Camino 2016: Via de La Plata Day 22 - Benevente to Alija del Infantado

Tuesday April 19, 2016
Another rain day.
But first an addition to yesterday's blog. We went to the church at 7:00pm for the service and found we were the only ones sitting in the pews. The priest was there setting up so I went and asked him when the Mass was and he told me it was at 7:30pm. We were all hungry and decided we would not wait for the mass but go and get some dinner. Then we went back to our station albergue where we found one more peregrino had arrived.
He (Lucas) is a 19 year old from London who is taking a gap year between high school and college. He will start at Durham University in September. I also found out that he is a rower and even rowed in the world? Junior? Championships in Rio two years ago so we had much in common. He was in a bunk in the same room as me.
Now to today. I left the station at about 7:45 and found it raining when I got outside so on with the poncho. At least it is now not so cold as well as wet. I thought I had memorized the map of the way out of town and left the map itself for Lucas who was slow getting up and would be the last to leave the station. I got on the wrong road and even asking people didn't help since they all said it was correct. When I saw the bull ring I knew for certain I was on the wrong road so I headed all the way back into the city to start again, since my guide book gave directions from there. That worked but it was difficult to follow the guide book in pouring rain without an umbrella. I think I wasted about 45 mins but finally I was on the right road, the Carretera Manganeses.
Most of it involved walking along the edge of the highway which is not very pleasant, especially when it is raining and you get splashed by the traffic even if there wasn't much. Then across the road and up a hill on an unpaved path. Not as bad as it might have been but still wet with puddles and some mud.
Then back on a paved road for rest of the 25km I walked today. Somehow walking today was more difficult than previous days. I think because so much of it was on asphalt and also because there was no place to take a break or sit because the cafes I passed were closed and the grass etc. was all soaking wet.

Although I started out before Mike and Ruth I got behind while I was trying to find the right road out of town. They had stopped for a while in one of the villages on a bench in a bus shelter (everything else closed).

In that village I also saw a building with the same mud and straw construction which was a private house so I was wrong about these materials not being used in the last 200 years

Here is the front of the house faced with brick a brick facade

Later as we approached Alija del Infantado there were these strange places built into the hillside. They are not "Hobbit Houses" but bodegas where wine is processed and stored. They are even used for parties because they are warm in winter and cool in the hot summer. The chimneys sticking out of the top are for ventilation

Then we came to a medieval bridge over the Orbigo River. The water was rushing past as the river is in full flood after all the recent rain. It was well over its banks.

Not many photos today because of the rain and a rather tedious walk mostly along the side of roads. The albergue here is in a wing of a nursing home with 2 rooms, each with three bunks (6 beds), a kitchen area and a toilet. Each of the bedrooms has a shower in it. Tonight we are once again the same 4 people : Mike, Kathy, Lucas and I. Two in each bedroom. No snorers again.

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