Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - Day 5 - Aljucén to Alcuéscar

Slept well despite the Albergue being full with 14 beds in the room. If anyone snored I didn't hear them. Breakfast was offered in the Albergue as there no open bars when people leave in the early morning in this town and it was a good breakfast with plenty of coffee and toast, croissants etc.

I left the Albergue at about 7:30 while it was still dark but it was soon light and the path out of town was easy to follow. Soon I was in the Cornalvo National Park and on paths similar to yesterday's. It is beautiful place with only the noise of the birds and the cattle and sheep. I even heard the cuckoo for the first time on this trip so I know that spring has arrived.

 

 

Soon it was sunrise and the landscape changed as the sun rose. I don't see many beautiful sunrises like this so it was a treat.

 

Even the signage was different in the National Park, but easy to follow.

 

This was a strange sign that I couldn't figure out. Someone told me that the Via Pecuaria was an old road used for driving cattle and perhaps the monkey was drawn in later by some joker.

 

 

After leaving the park there were several cars parked near the road and I think they were people either camping or hiking in the area. It was a Saturday and although I saw some arriving I didn't see anyone out of their cars. It is a beautiful area so would be a nice place for a day or a weekend.

The road was hilly and on the hills the trail was washed out with gullies on the steep parts. No pictures I am afraid as they don't show much. Overall we were climbing all day.

Then the trail changed with some houses on each side. The signage also became confusing with yellow arrows pointing in different directions. I think the local people are trying to get pilgrims to stay there. However I tried to follow the guide book to find what I hoped would be the best way to the only Albergue mentioned in the guide and I think I got it right. The Albergue mentioned is in an old monastery and was described in a way that made it sound very primitive. As I was coming to the place where I would turn left for the Albergue I met some people walking a dog who asked me where I was headed. I told them and they told me that a new Albergue had just opened and said it was very nice and recommended that I try it. I followed their advice and was soon there.

I have a room to myself and it turns out that I am the first peregrino to check in there! Very welcoming and they will also cook a meal for tonight. Very convenient. I went through my usual routine on arrival of shower, wash clothes, hang out to dry and then look for somewhere for a sandwich for lunch and supplies for the next day. Since today is Saturday and the shops close at 3:00 pm and are closed on Sundays I made sure I had what I needed for tomorrow.

In the meantime 4 more people have arrived, all of them from the Albergue we stayed at last night so it is a friendly group.

 

No wifi here and I was unsuccessful at the bar I went to for lunch. It was so full of people and noisy as a soccer game was on that I could barely get to the bar to order and the wifi password they wrote down for me did not work. Later I found out why the bars were so full and noisy: Real Madrid are playing Barcelona today!

I walked round the town a bit in the afternoon. Quite a pretty little town built on the side of a hill with steep narrow streets and the houses mostly in rows. Seemed to be well maintained with the houses niceley painted and the streets clean with very little litter. The church is 16th century but it was closed with no sign of any activity.

 

Later I went out again and found another bar, quieter, and was able to get on line and upload at least some of the next blog but sending it will have to wait until tomorrow probably.

When I got back to the albergue it was almost time for dinner cooked by the volunteer hospitaleiros. There were 5 peregrinos and the 2 hospitaleiros Nd we all sat down together. They had made a nice dinner with excellent carrot and pumpkin soup followed by ham with vegetables and boiled potatoes. Dessert was fresh fruit salad with strawberries, kiwi etc. they had got all the ingredients at the market which is held every Friday. Today was Saturday. No pictures I am afraid.

Soon it was time for bed and in my single room I slept very well despite it being very cold everywhere. I had my good sleeping bag and nice blanket over it.

Oh I nearly forgot to say that today's stage was 20 km

Good night. I will try and post this tomorrow.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - Day 4 - On the Way again. Mérida to Aljućen

I slept quite well but it was cold and I had to take the blanket from the other half of the double bed to cover me and then I was fine. I set the alarm for 7:00 and took a shower, packed up and headed out. I wanted to stop at a "tienda to get some fruit and water for the day but nothing opened until 9:00 and it was only 7:45 with dawn just breaking so I head out. I knew I would pass the old roman aqueduct on the way out of town and it is amazing to think that the structure is still standing after. More than 2,000 years.

Several pairs of storks had set up house on top of the structure. I counted 25 nests each with a stork on it but there could have been more.
I passed an open bar and had my standard Camino breakfast. Café con leche and tostadas. All for 2 euros.

The aqueduct carried water from a Roman reservoir about 5 miles away. Both the town of Mérida and the Proserpina. This is largest known Roman reservoir still in existence. The dam that was built is in the left in the picture.

It was very interesting as part of the dam wall had been excavated by archeologists and section could be seen from the lower side. The Camino trail went along one side which was very pretty.
We left the dam and reservoir and headed out north towards the little town of Aljucén. We walked through areas used for grazing cattle and pigs which were the type of landscape I saw from the train yesterday. Lots of trees and also large rocks that would make it difficult for any arable farming.

There were also spring wildflowers beside the trail.

Yesterday I said that I thought the trees looked like olive trees but my German guidebook says they are "steineichen" so perhaps someone can find out for me what they are called in English
I continued to follow the yellow arrows and signs showing the trail which sometimes were clear and some doubtful since the trail has been adjusted several times over the years. These show some of the differences.

At one point a man with a white horse appeared ahead of me but, unlike last year when I was with Christa I was not on the wrong path! See Christa blog from last year for the significance of this.

Continued on through hilly but pretty landscape, past a little village and arrived at the little town of Aljucén at about noon after 19.8 km, about 12.5 miles. Enough for day one of my journey. I found the Albergue, which seems to be comfortable, clean and friendly. I was the second one there but soon a few others hollowed checked. They have 15 beds and at the time of writing there are 9 of us here.

I went to the local "tienda" and got some fruit and a bottle of Aquarius (similar to Gatorade) for the trail tomorrow. And then found a place for a light lunch - bocadillo and beer with some olives and onions served for free.

I looked around the town but there is not much. Three bars/restaurants, the church (16th century but closed) and small houses some streets lined with orange trees but I think they are the bitter kind of the fruit. Very neat and clean and well maintained but clearly not a wealthy community.

An old well

Later we were invited to take a tour of the "museum". This was a collection of old tools etc. in a private house. Most I would call junk and it was all explained in Spanish. Not very interesting but it passed the time til dinner.

At about 7:30 six of us went to a local bar/restaurant for dinner. We were 2 Germans, 2 French, 1 Australian and 1 American with no universal languages. It was a fun evening with a nice soup followed by Spanish tortilla with salad and fish cakes and included wine. It was very good but we were all too full for a desert of flan.

Then back to the albergue and to bed.
Weather is as good as I could hope. Sunny, clear and temp in the upper 50's. Great hiking weather
Good night

Posted with Blogsy

Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - Days 2 & 3 - Lost and found

 

Well, let me first finish the rest of yesterday (March 30) since I didn't say anything about the hotel. There were about a dozen rooms on the 4th floor of an old apartment house with all the other floors occupied as residencies with a tiny convenience store next to the entry. There was also a very old elevator in the middle of a staircase that went around it. There were many similar looking old houses on narrow streets in this section of Madrid.

 

 

After finishing yesterday's blog I fell asleep but was woken in the middle of the night by strong winds whistling around the tall buildings. It was a storm without any rain but in the morning it was over but it had got much colder.

I got up at about 7:00 and after packing the few things I had with me I headed out to the station for the train to the airport which I reached at about 8:30. I had some difficulty finding to go to look for my luggage and was told to just go the wrong way back into the customs area and tell the police you are looking for delayed luggage. It was no problem and there was my backpack still going round on the carousel. I was able to take it and now I was where I had hoped to be at this time yesterday.

Happily I returned to the train station to wait for the train to Mérida which would be in a couple of hours hours. I put my backpack in a locker area and walked in town a bit and found some lunch. Atocha station is amazing but also confusing. Trains can come and go on at least 4 different levels, and there seem to be several different brands of the main rail company " renfe" each with its own ticketing office and machines scattered around. Confusing for some but an amazing transformation of a very old station and incredibly busy. The train service is also clean, fast punctual and not expensive. My 4.5 hour trip today will cost 22 euros or $25 for a senior, otherwise about $40 but still less than rail travel in US.

 

 

There is even a "tropical garden" in part of it surrounded by shops and small restaurants

 

The train ride was very interesting. Out of the city and into the flat dry area where olive trees and cattle grazing took up huge areas with occasional farms and mountains in the distance. Not easy to get a good picture from a fast moving train.

 

 

I had bought a sandwich before I got on the train because there was no food available otherwise and would arrive at 9:00pm. Serrano ham and brie with lettuce and tomato- delicious!

 

Later we came through some of the towns I will pass on my journey and the landscape had changed. Hilly with rivers and lakes. Really very pretty.

 

I hope the weather will be as nice when I pass these areas at a more leisurely pace.

The train had to wait a couple of times to let other trains through because much of the track was single line with trains using it in opposite directions but we arrived in Mérida pretty much on time. I walked to the hotel I had booked for the night and tomorrow the Camino proper begins. So please wish me well.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - Day 1 Travel to Spain

With all the excitement of Easter and the family visit I still had a list of things to do before I left for Spain.

Packing and making sure that I have what I think I'll need and that the total weight is not more than my target of 18 lbs is one of the final preparations.

On Tuesday March 29 it was off to the airport.

 

I decided to check my backpack since it was bigger than the limit for carry-on luggage but that proved to be a mistake. When it was getting close to time to board the flight first to Washington, then to Frankfurt, then to Madrid United Airlines announced that the flight was heavily overbooked and offered $500 to anyone willing to take an alternate flight. I could go on American Airlines with only one plane change in Philadelphia and arrive in Madrid about 4 hours earlier. I took their offer and all went well until my backpack did not arrive in Madrid. I filed a claim with American and was told there would not be another flight for it until the next day.

 

Since I can't start my journey without my gear I decided to stay in Madrid for a day and hope that the luggage arrives tomorrow. In the meantime I bought a low cost phone with a local SIM card for use here since the wifi is often not available or incredibly slow and I have promised Christa once again to try and blog each day.

I used the phone to look for a cheap hotel near the city center and found one which turned out to be fine. It is near the Prado museum with lots of little shops and restaurants nearby. After I had taken care of this I got a train to downtown and found the hotel. The shower felt good after a night on the plane but of course no change of clothes. The weather is perfect so after settling in and calling Christa I set off to the Prado Museum which is a huge building.

Artists had set up stands outside and were selling their artwork while someone played Spanish music on a guitar. It was very nice.

I spent about two hours in the museum and only saw part of it. It was sensory overload but well worth the visit even if my timing was unfortunate. There are hundreds of pictures of the crucifixion, many of them very gory and I could have done without that so soon after celebrating Easter.

By now I was ready for a bite to eat since I had not eaten anything since very early thi morning before the plane landed. I found an outdoor café and enjoyed a chorizo sandwich along with a beer.

Then back to the hotel and on the phone to try and find out where my luggage is. American were no help and said they had no information as to where it was. I then called United who were very good and told me which plane it was on to Philadelphia but had missed the connection and would be on a plane arriving in Madrid at 8:20 am tomorrow. So I will go to the airport again in the morning and see if I can track it down.

This is not what I had planned for Day 1 but it was overall a nice day once I got adjusted to the idea of a change of plan. Will have to see what tomorrow brings and whether I can get back on plan!

I found little friendly restaurant for dinner and had pulpo (squid) with rice and some wine - all very nice and friendly. Then back to the hotel and an early night.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - soon to begin

Having completed the 500 mile pilgrimage hike Camino Frances across Northern Spain in 2013, I set out in 2014 on the Camino Via de La Plata starting in the beautiful southern Spanish city of Seville. On day 3 of the pilgrimage journey I fell and broke my ankle, ending up in a hospital back in Seville.

I was so impressed and spiritually refreshed by the experience of walking long distances with just a few possessions on my back that my wife Christa elected to join me on a 2015 Camino. We chose a portion of the Camino Portuguese and it was a truly wonderful experience for both of us.

If you go to the above TAB "Links to each Camino" you can read about it.

 

Posted with Blogsy