The idea was to have a short day into Monforte, so we could do sightseeing in the town. The walk was pastoral and pleasant. Laurie had some errands to do and I had to figure out my travel plans. She was in a fancy hotel while I was at the Santa Clara, which was entirely…
Today was a day of reckoning. I have not been enjoying the walking very much in the last few days, which rather defeats the purpose. I think I am coming down with a cold (my first in 4 years), and find myself out of breath on minor hills. I feel chilled. My shin splints are…
I was hoping to walk this whole stage since last time (2022) I took the train for the first 10 km. However, it seems that I am not more energetic this year than last. So, 7:09 train it was, arriving a few minutes later at the atmospheric and largely abandoned (although I saw at least…
I was a bit concerned about my feet, so chose to walk the shortest route for this stage, forgoing the more scenic waterfalls that Laurie checked out on the other side of the river. Yesterday my problematic foot began to feel quite bruised on the bottom, so I switched to my newer shoes halfway through…
Just some photos now
Sorry, but no time to write much, or search through photos. I had lots of thoughts while walking and should probably learn to dictate them, but I haven’t, so you are spared. It was a very pleasant walk to the luxurious albergue in Villavieja. Five of us – from Canada, Australia and Spain – spent…
As Laurie described it, today we are repositioning to Ponferrada. There, we will separate for a few days at least. She will zip around to explore some new sidetrips and monasteries, and I will attempt to walk the standard Invierno route. I did it in 2022, but found it a bit unsatisfying, maybe partly because…
This is a fairly short stage. We are already into the greater Seville area, so had to navigate the commuter transportation networks out of town. At one point, we found ourselves wandering among some uncertain paths. But our first view of Sevilla made it clear that we couldn’t really go wrong. With a population of…
We left at 7:00 am since Laurie had a long day ahead. Saw the moon go down, and the sun come up. The track for the morning was a bit like walking across Saskatchewan, not that I’ve ever done that. A lot of wheat fields, some oat (maybe – my guess), sunflowers at various stages.…
Today’s walk was extremely scenic. I find that anything over 25 km is too long for me. There isn’t time to rest or dawdle en route, which I like to do. I can’t get to the destination in time for a decent mid-day meal. Furthermore, I am exhausted. Laurie and I start out together but…
This was a day mainly along a Vía Verde – a railway route (apparently never used as such) converted to hiking, biking, etc. There was no actual train track, but we went through 20+ tunnels. Some were lit, but even so, it was hard to see and balance in the dark after entering from bright…
A reasonable distance, cooler weather, nice variety of walking, another hilltop village with castle to visit, and a Michelin listed restaurant. All in all, a very good day! First, some agricultural highlights… Olvera was a nice town… Hostal Medina… The very delicious meal…
Seeing Clarely 