloudy).
Route notes: See above. The way is well marked, other pilgrims stayed on the Camino with no trouble. My mistake shows how easy it is to miss a turn.
Albergue: I'm in the Albergue Turistico, which in the old convent on the west side of town. Sort of wishing I'd gone to the other place in town. Cold showers and cold rooms here. There are plenty of blankets, and the view is beautiful.

It was very good to see a sunrise after 3 days of rain.

I crossed into the region of Extremadura. They mark the Camino with these granite cubes.

I really hope this picture does not cause nightmares, but it is too good to keep hidden.

These huge slugs are all over the road after a rain.

It is difficult to avoid them when walking, and cars and bicycles don't even try.

This is much better, where I took my second break.

The way transitioned from forest/ranchland to cropland today.

To Monesterio

Monesterio is a town of about 4500, but seems much larger. I'm not sure why. It's claim to fame is a Museo del Jamon (Museum of Ham). I don't do museums when I'm on Camino, so someone else will need to tell you about it! This region is famous for pigs.

I had a crazy thing happen with pigs yesterday morning. Just before I caught Peter and Albert, there was a group of about 30 pigs ahead, just to my right. I started talking to them, not really thinking much about it, it's just what one does when he is by himself and comes upon any animal. You know, offer a friendly greeting. Normally there is minimal reaction.  But this time they ran for me. It was a bit unnerving. About half of them were smallish, but several were full grown, and a couple of them were the extra large 600 pound variety. They immediately had me surrounded, like with snouts a few inches from my legs. I was trapped. The farmer quickly appeared, and opened the gate at which they had been waiting. It seems that it was breakfast time, and any human looked to them like a potetial source a food pellets. They hurried to his call, and I was on my way. My camera was tucked away due to the rain, so no picture. Sorry.

The internet says group of pigs is called a "sounder of swine". Who makes this stuff up? I'll try to get a picture of the next "sounder" I see.

The walk today was mostly through beautiful ranch country. A very light mist persisted all day, and continues into the evening.  The only other noteworthy event was meeting Dennis and Jeanie from Kentucky, USA. We hop-skotched most of the day. They are the first native english speaking folks I've talked to all week!

Meditation: Ven Espiritu Santos (Come Holy Spirit)
Distance: 20 km
Weather: Low 45F High 55 Cloudy and very light mist, just enough for a rain jacket, but no rain pants needed.
Route hints: Really quite simple, head north and cross the highway a couple of times late in the walk.
Albergue: I'm in the parachial albergue, on the left side of the main street. Very nice, and if tonight is any indication, you might get the whole place to yourself. It is 10 Euros, which isn't bad, it's just different for a parochial to charge a fixed price.

Only one picture for today, but this what most of the day looked like.

Lots of cork oak, a few cattle, a few sheep, a few pigs.

I needed to keep the camera dry.

To Real De La Jara

Today's start was unique. At 11:05, it was the latest I've ever begun a Camino day. We woke up to rain and the weather radar indicated it might clear midday, or it might not!  One by one, throughout the morning, folks ventured out. I was last to leave, caught up with Alfred and Peter along the way, and slowed my pace to talk with them for a bit. It was nice to have a little company after 3 days of walking alone, especially as the rain continued until about one o'clock.

A little more about them: Alfred is age 81 and reminds me of Stuart Goldie, who we met on our 2012 Camino, with a slight build, but impressively strong. Peter once walked to Santiago from his home in the Netherlands, 2500 km!!! But that was 14 years ago. On this walk, he has already injured his left foot, so his pace is very slow right now. He obtained some boot inserts that he hopes will help.

After a couple of hours of walking, we helped each other cross a stream that had swollen over it's banks. They stopped to remove raingear, and I didn't see them the rest of the day.

The sky has begun to clear, and my laundry is hanging on the rooftop patio in a late afternoon sun.  I'll post this with just a few more comments along with the photos.

Meditation: I walk because I can
Distance: 14 km. If I stay healthy, this will be one of the shortest days of this journey.
Weather: Low 46 High 60
Route notes: This stage is 100% dirt track, very nice. It does have one tough climb, with several false summits that mess with your mind, and more hills than I expected.
Albergue and town: I'm in Albergue del Peregrinos, on the left about 100 meters past entering town. Quite satisfactory, with a good kitchen and excellent wifi. The castle on the hill is surely worth a visit, but it looks to be at least 1.5 km from the albergues, so I didn't make it out there due to my late arrival here.

Leaving Almaden de la Plata. The steep dirt road where the Camino

enters town can be seen coming out of the clouds across the village.

Peter, Alfred, and Martin (he is a young man from Germany and walks long days)

After the big hill on this stage, I was surprised to still have 4.6 km to go???

This large Spanish estate on one hill, and . . .

the nearby castle on the next hill, make the town feel like part of a fantasy land movie...

"My name is Indigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die"

What is this animal, and is there something next to it's front feet?

You will have to look closely, Lillian.

To Almaden De La Plata

First, about last night. I offered to share my pasta and meatballs dinner with Peter and Albert, and they were eager to NOT need to go for an evening walk to find a cafe, so they joined me. Peter provided cookies and chocolate for dessert, and he did the dishes too, so that was great. Dinner for 3 hungry men, leftovers for me to take on the trail, all for about $2.50. They live in France, but are from Holland, so they speak english quite good.

There were eight in the albergue last night. The six smart ones took a taxi for at least half way today. Me and a French guy, whose name I have not learned yet, walked the whole way. About 10 miles of asphalt, although the highway was not busy, so that was nice. The second half of the nearly 20 miles was through a beautiful wooded area on nice dirt roads. They call it a "natural park", but there is very little nature involved. The pine trees are in rows, on terraced hillsides, with all branches below 10 feet pruned. The cork-oak trees are surrounded by grassy lawns mowed by grazing cattle. It was a nice area, just not natural.

I walked fast today in an effort to beat the rain. It didn't work. The last three hours varied between a good shower and heavy downpour. I got one little blister, so I think tomorrow will need to be a short day. The two choices are 15 km and 34 km.

Meditation: All shall be well
Distance: 30km
Weather: Low 42 (during a cold afternnoon rain) High 52 (before the rain)
Route hints: You need to be confident in your body to walk this whole stage. I don't want to over dramatize it, but it is quite difficult. Last September a man died, on a hot day, only about 2 miles from the end of this day's walk. We also know a strong hiker who broke his ankle on this stage and required rescue. It is well marked, but once again, you need to be alert for the way markings. Missing a turn would not be wise. There are no resources for food or water along the way.
Albergue and town: The municiple albergue in Almaden is a long way through town, just saying you "aren't there yet" when you enter the village. Some of us are planning to find dinner, so maybe I'll have a comment later about that.