I knew I had a leisurely walk for today – to reach the last of my reserved accommodation. My feet are doing well and my confidence is increasing, so tomorrow I might just wing it and walk further. My only concern is if temperatures go much above 30°C. I see those temps in the forecast for today and tomorrow but hopefully a drop to 19° on Monday!

Today I am still on a non-Camino route but walking a tourist path between Orellán and Las Médulas. It was steep but pleasant up to the Mirador de Orellán. Very dramatic views of the hillsides that the Romans blasted away with clever hydraulics, to extract gold. See some photos and description further down the page.

Then I walked down to the village of Las Medulas, through pleasant chestnut groves. Knees got a bit wobbly by the bottom.

It is no longer allowed to enter La Cuevona, below, due to the falling rock hazard (duh!) so M can be satisfied that she saw it in 2016.

I am staying in another fancy place (Complejo Agoga – very nice) and eating another menú del día.

¿Dónde está Abuela? (Where’s Grandma?)

(My grandchildren have learned from Encanto that Abuela is Grandma. So here is a call-out I’ll try to continue.)

I went into a 2000 year old tunnel of the gold mine on a hillside. I needed to use my little flash light to guide my footing since it was very dark (even with installed lights) and I was alone. Next time, I should remember to take a selfie!

You can see in the photo below, a little balcony outlined in blue. I went into another entrance to the tunnel that came out to the balcony.