We have departed from the traditional Lana route for two days  to take a side route to Siguenza. This is a popular hiking trail, marked very well by associations for 4 different routes.  It  follows the Rio Dulce through green forest, babbling brooks,  dewy grass,  chirping birds, and vultures high in the canyon. What more…

Just as we were settling down in our sleeping bags last night, there was a banging at the albergue door.  Two young Spanish cyclists had arrived and were looking for a place to sleep. Since we were occupying the one bedroom, which had 2 sets of bunks (4 beds) plus a stack of 8 mattresses,…

We got up to a foggy morning, but it soon burned off. It was a great day walking. The first major stop was Trillo, a touristy place for hikes to Las Tetas, and an extensive mountain biking park, as well as temporary workers at tge nuclear plant. We sat for quite a while at an…

Today involved about 10 km on clay! It wasn’t really wet, but still caked on shoes. I found it VERY tiring and was exhausted in the first half of the day. I didn’t find the day very interesting. We elected not to crawl under the illegal fence blocking the path through Villaescusa de Palositos, so…

Today was a very satisfying day – some beautiful and varied terrain, a river crossing requiring removal of shoes. We had been warned that it might be very slippery, but it wasn’t. Then about 6 km along a highway but traffic was minimal. Made it to Valdeolivas in the nick of time when a baptism…

Started out wearing rain gear and trudged into a muddy/clayey area, which fortunately didn’t last too long. Those of you who have encountered this sticky Spanish clay will know what a pain it is to walk in. The weather has been surprisingly cool at times, warming in the afternoons only to the high teens or…

Today’s stage was to be 30 km. However, we had an 11 a.m. reservation for a tour at Noheda, 20 km from Cuenca. That meant walking  about 5 hours BEFORE 11 a.m. I will leave the math to you, but suffice to say, I elected to get taxi assistance. The indomitable Laurie got up at…

For starters, if you want to learn about the city of Cuenca, I recommend Google or Wikipedia, but make sure you get Cuenca in Spain, not in Ecuador. I will not be giving you any information! We had a lazy day. Started late, glanced at the cathedral,looked over the ravines. The zip line was closed,…