(Note: we arrived in at 14:30 to find a city holiday and our hostel closed until 18:00. Not great after a long hot day, but this is the Invierno, not the Frances. We have found all sorts of things quite different along this route given the absence of perigrinos. As such, I will do what I can on the blog and get it posted)
We headed out of town early as usual in the dark. Managed to get lost for a while, but passed over a Roman bridge on the way out. Poor signage was the culprit...well known problem.
We experienced a long walk on very hard pavement today (it's always hard) that we were not anticipating. This can quickly tire the feet and generate excess heat in the boot...creating the perfect environment for blisters. Fortunately our feet were well prepared and neither of us experienced blisters...today. The fog kept rolling in and out as we walked.
A very cool start and the sunrise did little to change this. There was lots of ground fog that held the cool air down.
Sunrise was pretty cool!
The Hard Road:
As always walking in the fog is pretty amazing! As it cleared and the sun came out, so did the heat, but we often had the shade of some beautiful trees...sometimes they were across the road!
We did have some dog encounters...this one we laughed at and we told it to buzz off! Out of its league. 
At one point I almost stepped on a couple of big dogs sleeping by the side of the road. Don't know how they didn't hear me! I signalled Rob to the other side of the road, and they only woke after we'd passed by. Lucky! Lots of dogs along this route. Some nice, most just aggressively bark. The cows as always were much nicer...for you Caitlin.
We eventually made it to the 100.3 km to Santiago marker and paused for photos...
only to find the 100 km marker just around the corner. Must have been a sale on where they ordered them! We got smarter this time...one photo!
Tough Descent:
We popped over to see a very old church, VII Century Romanesque church. 
Very cool, and they had a nice peep hole to see that it's still in use.
Then, for once on a trail, we descended to the river. Rob on the Roman road...paved in rock much of the way...hmmm, almost like walking on the hard road!
Very steep, very hard on knees. Poles were great!
The views stunning.
I've been fortunate to see many beautiful wine areas of Europe in Italy, France, Croatia, Germany and Portugal. This stands up well to any of those places beauty wise. You be the judge. 
No tour buses in sight...mass tourism wise, undiscovered! Wonder how long that will be?
I understood there to be a bar for drinks at the bottom of the descent. We'd walked 5.5 hours by this point and I'd promised Rob coffee, but they were closed until 13:30. A little dejected, we walked away and across the bridge.
Nasty Climb!
What goes down, must go up...in walking terms, unfortunately. The climb up was sun exposed, long and very steep. My hat was so sweaty and dirty, even Rob suggested I clean it! I washed it all before I left! I may wash it in Santiago when we have a rest day. It will need time to dry. Until then...
Anyway, back to the climb! Did I say it was hot, steep and that it sucked? 
The trail hasn't been used very much in parts and we got stung by something green on the way through.
Once we left the valley we continued to climb.
It was also stunningly beautiful when we stopped to suck in as much oxygen as possible!
By the time we were out, we were both done! Three kms into town...
Only to find the hotel and town closed down for a holiday and festival. So we sat in a bar outside eating and drinking to rehydrate...the beers helped. The festival begins tonight after 23:00 and will run into the wee hours. I'm sure we will see lots of it!
I would be remiss not to say Happy Anniversary to my sweetie, Annemarie. It's the first time in 36 years we've missed one together! I hurried in to Cahors, France last year on the same day to meet her train and surprise her, but with still a long way to walk before reaching Santiago that won't happen this time. Besides, she is still at home and flying across tomorrow. Will see you Saturday afternoon and we will find a nice spot for dinner in Santiago! Safe travels! Here's some nice flowers for you! XX
Buen Camino!
Hi Geoff
ReplyDeleteOne of those days - hey. Some highs and some lows, literally and metaphorically. And still the peregrinos power onwards towards Santiago. We loved the humour of the mileage markers - why on earth would they have such a fancy marker at 100.3kms?? I recall something a bit like that on the Frances - maybe the joke is on the peregrinos. Despite the exacting nature of the path it did look like you walked through some stunning country. Thanks for sharing it. We'll have to look out for those hard and hot paths on the Portuguese. It's raining heavily here this morning, not so conducive for our morning training session but good practice for Galicia (not that you've had too much rain yet). Enjoy the festival if you are still awake and if you have crashed in bed before then, we hope it does;'t keep you awake. Happy anniversary to you and Annemarie.
Buen camino
Neil and Sarah
Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThe views must be a compensation--almost--for the holiday and the delay getting into your hostel. At least you found somewhere selling beer!
As Neil says, thanks for sharing your journey today. It looks spectacular.
¡Buen Camino!
Ken