Finally met our first pilgrim!

This is Fay 10 for us and we have met no other pilgrims.......until tonight!

What a day!

We left the convent.......yes, we slept in a convent.....at 8 and ambled to the bar that served breakfast before 9. Toast, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. What a treat. Within 15 minutes we had reached the canal and had a lovely walk. 

The canal (above) and the path beside it (below). 

After 12km, we were looking forward to the “friendly bar”. I had visions of café con leche, tortilla, etc. It wasn’t open!!!! So we sat in the sun and had a mandarina and some chocolate. And then another 9km along a little used asphalt road. Sounds awful, I know, but I would take that over the sand any day. We didn’t have to look at our feet and we amused ourselves for the next two hours by counting cars. 

Two trucks and two cars going in our direction and one car coming towards us. 

We’re now in a bar/restaurant, resting our feet and legs (boots off) and having something to eat. 

It’s 14C and will continue to climb to 16C over the next hour or so. We have our backs to the sun and since I lost my visor in Segovia, I’ve had to fashion my buff to cover my head. My hair comes out looking like a cross between a mohawk and something dreadful ;-)

Tapas for dinner

Four of the last five nights, we’ve had tapas for dinner. Either the only restaurant in town was closed or restaurants didn’t open until 10 and I’m asleep by then. We know that once we are on the Camino Francés there will pilgrim meals (10-12€) served at 8:30, but for now, we are enjoying some great tapas and fabulous wine. We are in the Duero region and boy is the crianza ever smooth and full. One glass with tapas is great. We usually try and have some yogurt after. We buy them in packs of four.....2 for after dinner and 2 for breakfast. 

We’ve left the pine trees behind and are now on the meseta. The road surfaces have been sand, pressed dirt with rocks and stones artfully thrown about and Roman roads, none easy. We are now living a few metres of asphalt when it comes up. 

Gotta hit the road! It’s 2C and 8:30 am

Food on this camino

Les and I have found food hard to come by here. Last night there were no restaurants in Coco...the one recommended was closed due to a death in the family. We walked across the street to a bar and they had fabulous tapas, so we made a dinner of them and a glass of wine. First time I’ve had pulpo tapas. Delish. 

So we planned to leave at 8 and finally left at 8:23 (according to Les). 

We walked down to cross a tributary of the river we had followed yesterday and then up again to enjoy the sunrise. 

As we approached the town of Villeguillo for a café con leche, we heard a truck coming so pulled to one side. The driver opened his window, leaned down to Les and gave him four huge carrots. From where I was standing they looked like sausages. 

The truck is in the distance, the only vehicle in over an hour. 

As we were leaving the bar, we noticed a truck parked in front.....a travelling grocery store. 

This guy goes from town to town on a schedule. He was delighted to have his picture taken. 

We are now in Alcarzarén. No restaurants, four bars, a church of Santiago and an albergue. We are the sole occupants. There is a kitchen: microwave, fridge, no utensils, plates or glasses, so not much use. The bartender around the corner gave us a lovely platter of jamón y queso y chorizo, made us small bocadillos for tomorrow and then threw in a gift of the cookies of the region. 

We will start tomorrow at 8, so we can at least see, and will have to walk 15km for our first coffee, do have yogurt, fruit and the bocadillos to keep us going. And of course, chocolate. 

Two days of pine forests & sun

Since Santa Maria la Real de Nieva, we have walked 25km per day through pine forests. Lovely to be a part of this but the path is mainly sand which makes the walking a bit arduous. Also, the trees are not tapped for their sap, like maples, but the bark is scraped off and a small bucket is affixed to collect. Like rings of a tree, we can see the different years that the tree made its donations. 

The trees reminded me of that painting by Munch, The Scream   

We were blown away by the castle in Coco and had the energy to spend time walking around. It’s a 15th century Gothic-Mudéjar red brink castle of crenellated towers and turrets around double square walls. It was built by the Moors before they were kicked out in 1492. 

And it is now a college and we could hear students playing ping pong.  What a place to study!

Communication frustration

This is a very different camino and you need to be able to have access to a phone to call the contact posted on an albergue door to get the keys. This was the case even in Segovia in the small pénsion. 

So in Canada, I loaded my Lebara SIM that I had used in May/June in France after checking with them twice that it would work in Spain. Well, the data works fine, but the phone doesn’t. I can receive calls and texts free! And from France, I can all call over Europe. Big deal. So, over the last few days I’ve been back and forth with them a number of time and last night they actually called me to sort out the problem. I asked that they just give me all data and no phone, because on our way out of Segovia we had picked up a SIM card for Les’ old Samsung phone. 

We had walked into this little phone shop with a young Asian (we think Chinese) who spoke Spanish very well, but no English. He showed us the various SIM cards so we picked the one that was just phone calls for 10€. We tested it 30 minutes later,at the bus stop, and called Lynn in the UK. Perfect! We felt like we were geniuses. And at the small village later that day, we dialled the number posted on the albergue door and received the message that we needed to load more money onto the SIM card! The guy in Segovia had put in the wrong card so we had 10€ of data and 1€ go phone calls, and we used enough of that up calling the UK that there were not enough funds left for a second call. 

So, yesterday, after our coffee in Nava de Asunción, we passed a phone store and asked the guy to add 5€ for phone calls only. It took 20 seconds for him to do this. 

And last night, Les called my phone and guess what? He now has 15€ of data and still no phone access. So we are travelling data heavy (and Les has no access to his email from the phone so it is of little use.) and still no ability to make a call. 

But this is a first world problem. We’ll see if we can get it sorted at the next larger centre, perhaps today in Alcazarén. Don’t you just love the names of the towns?

By the time we reach the Camino Francés we won’t need to call ahead so I winder if it’s all worth it. 

Segovia with pics

Les’ travel arrangements for taxi and the train to Segovia worked. We still had lots of energy to enjoy the beautiful city. On the way to the pensión, I stopped at a bank for cash, and then another and another. Five banks altogether rejected my bank card. I had only 60€ and Spain is a cash country. We asked at the info centre if there was any reason. They couldn’t think of one but did tell us that the next day was a fiesta day and all the banks would be closed if we wanted to ask a bank we had five minutes to do so as they were all closing st 2pm. We stood in line behind a few people who were being served by a woman who looked seriously sugar low. When it was our turn she looked at my card and said “it’s the Royal Bank!”  She has no clue so out we went. A few hours later Les tried a bank that we had never heard of and that charged us 4.50€ for the transaction but we were well past the point of caring. We are now in the money!!

And these are Les’ comments on the day which he wrote the next day. 

Last evening watching the sun go down before the food arrived. Mary was really hungry but it was amazing what a glass of really good wine can do to reduce the effects of low blood sugar.
We are now in a very small place called Sta Maria la Real de Nievo in a 6 bed albergue. We have still yet to see another pilgrim. We actually took a bus from Segovia...35 minutes rather than 7+ hours of walking. It is hot at 26 degrees in the shade and there is no shade and no services so we had no problem spending 2.60 Euros for the bus ride. The albergue is a renovated old barn where migrant farm workers used to sleep at harvest time. Quite nice but no hot water because there is a problem at present with the system and they have been waiting for three days for the electrician to fix it....ah, small village in Spain....but at 5€ a night who are we to complain. It has a small kitchen and bathroom with shower.....but the latter will not be used by us.

We are off to the one local store and then to the one (of two) bars that has wifi. 

Tomorrow we have about a 25km hike and we will start early to get some distance in before it gets into the mid to high 20’s (in the shade).

Segovia

Les’ travel arrangements for taxi and the train to Segovia worked. We still had lots of energy to enjoy the beautiful city. On the way to the pensión, I stopped at a bank for cash, and then another and another. Five banks altogether rejected my bank card. I had only 60€ and Spain is a cash country. We asked at the info centre if there was any reason. They couldn’t think of one but did tell us that the next day was a fiesta day and all the banks would be closed if we wanted to ask a bank we had five minutes to do so as they were all closing st 2pm. We stood in line behind a few people who were being served by a woman who looked seriously sugar low. When it was our turn she looked at my card and said “it’s the Royal Bank!”  She has no clue so out we went. A few hours later Les tried a bank that we had never heard of and that charged us 4.50€ for the transaction but we were well past the point of caring. We are now in the money!!

And these are Les’ comments on the day which he wrote the next day. 

Last evening watching the sun go down before the food arrived. Mary was really hungry but it was amazing what a glass of really good wine can do to reduce the effects of low blood sugar.
We are now in a very small place called Sta Maria la Real de Nievo in a 6 bed albergue. We have still yet to see another pilgrim. We actually took a bus from Segovia...35 minutes rather than 7+ hours of walking. It is hot at 26 degrees in the shade and there is no shade and no services so we had no problem spending 2.60 Euros for the bus ride. The albergue is a renovated old barn where migrant farm workers used to sleep at harvest time. Quite nice but no hot water because there is a problem at present with the system and they have been waiting for three days for the electrician to fix it....ah, small village in Spain....but at 5€ a night who are we to complain. It has a small kitchen and bathroom with shower.....but the latter will not be used by us.

We are off to the one local store and then to the one (of two) bars that has wifi. 

Tomorrow we have about a 25km hike and we will start early to get some distance in before it gets into the mid to high 20’s (in the shade).

Executive decision time

We arrived at the albergue in Mataelpino about 4 pm 

There is wifi through the small community but it doesn’t really work. Our accommodation was lovely. 8€ (senior’s price) got us this:

Clean cotton sheets and pillow cases. 

We bought food at the little food store and used the microwave. A small, but satisfying dinner. 

Before we went to bed we tried to sort out all the various ways to get to Cercedilla (12km) by 11am for a train to Segovia. Taxi seems the answer. So it’s now 9am, we’ve had our breakfast at the bar and we are waiting for our taxi. The owner of the bar had to make three phone calls to secure a taxi. The first call said they could not come until tomorrow. 

The reason for all this non foot transport? We want rested legs to walk around Segovia. 

This route kind of reminds me of the Camino del Norte ten years ago. Not alot of pilgrims and the locals are not quite sure why we are walking through their towns. We did get a few “buen caminos” yesterday, from folks out walking, and one woman actually stopped her car on a bridge, leaned over to roll down the passenger window to yell her greeting. A good feeling. 

Finally, in the hot dry sun

Our walk was only 12km to Colmenar Viejo but took us about four hours. We were both dragging during the last hour as it was about 23c and we were expecting lower temperatures. Our water lasted, and we found the Hostal el Chiscon. 

BTW, I didn’t bother to bring a hat but managed to cover my head by tucking my handkerchief (used for 101 other things) into my visor. 

Our room was lovely, had a large bathroom with a tub and lots of towels and a special pilgrim price of 48€ for both, breakfast included. 

This morning we left when it was light, around 8:30am. Streetlights were still on but we could see clearly. A wonderful day of walking. Beautiful scenery....

Leaving town....8:40am

Most of our route was this with a lot of up and down over granite rocks and boulders. On the flats were cattle ranches. Very cowboy country here. 

A very kind farmer painted his fence with an arrow. 

Behind us, we could still see some of the very tall buildings in Madrid, some 45km away. 

And then it got hot!!!

A warm Korean welcome

After a uneventful flight from Liverpool to Madrid, we found the train to Chamartin and then walked the 30 minutes to the Korean albergue. It’s situated in a nice neighbourhood and we were welcomed by four Korean women: two who had just recently finished the Camino del Norte and another who walked the Camino Francés in August and said it was very crowded. The fourth has a job in Madrid but comes to the albergue to volunteer as a quasi hospitalera. As we sorted ourselves out in our own private room one woman offered us persimmon slices. So tasty. 

Dinner was tapas and wine in the bar downstairs. We’re still having trouble sleeping so didn’t want a lot of anything. 

This morning as we were leaving, I saw some hiking poles by the door and asked if they had been left behind. One of the women who just finished the Norte route gave me her set! I told her I felt so lucky to have them. Then a pair was found for Les. After hugs, we left to get new tips for the poles and a visit to the church of Santiago for a sello. And on the way we saw this

following this, walking down the Calle Mayor which likely used to be an old Grover’s trail, so it needs to be used once a year to keep it’s status as a trail even though it’s now a Main Street. 

And only in Spain would something like this be followed immediately by 5 emergency trucks using their hoses and disinfectants to clean the street. 

Our first yellow arrow

We’ve had two days “training”.  Yesterday we had a lovely walk, 11km, no pack, through a wooded area, past ponds with swans and a visit to “The Dream”, an art installation done by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, in 2009. It seems to be in the middle of nowhere but the M62 goes right by, so 35 million people a year can enjoy this. 

Some of our path and our first yellow arrow. 

Nuclear station soon to be decommissioned. 

Today, we walked 18km, with a pack, along the canal, the first industrial canal in England. There are no barges in the piece we walked as bits had been filled in (neglected?) and bushes and bulrushes had grown. 

A young swan who appeared almost dead when we approached and the young woman who was trying to alert a ranger to help it. It perked up as we left, so don’t know its fate. 

The “9 arches”, now a railway bridge. 

A family of swans came rushing over as we walked closer as they are regularly fed bread by people, so assumed we had their next meal. 

The view from our table at a pub where we stopped for coffee just after 11am. By then we had walked 2 hours or so. It looked like rain so I changed from puffy jacket to gortex coat. On the way back to the house, we stopped at in town to have a look around, then stopped at Tesco for ingredients to make ice cream. As we left Tesco, Les thought he’d try on his rain pants. It was only spitting out so it was an experiment to see if he could get them on over his boots. I watched, but kept my rain pants in my pack. We headed off with another 30 minutes to walked and it poured!! We arrived back soaking, but dry where the gortex was. Unfortunately my pants are soaked. They are my only pair so I’m trying to dry them with a hairdryer. The gas to the house is off......long story, so I may be going to dinner in tights. Fetching I’m sure. 

Three gas trucks trying to solve the problem. 

Good thing it’s not going to rain in Spain!