Via de la Plata day 3: Castilblanco de los Arroyos to Almadén de la Plata, 29.4km

Due to the intimidating “very hard” categorization of today’s stage, and the anticipated hot day, most of the inhabitants of the albergue were up well before the crack of dawn in order to beat the heat. I was amongst them, partly because it was hard to sleep as the bright emergency evacuation lights were permanently on, and I’ve long since discarded my Air France first class issue eye mask.

Walking in the dark wasn’t a problem as the first 16 km were on a reasonably quiet road, but leaving town before any of the cafes opened really cranked up the penance value of today’s stage. After 3 hours of road walking, the route went through more dehesa, mostly cork trees and pines, until a short but brutally steep ascent to the Cerro del Calvario, which gave a magnificent view over the entire Finca de Berrocal estate that we’d just walked through.

The town of Almadén nestles under the hill, and derives its name from the Arabic word for mine combined with the Spanish for silver. There are also nearby caves with Neolithic paintings, but upon arrival I was less interested in ancient drawings and more focused on finding a cafe con leche and tostada for breakfast!