A pleasant morning walking initially up a shallow valley beside a disused railway. Bug I’m glad I didn’t walk it on a rainy day as there were mud holes that could hide a peregrino. When the railway veered right, the path veered left and gently climbed a ridge through large areas of cropping land (it’s amazing the difference a bit of irrigation makes!)
Once over the ridge the soil quality clearly changed, as big agriculture was replaced by small agriculture, and numerous vineyards in which harvesting was in full swing. I took a minor detour into the only village along the stage that possessed a bar, but it was closed as the owner was on vacation. At this rate I’ll develop caffeine withdrawal symptoms!
Zamora was visible from the trail way earlier than expected, and being able to see the town when there were still 12 km to go was an unwanted upgrade to the usual “the last 5 km are always hard”. The historic Roman bridge into the old town is closed for extensive renovations, so another detour was required, although this one was quite pleasant as it was along a footpath beside the Douro River. If one had an inner tube you could float all the way down to Porto!
Zamora looks like a great city to explore for a day. It has a compact (and mostly vehicle-free) old town, and has the largest collection (23) of Romanesque churches anywhere in Europe. It’s probably only a matter of time before the city gets UNESCO status.
2saunter 