Camino Day 36

We had a lovely walk today, largely because the Sun has come out again. Walking in the Sun when it’s not too hot is just an endless joy.

The path today sat firmly between a quiet country road on our right and a tree-shaded river on our left. Both river and road joined up a series of pretty towns with frequent coffee opportunities.

Our first stop was, sadly, the worst we’ve had on the entirety of the Camino. It was the only place open after about nine kilometers of walking but the staff were rude, the coffee average and the empeñada we bought was literally inedible. Very much not our usual Spanish experience.

We stopped again only 4km later party to wash the previous experience away. This was much better – a lemon drink on a sun-dappled terrace where we spent 45 minutes sitting and reading.

We managed a further 2km before stopping again. This time it was a freshly cooked tortilla accompanied by fresh bread drizzled in olive oil and a really good coffee. Our faith in Spanish bars was fully restored.

The last kilometers today were charmingly accompanied by the sounds of cow bells from the surrounding fields.

We are staying in a cute albergue in the little town of Las Herrerias. Our room even has a balcony, which gives our washing a view of the river.

At the end of the town loom the hills we have to climb tomorrow. It may be technically our toughest day on the Camino – over 30km over a big hill with a very steep ascent. Many people do the first 6km on horseback which was sort of tempting until we saw the poor horses coming back down.

But for now it’s tinto veranos (red wine and lemon) on the terrace.