Week 3

Day 1  Mueles de Pan to Fonfria 22.5 kms

I slept well, though it took a while for my feet to stop throbbing. the room was hot, this helped with drying my boots and clothes, but in the night I had to get up to turn the heating down. I got up at 7.30 and was at the bar at 8.05, the bar was still closed, I waited a little while, impatiently, I would have left but I hadn't paid so I had to hang on. Eventually the landlady arrived, I had breakfast, paid and left.

The first village was at 3kms but there was no bar so I was glad I had had my breakfast. I was then supposed to walk 2.5kms to a place where the camino split into 2 options.but I saw nothing that indicated this, then 3.5kms to the next village. I made one small mistake when the arrow seemed a bit ambiguous, I walked for 10 minutes without seeing an arrow so I turned back and followed the other path and saw an arrow almost immediately.

The walk was lovely, the countryside much wilder, lots of ups and downs, much more like Galicia or North Portugal. I saw a Wild Boar, my first, or at least the first I have seen alive. The weather was just April showers, nothing too drenching and soon cleared. There were also lots of the little daffodils and baby crocuses.

I seemed to walk and walk, then I looked at the amendments to my guide, it was 7 kms not 3.5, that seemed to make sense. I stopped in Cerezal de Aliste for a little break, though there was no bar, just a seat outside the church.

As I left the village I saw a 'mojon' pointing up the road so I followed it, after about 1km I realised I had seen no other signs, so I read my guide, I should have turned left behind the cemetery, I hadn't seen a cemetery but I went back and found the right track, this mojon is in the wrong place.

5kms to go to a bar! My legs were tired and I was running out of water. There was plenty of water around me!

Fortunately none of the water features were too difficult. The village had a bar but it only opened at weekends so I had to struggle on to Fonfria, As I left Bermillo I came to a large flock of sheep in a pen, being guarded by 11 dogs, this was just a little scary but I got passed. 
I was just hoping I would find accommodation in Fonfria, I got there just before 4pm. I struggled through the village looking for Bar Alfredo which was reported to provide accommodation sometimes. I couldn't find it but a man came running out of a bar to tell me that that was the bar with the key to the Albergue. They had an Albergue! It is still under construction really and will be super when it is finished but it has new beds and showers and hot water. Lots of electric wall heaters but no plugs on them yet! I didn't care I was just glad to have a bed. I was able to buy some essential supplies at the village shop and was happy to go to bed as soon as it got too cold, after all I had complained of being too hot the night before.

Day 2 Fonfria to Alcanices 22 kms
I slept in my base layer with leg warmers and a fleece and put my jacket over my feet. I slept well. I woke about 3 am feeling a little chilly so I re-arranged my jacket and went back to sleep. I was woken by my alarm at 7.30 so it must have been alright! My phone said that the temperature in Zamora was 2 degrees so I decided it was a hat and glove day, my first. I had a box of chocolate drink and an almond biscuit and started off. As I went to lock the door I had a sudden presentiment that I should go back and check but I ignored it! I started on the camino, it followed the road a short distance, then a concrete path, then a grassy path, the grass was soaking, like a swamp and within minutes my boots and feet were soaking and my feet freezing. My boots are splitting and it doesn't take much for my feet to get wet.
I returned to the road.and walked the 5kms to Fornillos de Aliste, I went into the village to the bar and the lady in the bar told me that the camino was good from there on so I started back on the camino. I walked passed the lavadero as my guide book said and followed the signs, keeping straight on.

I came to a crossing of tracks and could see no signs but my guide said KSO at the crossing, so I did. I walked a little way then decided to go back and check, still nothing, I couldn't see I was doing anything wrong so I continued, I walked about 1.5kms and came to a road, no signs, no arrows. I could see the main road to my right, this was a little disconcerting as it should have been to my left, so I walked down the road towards the Nacional and arrived in Fornillos again! I checked the beginning of the camino but I couldn't see what I had done wrong, other than that it was so wet that I had to concentrate on looking at the ground for the least wet places. I didn't  feel like repeating what I had just done so I returned to walking on the road.

Is this the missing link?

Technically I had done 5k and it had taken me 2 and a half hours. At least the road had the advantage that I could see the kilometers disappear.

I stopped at Ceadea for another break and continued.

The path near the road.

As I got near to Alcanices I saw signs for an Albergue. When I arrived I found the place locked with an Alsatian guarding the door and signs of someone being their, it looked like a 'hippy' was in residence. It was supposed to be open at 14.00. 

I decided not to stay at the Albergue, I was even going to get a bus on to the next possible stop. I went into the town and asked about buses, I could get one to the frontier but not till evening so I went to get something to eat. After lunch I wanted to use the computer and looked for my specs, I had lost them:(  The people in the bar were very helpful and phoned Fonfria to ask for someone to check the Albergue for me. They were also very concerned about my report on their Albergue and that I wouldn't stay there. Unfortunately the X-mayor had just died and it was his funeral so it was not a good day for making a report to the Town Hall, but the bar owner was telling everyone, including the Guardia Civil, they said they would remove the dog but I was more concerned about the dogs owner. They were also going to go back to Fonfria to look for my specs for me! It meant, though, that I had to stay the night in Alcanices and had to go to a Hotel and had to keep walking!



 Day 3 Alcancices to Quintanilha 24.5 kms
No-one came with my specs. I thought of getting a taxi back but wasn't sure what time the bar would open. I got up at 7.30, had breakfast in the bar and walked back into town to a cash machine as I had remembered that I had forgotten if I had told my bank I would be in Portugal.
I started about 8.30, it didn't take me long to go wrong. I'm sure the arrow pointed right, I then had to negotiate a major water feature, I was inclined to return to the road but I persisted and got around without getting too wet. It was then an uphill walk through a pine forest, quite pleasant, it was only when I got to a crossing of tracks at the top that I realized there were no signs. I was not going to cross the water again and I could hear the main road so I turned left and walked parallel to the road. Eventually I came to a minor road and turned down meaning to walk to the road but I came to arrows again so I continued on the camino. I could not relate anything I saw anywhere to the instructions in the guide till I came to a big field, it was full of crocuses and baby daffodils and would have been lovely if it hadn't also been full of water. I had to manoeuvre from one clump of longer grass to another.
When I got to Sejas de Aliste I had been walking for 2 and a half hours and done 10 kms, so different from yesterday. The village had a river running through the middle though an old man told me it was many years since it last had water. 

From there to Trabazos.

The Albergue at Trabazos.

Then on to San Martin de Pedroso. I went to the bar/tienda and asked if they did food! I was ushered into the family room and served with what they were going to have for lunch, I felt quite guilty. I hope there was enough for them. I sat with 'grand-ma' and she chatted non-stop, I expect I had made her day. Whilst I was there there was a programme on TV about the local wolves. That might explain the 11 dogs guarding the sheep.

From there it was a pleasant walk to the frontier.

The frontier

In Quintanilha I went in search of the Albergue, not easy but eventually a lady from the bar took me up and got the key. The 'hospitalero' works and my initial question got the response, I think, that I would have to wait until evening! Fortunately his mother had the key.

The Albergue.

The Albergue is big, with a well equipped kitchen. There was also a computer but with only one plug behind it. The lighting system was strange as it was central, but this was not a problem as I was alone. The water was cold so I opted not to shower,  but there was a heater. The woman said her son would come in the evening but I never saw him.

Day 4 Quntanilha to Braganza.+/- 13kms

What a day! 

I got up early so I could get to Braganza early. I had some hot chocolate and a muesli bar and started off just after 7am. I had no idea whether the Albergue was fixed price, free or donativo so I left some money on the table.

The first 1-2 kms were straight uphill:( Then I started on the flat or downhill bits, water, water everywhere! I think this was the worst day for groundwater, the path was well signed and I got to Refega with only slightly wet feet, then it got worse and worse. I came to an enormous water feature, I had no choice but to struggle round or through it as there was nowhere else to go but back!

The water was pretty deep and walking along the edge meant a fight with the brambles. At this point, after a few S*** F*** I decided that this was the end. I would find the first possible alternative, I even tried working out how quickly I could get home. I was heading towards Palacios and I could see a village somewhere ahead. I carried on then the path disappeared  entirely into a river, fortunately there was another track so I took that, now I had no idea where I was going as there were no more signs, I just reckoned that a reasonable track must lead somewhere.  Eventually I arrived at the village on the hill, it was not Palacios but a San Juliao. I asked for directions up to the road and was told there was a bar, I didn't see the bar but I saw a map and headed down the road. I walked about 1.5kms to the next village only to discover that I was walking in the wrong direction, so I had to walk back, this time I saw the bar, so I went in and in my best Spanguese asked: " Bom dia, puede chamar un taxi, faz favor?" the answer was an immediate  "Sim". I then chatted to the lady and another guy, apparently the path normally goes along the edge of a stream, now it is in the middle of a river.  I revived with a coffee and went the next 10kms in a taxi.

I went to the Tourist Office and got information on the Casa de la Misericordia, in fact she miss-directed me but I got there anyway, I don't think they had seen a pilgrim in some time. I expected to be shown a room but I was taken to the kitchen and given a meal then I was taken to the building I had been directed to first and shown a room. The Casa de la Misericordia is a major complex of care for the elderly, this building I was to sleep in was a residence for the Carers. I felt very guilty that I was getting this super treatment when I had come in by taxi but I did walk most of it.

I sorted myself and my stuff then went downstairs to go out, I met some of the Carers going out, here I hit a problem, I could only get into the building if there was someone at home but they were all going to be out,  I think they had some kind of training session, We agreed a time for me to be back and I went to visit Braganza.

The residence

When I went back there was still no-one there and I had a long wait, this was a distinct downside but as a social exercise this was a very interesting place to stay.

I was told that the front door would be opened at 8 in the morning. I was invited to go back with them for a meal in the main complex but I declined and went to bed early.

Day 5 Braganza to Chaves

This is a variation! I have no desire to sleep in the church porch in Segirei. I had heard, anecdotally of a route through Chaves so I went to investigate,. I was downstairs at 7.50 and found that someone had unlocked the front door so I went off to the bus station for breakfast, then to Lidl for some supplies. The bus (yeah .. the bus) went via Vinhais, the route was hilly/mountainous and very beautiful.. I suspect that the camino would be pretty steep too. I arrived in Chaves just in time to rush to the Tourist Office for some info. They didn't have much, just a little leaflet; The Interior Camino Poruguese, They claimed it to be very well signed and I was to discover that they are right.

An example of signing in Chaves. Why don't all cities sign like this? this was the sign used all the way.

The Roman bridge leading in to the city and a miliario.

Day 6 Chaves to Verin  26 kms

I got up early and left Chaves at 7.15, Spanish time, I wasn't sure about the Albergue in Verin and my phone wasn't working.

The camino was well signed, on pavements through small villages until the border, 12kms from Chaves.

The border sign was merely a wooden pointer saying 'Espanha', I didn't realise I had entered Spain until I noticed that the For sale signs said Se Vende instead of Vendese. I had had plenty of opportunity to notice the For sale signs in Portugal as every second house seems to be for sale. Then I noticed a rubbish bin saying Xunta de Galicia, that was a dead giveaway. I had promised myself a break when I was back in Spain so I sat down for a drink and a piece of chocolate. A Guardia Civil patrol car passed me and when I started walking again I found that they had stopped just around the corner, then I realised it was a bar, so I had a cup of coffee. I was told it was 10 km to Verin, it certainly was on the road and I decided to stick with that. The path looked well signed whenever I caught a glimpse of it, but now it was the typical sign used in Galicia.

According to something I had read access to the Albergue in Verin is via the Tourist Office and I wasn't sure this would be open on  a Sunday. It took me ages to find the Albergue and it was shut, as was the Tourist Office. I couldn't see any useful information.

 Albergue and sign outside.

I was pretty peeved, Verin was dead, and my phone wasn't working. In the end, having tossed up the options, I went to find the bus station, I sat in the bus station and ate the food I had with me and waited for the bus to Ourense.  In Ourense I went to the Albergue, The hospitalero said that the Albergue in Verin is run by the Jacobeo so it should be open, unless they have completed their contract and shut completely.

Now I am home, I only intended to walk to Ourense, from Verin I was going to cross to Laza.  I had various reasons for needing to be home, not least that I wanted to go back to Fonfria to look for my specs. I didn't find them.

On the way to Fonfria I saw quite a few pilgrims, most seem to have been reduced to walking up the road as the weather has been terrible this week, though it is supposed to change this weekend so maybe some of the surface water will evaporate. I also bumped into Rique in Puebla de Sanabria, I didn't manage to get up the hill to see the old town but I did have a long and very amusing lunch.

Now I have to get new specs and some new boots before I walk again.

week 2

Day 1 Baños de Montemayor to Calzada de Bejar 14kms
I woke up at 06.55 again, I wasn't in any hurry but I got up anyway. There were 2 Spanish cyclists who had decided to give up because of the weather, they were up too. I had a chocolate drink and a Mars bar and started off. I was feeling more positive and considered walking the 30kms to Fuenterroble. It was still pouring with rain, so I remembered to put my hood up!
The path out of Baños was paved but steep, mostly it was not too wet but there were odd puddles and not always easy to see. The paving continued until the border with Castilla y Leon then puddles and streams continued to be a problem, I keep moving stones from one place to another to cross stretches of water.

New sign for Castilla and Leon, I wasn't sorry to see the last of the Extremadura blocks as I never got the hang of them.

 A nice use of under motorway space1

When I got to Calzada de Bejar I gave up on my plan to walk to Fuenteroble. I went to the bar to have a coffee and buy some food, then I discovered that the Hospitalera does dinner and breakfast. The Albergue has a lovely fire and my boots have time to dry.
Apparently  2 of the Italians from Casar de Caceres were here the night before, the couple seem to have given up. I settled in for a quiet evening alone when another pilgrim turned up, an English woman from Australia.
Day 2 Calzada de Bejar to Fuenterroble +/- 21 kms
Up at 7 for breakfast. Not raining! We had been warned not to take the camino straight away but to follow the road until the second sign as the first stretch is flooded. We had also been warned about a river that is impossible to cross, but that we can get over if we go through a gate. We were told not to walk alone and we had agreed to walk together at least until the river. Manuela said we would hear the river but we didn't, then a man on a tractor started yelling at us. We heard 'No pasais!' but thought he was referring to an enormous puddle we had just come to.

Being female and English we were determined to try, we struggled to get passed the water, only to discover that we had come to the river, so we had to struggle back!

We went back to the gate, I thought it would be the gate of a field but it was the gate leading to a farm, we had to walk up a farm drive then passed the buildings and exit by another drive. Eventually we got back to the camino.
I had managed early on to get water over the top of one boot, later we came to another river, there were granite blocks as stepping stones but they did not reach the width of the water and I got water over the top of the other boot. I did a little stone moving and placed another stone and Riqie managed to get across.
I had heard much about Fuenterroble and was very disappointed. It was occupied by some friends of Don Blas, they had lunch together in the main room so I had to sit in a freezing cold room to eat mine. I felt unwelcome and in the way. Later a heater was lit upstairs and I sat up there. I was invited to join them for their evening meal but they were eating at 9pm which is too late for me.
Day 3 Fuenterroble to Morille +/- 28 kms
As I went off to sleep I realised that I had not seen my shampoo since I showered so I reminded myself to look in the morning. I put on my alarm for 7.15 and put in my earplugs. There were 9 of us in the room, 4 females, 5 males, all older men. I was aware of someone snoring during the night but my earplugs are very effective. I was woken in the morning by light and people talking, I looked at my watch and thought it was 6.30, then I noticed that the mother and daughter next to me had gone, I was surprised, then I realised it was daylight, it was 7.40. I don't know if my alarm went off but if it did I must have been the only one not to have heard it.
I got up and went down for breakfast and checked on my shampoo, it had gone, someone had nicked it, that just added to my general disappointment with the place. Finally we set off, then Rique remembered she had forgotten to leave a donation so we went back, we finally started at 8.45. Four of the men were ahead of us, they were taking a stroll before lunch!

 Remains of Roman road

We made good progress for a while then we saw a major water feature ahead of us. The men had stopped, then we found they had been plotting a course for us, they had made an opening in the barbed wire fence into another field and directed us to a place were there was less water and we could cross back. That was most useful, I don't know what I would have done if I had been on my own, especially as they held my back pack for me.  The men decided to go back after that.

We continued and walked the 11kms until we reached the spot were there should be signs showing a choice of routes. Right for a longer higher route to San Pedro de Rosadas and a shorter lower route to the right, leading to Morille. We had decided to take the shorter route! we found someone had completely vandalised the signs for the right, leaving just the ones for San Pedro.

 We stopped for a break then walked the 4 or 5 kms to Pedresillos, where there is a bar (2 in fact) and an Albergue. We stopped for a coffee and from there the camino followed the road, via Monterubio to Morille. This was the first day in ages that it did not rain and  I did not get my feet wet.
The Albergue is very small (6 beds) and only a bedroom and a bathroom but there is a heater and as we were only 2 it was fine. we had dinner in the bar and then went to bed!

Day 4 Morille to Salamanca +/- 16kms

We got up early , had some breakfast and left. The lady in the bar said it was 16 kms to Salamanca, I'm not sure I believe her. We had also been told about a stretch of water that needed paddling, we were a little worried. It was pouring with rain. When we got to the water feature there was no alternative to paddling and we decided just to go for it, after that we were soaked and I just kept walking.
It would have been possible to take a slight detour for a coffee but it would have been too uncomfortable getting slightly warm and then getting cold again. The walk was relatively flat but very muddy and the wind was strong and cold. Then when we just got close to Salamanca there was another major water feature and the only way across was through, we were very wet and not very happy when we arrived.

Salamanca was like most big cities, you get there and then have to walk around for ages till you arrive! it is packed with tourists (Good Friday) who looked at us as if we were mad.

I went to the Albergue,

I was allowed to leave my boots and bag but it didn't really open until 4 so I could not stay there and eat my lunch as I planned. Rique was staying in a hotel but had forgotten the name so we went to a bar to resuscitate ourselves.

The weather improved and some of the processions managed to go in the evening, I found them less impressive than Astorga.

Day 5 Salamanca to El Cubo de Vino 35kms
I was woken by the dawn chorus, what a lovely way to wake up. I got up at 6.45, the hospitaleras were up too and let me out at 7.15. I had a very slow walk through the old city, it was so beautiful and there were no tourists. I found a bar for breakfast and finally left Salamanca at 8.15.

The fist village I came to had a bar but it was closed, I was glad I had had breakfast in Salamanca. There was a small supermarket open so I got some fruit. I tried walking off road but the paths were glutinous, claggy and slippery so I opted for following the road. Much of the route seemed to be on the road. I get the impression that the camino has been displaced by the new motorway. I had a second coffee in Calzada de Valdunciel, the guy in the bar told me that it was only 15km more but it wasn't. After about 8 I came to a sign pointing off road and backwards through a very wet area, so I passed on that, there were also arrows pointing ahead and under the motorway so I went that way, from  there on the road followed the motorway and was much drier. Eventually I arrived at El Cubo de Vino, I stayed at AT Torre de sabre, they were very welcoming, it is a good albergue, I had dinner and breakfast, my clothes washed and dried and he produced a computer! There was one other pilgrim, a German who started in Salamanca.
Day 6 - El Cubo de Vino to Zamora 34 km
The clocks went forward last night but we got up early as it is a long walk to Zamora. Andreas wanted to arrive for the 1pm Mass and procession, I wanted to arrive in time for my Easter Sunday lunch! The walk was much dryer, not only because it didn't rain (2 days in a row) but also because the ground is better drained. I stopped for coffee in Villa Nueva de Campean then rushed on. I got to Zamora just after 2.30 and went to the Albergue first because I found it first, then rushed on for lunch, I had been dreaming of roast lamb all morning!  I found a restaurant open but they were fully booked so I tried the sob story: I'm a pilgrim and have dreamed of lunch all morning:) So he let me have a meal in the bar, it was very noisy and also the waiting area for the restaurant, they had sittings going on till 4, so I needn't have rushed so.
After lunch I returned to the Albergue to shower and change. The Albergue is very well equipped., There are more people here, some who seem to be starting here, some have walked and some have come by bus! I went to the Tourist Office to get info on the route through Portugal but I arrived at 17.45 and it closed at 17.30!

There are 30 something km to walk tomorrow but I am not in a hurry. I returned to the Albergue to rest, the lights in my room went out at 8, a problem with the electricity, but it was light until 8.30, then I decided to have an early night!
Day 7 - Zamora to Muelas del Pan ??????kms.
One of the cyclists in my room had his alarm on for 07.00 but he just turned it off and didn't get up. I had mine on for 7.15 but as I was awake I turned it off and got up and went for breakfast. The hospitalera told me that her light had gone off the night before but that it was working now so I tried when I went back and it was working.
I had to leave at 8, I waited around until the Post Office opened at 8.30 then went up to the Cathedral, which is really beautiful, and started my walk.

 I had promised myself I would not rush today, I would regret this later!

The path was well signed, though it varied from the guide near the beginning, I think it had been diverted by the new motorway, I also think the diversion was longer!
I had planned to stop for coffee in La Hiniesta but the bar was closed, ? permanently.

After La Hiniesta I had to pass under a railway bridge, the path was full of muddy water, there was a construction site on the other side and they were simply emptying the muddy water under the bridge, once I had negotiated the muddy water I had to traverse about 50 metres of really claggy mud that I just sank into, it was awful. It started raining just before I got to Casa de Palomares, I hadn't put the cover on my back-pack as I was trying to dry socks! I had to traverse another water feature before I could get to a derelict building and rest and cover my bag. There was a very strong head wind all day though mostly it was dry and sunny. The whole route was very well marked but it seemed to take forever. I know I was late starting but it was after 2pm when I stopped for lunch and I had apparently only done 18.5 kms. Then I got to San Pedro de La Nave, a beautiful church from the 7th century that has been moved, stone by stone, from it's previous site, which is now in a reservoir.

I had overlooked the fact that it is closed on Mondays but that is just the luck of the camino. I hadn't really taken in the instructions for leaving San Pedro, other than that I would need to cross a stream, this had given me cause for concern. In the bar I was advised not to follow the camino but to backtrack and take a turn off higher up, so I did this. the path I took suddenly petered out so I carried on down through a field to a path I could see below. Then I  turned left and eventually the path turned up and I found myself returning to San Pedro. I decided that I would just have to paddle the stream so I continued and planned to follow the camino. It is scary being in the middle of nowhere with no idea of which way to turn, at least with arrows I would have a guide. When I got back to the village the Guardia Civil were there, I asked them for directions and they sent me up to the road. It was a long walk and in the last hour the heavens opened with rain and hail. Finally I arrived in Mueles del Pan, I totally ignored the signs for the town and followed those that led to a restaurante and Casa Rural, my guide said it was also a Pension. I got there just before 8pm I have never walked so late, I was exhausted. There was no Pension but I was offered Pilgrim price in the Casa rural, I had a lovely room and ate in the Bar. I was nearly too tired to eat and delighted to get into bed. I had been told I could breakfast at 8 so that was fine.