Via de la Plata - 2014

I think we were being offered a bunch of grapes in the early morning or perhaps it was just a friendly "Buenos días" We shouldn't really be relaxing here in Almendralejo as it isn't on the Camino and doesn't even get a mention in some Camino guides. We decided we were not up to a 27km day and took a 3km detour to Hotel Espana, a fine town centre hotel which charges marginally less for one night than we would pay for two in an albergue. We left our albergue in Villafranca at 5:45am and made very good progress. We put that down to clear markings, a cool breeze, a lack of hills, and some cloud cover which kept the sun off our backs until near 10 o'clock. When we stopped for our 9 o'clock break we had already completed 11 kilometres, our best to date. That break was shorter than usual as we did not need to apply suncream  today. We witnessed a little bit of drama in the early darkness while walking on a dirt track. We both turned around when we...

We could see a tree in the distance that we would reach almost two hours later This morning I realised that we are entering into our second week of walking and now that today's stage has ended, we have walked approximately 125 kilometres. We had planned another relatively short day and, with virtually no climbing with which to contend, we gave ourselves an extra hour in bed. We left the hotel at 7 o'clock and had an uneventful walk. Coming out of Almendralejo we were passed by two male Italian pilgrims who were heading for Merida. They were then going home as that was as much as they had time for this year.   Today's walk was again mostly through vineyards, where the harvest was continuing. It was warmer than yesterday but not unbearably so. The road was long and straight and for the best part of two hours our goal was to reach a tall tree on the horizon.   We are now in a very old and attractive building which was restored a few years ago to become the local a...

The longest Roman Bridge leads to Merida We are getting good at this - 15km completed by 11:30am and now, five hours later, neither of us has taken to our bed. While the albergue we stayed in last night was very attractive and its menu del peregrino excellent, the area outside seemed to be a gathering place for the youth of the village who made a great deal of noise until around 1:00am. I slept through most of it but Pauline had a disturbed night. In the early morning darkness we must have missed a yellow arrow, as for the first five or six kilometres we were walking on the hard shoulder of a highway rather than on a nearby parallel pathway. For the next two or three kilometres the road was the Camino and after that we were back on a dusty pathway between vineyards. We started at 6:15am, Kevin started around 8:00am, and caught up with us just before 11:00am. By then he had completed almost 12km. Entering Merida we had to cross the longest bridge ever built by the Romans....

The aquaduct in Merida We really enjoyed our rest day in Merida. W e spent considerable time in the Roman Amphitheatre, the adjacent Roman Theatre and the nearby museum, an impressive modern building housing a remarkable collection of Roman artefacts. Later we were in the crypt of St Eulalia, looked at the Hippodrome through a fence and walked through Trajan's Arch. At night we were able to attend the vigil Mass at 8:30 in the mediaeval church beside our hotel. Afterwards we splashed out on a wonderful meal, eaten outdoors in the grounds of the hotel, separated by wrought iron railings from the hundreds of locals enjoying their Saturday night out. The extravagance, and the rest day, was accounted for by the fact that we were celebrating our 45 th   wedding anniversary. The Amphitheatre The  Theatre The Theatre Inside the museum - followed by three photographs of exhibits Celebrating 45 years of marriage Next:  Stage...

Pilgrims from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Ireland Today it was back to the early start to avoid the heat. About four of the first five kilometres were uphill but I find myself managing the hills better - still trailing Pauline though. Almost exactly six hours after leaving our hotel we were in this 12-bed albergue. Shortly before arriving we were caught in a short but heavy shower. A bush provide partial shelter but we were both quite wet - a short walk in the sun soon cured that. In the hours of darkness we had been watching the occasional lightning flash far to the north. Suddenly the Camino is getting crowded. Well, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. We were surprised to see another two pilgrims arrive at our hotel yesterday but didn't get the chance to speak to them until today when they stopped at the local restaurant. They are a Swiss couple, planning to walk from Merida to Salamanca on this occasion - they had previously walked from Seville to Merida. We a...

The albergue is the top floor of the home of a religious congregation who care for 75 people with special needs What seemed like something of a disaster at 8:00am we can view in the afternoon as a minor hiccup, now that our stomachs are again full and the day's walking is over. One guidebook suggested we had 21km to walk so we had our earliest start to date. We set off at 5:25am with two bocadillos to sustain us on a journey of over six hours. We also had two squares of chocolate and one boiled sweet. We limited ourselves to a drink of water at our 6:30 stop - of course we had plenty of water and could drink at any time.  At 7:15 we shared one of the squares of chocolate. The plan was to eat half a bocadillo each at 8 o'clock but when we removed the foil wrapping we discovered that they were crawling with ants. There was nothing for it but to abandon the two bocadillos. We should have stored them in the fridge overnight but we were planning a quick getaway without disturbin...

One of the many beautiful sunrises we experienced on the way The albergue we were staying in was on the top floor of the monastery residence and, as it was not due to open until 7:00am, we had an enforced lie-in – not that we were complaining, and not that we would consider getting up at 6:15 a lie-in if we were at home. Everyone but the three Spanish women and ourselves were ready to go before seven and the doors were open for them so we did not get the chance to say goodbye. We started downstairs at seven carrying two bocadillos which the ants were not going to enjoy. Today's itinerary was either going to be 16km or 26km. We opted for the former which meant that the latish start was not an issue. Until the heat of the sun became noticeable at around 9:30, it was an easy day's walking and we had completed almost 8km in the first two hours. We slowed down after that; to pick a few blackberries, to take pictures of Roman bridges and Milaria, and to shelter from the...