Via de la Plata - 2014

Autumn crocuses frequently covered the Camino Today was the day we feared most as estimates of the distance varied from 27km to 30km and we were to climb to the highest point of the Via de la Plata. We weren't sure that we were up to it and thought perhaps we could get a taxi to take us part of the way or to collect us for the final six or seven kilometres. We believed we had found the perfect insurance policy two nights ago when we were told that one of the albergues here in San Pedro would come and collect us if the final kilometres were too much for us. We made a careful note of the telephone number. Last night our plans fell apart when we learned that the albergue providing the service had closed for painting – we took that to mean that it was being fumigated for bed bugs. That was a set back and in the end we decided to go for it. The fall back would be to thumb a lift as we were going to be on or near a road for the final 10km and more. Mary on Pico de la Dueñ...

Pauline and Mary in Salamanca Pauline lost a filling the other day and as a result her tongue became so sore that she was hardly eating. Of course, these things happen at weekends or in villages where the pharmacy only opens on a couple of days during the week. We decided last night that Pauline should take the morning bus into Salamanca and seek help. Within an hour of arriving there she collected something from a pharmacist to treat her tongue and a dentist had dealt with her tooth. After that she was able to eat breakfast and is now feeling much better. Halfway Meanwhile Mary and I were making our way to Salamanca on foot. It was a cool  and misty morning and for the second successive day fleeces were required for the first couple of hours. It was a relatively easy walk into Salamanca, much of it downhill, but was also frustrating. With 12km and 3.5 hours behind us we had a great view of the city and our immediate reaction was "nearly there". We quickly real...

Plaza Mayor On Tuesday we had a relaxing day sightseeing in Salamanca. One day isn't really sufficient. We did find time to visit a Capuchin church, the Plaza Mayor, the library, the Pontifical University (originally a Jesuit building until they were expelled from Spain), El Convento San Esteban (a major Dominican church) and the old university. All of these were impressive old buildings. Even older was the Roman Bridge and the old Cathedral, dating from the 13th century. The old Cathedral is attached to the new Cathedral (16th century) which is probably the highlight of the city. We climbed to the top of the towers in the Pontifical University and when we had finished our sightseeing I said I would go and climb the stairs in the Cathedral tower. I had to climb a short hill to reach the Cathedral and when I arrived my legs told me I had done enough climbing for one day and so I joined Pauline and Mary in the Plaza Mayor for coffee. At one stage during the day Pauline o...

You never know what is round the next corner We are once again walking on our own as we said goodbye to Mary Power this morning. She had already walked from Seville to Merida and on this occasion was walking from Merida to Salamanca. Next May she will be back to do another stretch or perhaps go all the way to Santiago. We'll miss her company and will have to revert to talking about the neighbours! We were anticipating a 15km day, three times round the quarry, so we were able to attend the 8:30am Mass in the Real Colegio Escoceses and have breakfast with Mary before her taxi arrived. We left at the same time and were on the road, mostly uphill, for more than 30 minutes before we were out of the city. It was an uneventful walk, on a cool overcast morning, although we did pass an old plane on the way, it was stationary of course. We also went through two villages. We sat on a bench for a snack at the first and had a bocadillo for lunch in a bar at the second. I was spea...

Downtown in El Cubo de Tierro del Vino Today was an uneventful day and nearing the albergue I was wondering what I would write about, but a short time later that changed. We were advised by the owner of last night's Hostal they we should stick to the road today as the Camino path was in poor shape. We assumed the problems were related to recent heavy rain and sure enough, at one stage when the path was near the road, a section of the Camino was badly flooded. We left the Hostal at 7:10am with 19km-20km ahead of us. Unlike the early weeks we had our fleeces on when starting out but today that was far from adequate. Pauline eventually put on her rain jacket as well. I stuck it out but even with a cloudless sky it remained on the cool side, with a northeasterly breeze getting the better of the sun. The nearest thing we had to excitement along the way was the proximity of a large modern prison in the middle of nowhere. Vanessa and Matthew, who are now way ahead, st...

Early in the day It was another of those days when it was going to be either 13km or 30km and of course we try not to exceed 20km. That meant a leisurely start, with breakfast and no need for torches. We were on the road at about 8:10am and had travelled about 500 metres before I remembered to start "My Tracks" to record our progress. Again the morning was cold, 10C, and we were both wearing fleeces and rain jackets. The sun failed to burn off the mist until late morning and the rain jackets remained in place for almost the entire journey. We were back on the path which is so much better than the road and usually has much more to see. First we had a chat with a Dutchman out walking his dog, later we said "Hola" to a man feeding his horses and passed by two groups of grape pickers. The countryside was varied for such a short distance. We started alongside a disused railway track set among trees and bushes. That was on our right, while on our left were f...

Dinner in the Zamora albergue - hospitaleras Marie and Serenella are seated beyond Pauline It was a little disquieting to be sharing a room with two men who were not on the Camino but they seemed decent enough and we had a good night's sleep. We decided the two Romanians were in the area for the grape harvest - two sets of secateurs were left on the kitchen worktop. We also decided that the owners of the local restaurant (Bar Via de la Plata), who also owned the albergue, had their own vineyard and that the men were working for them. The wine bottles in the restaurant carried the Bar Via de la Plata label. Although we didn't have a long day we were on our way shortly after 7:00am as we wanted to have time to do some sightseeing in Zamora. We were going well on another cold morning until I managed to misinterpret a map. We turned right, as directed by the yellow arrows, shortly before the village of San Marcial which is not on the Camino. We were now heading east and th...

Arriving in Montamarta - too late for Sunday Mass which has just finished Breakfast was prepared for 7:00am by the two volunteer hospitaleras, Marie and Serenella, but it still took me until 7.50am to get out the door. The breakfast was necessary as we had been too busy sightseeing the previous day to find a supermercado, which doesn't have to be super to carry the title . We would refer to some of them as corner shops. It was considerably warmer this morning than on previous mornings. Rain jackets were not required and the fleeces came off before 10:00am. On the way out of Zamora we saw more impressive buildings which we failed to visit yesterday. We faced a gentle uphill climb until we left the city and after that it was up and down for much of the way although none of hills presented a problem. A number of peregrinos were leaving the albergue around the same time so we weren't entirely alone in the early part of the journey. Later, Andrea from Italy caught up w...