Not too many highlights today. The first 12 km were on the “via verde”, which while it wasn’t the official route, it was more pleasant than road walking to get back on the official route. The via Verde is an old railway line that’s been given a second life as a cycle (and pedestrian) path. It goes all the way to Salamanca, but it’s hard to figure out where it starts! For us it was a gradual climb to the first town, although it can be taken all the way to the pass (puerto) albeit with an increase in the amount of kms walked!
I took the official route, which was primarily on the old N630 highway until the town below the pass, and then it was a short, sharp climb on the restored Roman road. This last section was done on the double, as rain was beginning to fall and I didn’t want to go into full wet weather mode.
Tonight’s albergue is awesome. A “donativo” currently run by two volunteers from Barcelona. The local person who manages it was also here – I think to get the heating working – and he is a very funny outgoing character, who ignores language barriers and makes everybody welcome. There are 7 peregrinos stating, and we are thankful for the heating, as it’s gone cold all of a sudden (although we are now at 880m, so the altitude has an effect on the temperature. There’s even a ski area about 10km away as the crow flies, although I suspect their season is quite short!
The hospitalers cooked dinner – a hearty soup was most welcome – and there was the usual hilarity and arm waving when trying to communicate across language divides!
2saunter 