Amother great day on the Mozarabe as we crossed from the province of Andalusia to Badajoz (pron Ba-da-hos). My weather angel - who has done such a great job on other Caminos - continues to smile on us. Clear blue skies, cool start giving way to a warm day with a light breeze. Strong Spanish sun in the afternoon.
As blogger seems to have forgiven me for whatever my sins were and agreed to work for now - some highlights of past 24 hours.
First sighting of other peregrinos - a Spanish man and a French father and son. We all stayed last night in the new-ish albergue in Hinojosa. Modern and clean with sheets and towels provided. And free for pilgrims. We assumed it was a donativo albergue - i.e. by donation - but Enrique who works for the office of the Mairie (mayor) saw us in the town square (easy to spot the pilgrim), escorted us to the police station to get the key and assured us we were not to pay anything and would not find a donativo box in the albergue.
Not many pilgrims walk the relatively harsh and remote Mozarabe and some of the towns are keen for those who visit to spread the word. We would certainly give this albergue a good review! As instructed we left the key at the cafe where we had desayuno this morning. As there are no towns between Hinojosa and Monterrubio, we bought bocadillos there as well. Some hours later we found a lovely alfresco spot for lunch - photo included.
The path today was beautiful - at least for the most part. The first 25 kms were through fields and private farms, along rural paths and old roads - we passed the French father and son along The Way and helped them out on a river crossing as they did not have walking poles. Tricky to keep your footing and balance without poles. And especially challenging for the son who is albino and has very limited vision. He wears a large straw hat and is covered almost from head to toe for protection against the Spanish sun - hot and strong by early afternoon. We think he's courageous. We all made it across without incident.
Another highlight was our encounter with a runaway flock of sheep - we never did work out where they came from - not a shepherd or dog in sight. As we approached they were coming towards us - a wonderful surprise. But they seemed to be spooked by our presence and those at the front quickly turned back in the other direction and - as sheep do - the whole flock scrambled to follow, resulting in a traffic jam for a few moments as they sorted out which direction to go. But their problems weren't over. We were heading to a closed gate - one of many throughout the day that we had to go through and close behind us. We didn't want to frighten them so we kept as far to the right as possible and they soon all scampered to the left and ran back again in the other direction. I hope they eventually found their way home.
As blogger seems to have forgiven me for whatever my sins were and agreed to work for now - some highlights of past 24 hours.
First sighting of other peregrinos - a Spanish man and a French father and son. We all stayed last night in the new-ish albergue in Hinojosa. Modern and clean with sheets and towels provided. And free for pilgrims. We assumed it was a donativo albergue - i.e. by donation - but Enrique who works for the office of the Mairie (mayor) saw us in the town square (easy to spot the pilgrim), escorted us to the police station to get the key and assured us we were not to pay anything and would not find a donativo box in the albergue.
Not many pilgrims walk the relatively harsh and remote Mozarabe and some of the towns are keen for those who visit to spread the word. We would certainly give this albergue a good review! As instructed we left the key at the cafe where we had desayuno this morning. As there are no towns between Hinojosa and Monterrubio, we bought bocadillos there as well. Some hours later we found a lovely alfresco spot for lunch - photo included.
The path today was beautiful - at least for the most part. The first 25 kms were through fields and private farms, along rural paths and old roads - we passed the French father and son along The Way and helped them out on a river crossing as they did not have walking poles. Tricky to keep your footing and balance without poles. And especially challenging for the son who is albino and has very limited vision. He wears a large straw hat and is covered almost from head to toe for protection against the Spanish sun - hot and strong by early afternoon. We think he's courageous. We all made it across without incident.
Another highlight was our encounter with a runaway flock of sheep - we never did work out where they came from - not a shepherd or dog in sight. As we approached they were coming towards us - a wonderful surprise. But they seemed to be spooked by our presence and those at the front quickly turned back in the other direction and - as sheep do - the whole flock scrambled to follow, resulting in a traffic jam for a few moments as they sorted out which direction to go. But their problems weren't over. We were heading to a closed gate - one of many throughout the day that we had to go through and close behind us. We didn't want to frighten them so we kept as far to the right as possible and they soon all scampered to the left and ran back again in the other direction. I hope they eventually found their way home.
While the fist 25 kms were blissful, the last 7-8 were on a new bitumen road as we headed into the town of Monterrubio. This is a feature of most Caminos - though thankfully not a frequent one. Most of The Way is through rural areas, quiet paths and little used country roads. But sometimes when approaching a town the original Camino path has become a modern road. Some towns have the funds to preserve or create a path beside the new road but that is a luxury many cannot afford. The people living in these towns and villages deserve a decent road - so it's selfish to complain. But walking in bitumen for a couple of hours in the afternoon sun makes for burning feet and an exhausting end to the day.
No lasting harm done. As is usually the case, the Camino provides. Our fortunes turned when we arrived in the heart of Monterrubio to the charming Hotel Coto de la Sirena and our welcoming host Jose Carls Garcia de la Mora. Jose assured us he has a special price for pilgrims. And so he does. We have paid 32 euros for a large and comfortable double room including desayuno. And our small picture window looks directly to the church. Es perfect.
A short day tomorrow. - our choice was 19 or 39.5 kms. Easy decision - we will have a leisurely start and should arrive in Castuera by early afternoon.
J x
