I drove to Medina del Campo and left my car at the train station, then it was a train to Avila aand a bus to Cebreros. I had a long wait in Avila and had a stroll to kill some time, I met a lovely young man who has done 9 Caminos so we compared notes :)
The albergue in Cebreros had been full over the Easter weekend and nobody had been in to check it, lots of windows had been left open and I found that I had the company of lots of feathered friends of the swallow variety, they had found a way in but seemed unable to find the same way out. I'm not happy about birds indoors but I managed to get yet another window open and they went out, I then shut lots of windows!
Day 1: Cebreros to San Bartolome de Pinares 14.9kms.
Up early and out. I had hoped I would find a bar open but when I arrived yesterday afternoon all the bars were shut so I decided not to risk it and I bought some chocolate drink in preparation, along with a muesli bar. I knew there would be no comfort stops but it was to be a short day. The steep climb was right at the beginning, in the cool of the morning and I found it relatively easy.
The views from the top were well worth the effort, I'm glad I decided to try again.
I was glad that I wasn't walking at the weekend as it was obvious that mountain bikers use the track up the mountain and it is fairly narrow, it would be difficult to get out of the way.
The route has changed since the maps in my guidebook were done so, after a while I had no idea where I was or how far I had to go. There were lots of cows and horses, mostly with calves and foals, the mothers were looking very protective, I tried to walk unthreateningly, I hate to make cows run, they look so ungainly and their legs are so thin they don't look strong enough to take the weight of their bodies so I was particularly careful today. There was a big group of cows who eyed me carefully, I was worried about meeting the bull but when I saw him he had his head down and was being very serious about his eating.
The first gate I came to was completely broken, I tried to pull it too as it lead onto a road but there was noway I could get it shut. I was very lucky with the next 2, at the first I arrived at the same time as a car, I offered to close it but the driver said it was heavy so he waited for me to go through, he also wished me a 'Buen camino' and offered me some water, which was nice of him but I had plenty :) At the next I arrived at the same time as some bikers and they did the gentlemanly thing as well. It seemed like a long downhill to San Bartolome but I made it and had plenty of time to relax in the albergue. I had forgotten that I had read that the showers are in another building and I had to wait till 3 for the girl from the Town Hall to bring me the keys so I was a bit dispirited about the lack of showers but eventually all was sorted and I was able to shower.
Day 2: San Bartolome Pinares to Avila 24kms.
Another fine morning, I had breakfast in the albergue only to find that the bar was open at 07.15!
The walk was long, the up bits were occasionally steep and difficult but mostly gradual and long. It seemed to go on forever, lots of cows again, I met one herd on the road, the mothers were very watchful of me, then I saw the bull but he seemed more scared of me than I was of him, he ran and hid behind a cow!
There were lots of little Spring flowers, and walking up by the stream was very pleasant, fortunately most of the path was dry though there were a few wet bits that were difficult to manage. The weather forecast had predicted rain, fortunately it didn't arrive as the route would have been very difficult if the mud had all been wet.
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| a scramble up the bank! |
The worst bit was the scramble up the bank to the road at the Puerta de Boqueron, no-one had warned me about that.
At Tornadizos I had my first cup of coffee for 48 hours, I hadn't realised how much I needed it but I felt much better afterwards. After Tornadizos it was wonderful to actually be able to see Avila, for the first time in the day I could actually see where I was going.
The Albergue is great and the hospitalero came out of his work to let me in straight away. I found a supermarket and bought food for 2 days and had a lovely meal. I'm still on my own but every other day this week there have been 3 or 4 people.
Day 3: Avila to Gotarrendura 22.4kms
I was up and out just before 8 but when I got to the gate I realised that there was a freezing cold wind, the sky looked very threatening and the ground was wet so I went back to change into 'wet' gear, once I was warmly dressed I started again, I crossed the Adejo river and found a bar open on the other side, once again I had had breakfast in the albergue as I had forgotten to ask if there would be a bar open nearby! Up to the 4 posts and the views back over Avila, by now my ears were stinging and my hands were frozen, fortunately I had gloves and a head-band in my bag so with a bit more adjustment I was ready again.
Getting out of Avila is hell. it is all on major roads, the traffic was not really heavy but it was fast, it was great to get onto the side road to Narillos, the first 5 kms are all on tarmac, the village is small and the bar was closed but the church and the Town Hall looked interesting!
From here the path was earth and the ground around very rocky. I shared my walk with a man walking his dog, he was a little ahead of me but he was aware of my presence, when I got to a bit with arrows pointing in opposite directions he directed me straight ahead, he said it was shorter, then the path was on an old roman road.
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| a Roman bridge |
Later the path runs passed quarries and the granite is very beautiful. As I got to Cardenosa the sun was trying to come out, I considered taking off my jacket but the wind was still ferocious. I had a coffee in the bar and a bit of a rest, and the bar owner gave me a cigarette lighter as a souvenir. The route was very up and down until suddenly there was the meseta ahead, it was still a bit bumpy but by Gotarrendura it had levelled out into agricultural land, mostly fields of wheat.
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| a useful seat but no view! |
The albergue is lovely, I got in without any problem. The wind is still ferocious, I had a little look around the village then cooked myself a meal with the food I had carried from Avila. My bag will be lighter tomorrow.
Day 4: Gotarrendura to Arevalo 27.4 kms
Off to a cold start, but it soon warmed up a bit. The first half of the walk was village to village, I stopped in Tinisillos for a coffee, from here it was straight into pine forests and no more stops until Arevalo.
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| The first time I have seen mistletoe on a pine tree |
It was hard going, after about 8 kms through the forest there was then about 2kms up the side of a busy road, then back onto a sandy path in a forest but next to a road. Suddenly a bike came up from behind, he gave me no warning till he was right by my left shoulder, then I jumped and jumped the wrong way, straight into him. He yelled at me; 'You should be on the right,woman.' This really upset me, a measure of how tired I was, but also, in all my times walking caminos no-one has ever yelled at me and no-one has ever told me to walk on the right! The guide said that I would come to a bike path and I wondered if this was it but there was no indication just lots of yellow arrows. I needed to stop but there was nowhere to sit and I hoped that I would soon be in Arevalo, eventually I did come to the cycle track and finally to Arevalo where I could sit down in a bar and have a beer, then on to the Town Hall. I had intended to stay in the Sports hall but I was so tired I couldn't be bothered to walk the extra bit so I went to a hotel, I reckon the hotel was expensive for what it was, more expensive than the hotel I have booked in Avila for the weekend, but it was OK and after a shower I went out to find a nice restaurant for lunch 😁. My answer to problems, a nice meal, in nice surroundings and a bottle of wine. After lunch I took a stroll around before collapsing, it is a lovely town.
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| The 2 bridges out of Arevalo |
Day 5: Arevalo to Medina del Campo 34 kms
The day started a little badly, no breakfast! I had anticipated staying in the Sports hall and was sure I would find a bar open on my way through the town but I was in the tourist area and also it was Saturday, nothing was open. I had a piece of chocolate cake to eat but nothing to drink, except water, of course.
9 kms to Palacio de Goda, 2 bars and both still shut! I sat and ate my cake and had a little rest!
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| Honquilana! |
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| new signs for Valladolid |
I didn't turn off into Ataquines I just carried on to San Vicente de Palacio, where I finally got a coffee in the service station.
The other issue of the day was trying to avoid the water sprinklers, I managed to avoid most but one was so structured that there was no way to avoid it and I got struck by 4 separate cold sprays of water. After San Vicente I could see Medina del Campo in the distnce for quite a while but then the path went into another pine forest, then all I could see was trees, and sometimes the odd field and birds!
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| storks |
The weather was getting hotter and hotter but I decided to carry on to the station before stopping, I had some food with me for lunch and Medina de Campo was the end of my walk for this time. I dropped off my back pack in my car and picked up a bag with clean clothes and headed back to Avila to do the tourist bit.
This time the camino was great, it was superbly signed, I didn't get lost once and I staged my days better so I will finish the Camino de Levante one day I just don't have time at the moment.
