I was asleep the instant my head hit the pillow – it had been a long day. I was out the door at 8.30am heading back to the bus stop, but my luck with the public transport hadn’t changed. There was only one bus to Granja de Moreruela, and it leaves at 4pm.
I had to bite the bullet and get a taxi – my last resort. 20 minutes later and 60€ lighter, I was in Granja.
31 hours after leaving London! It took me less time to get to Japan!
Thankfully for the next 14 days I won’t be having to rely on wheeled transport, just my two feet.
Setting off it was overcast and a cool breeze made it perfect for walking. Within minutes I was in the Castilian countryside. Red-brown dirt and rolling golden plains as far as the eye can see – it brought me right back to the meseta on the Francés.
I had the whole Camino to myself, having begun so late, but I was loving it. A welcomed peace from the previous 31hours of chaos.
No sound but the wind and songbirds chirping amongst the trees – so good to back on the Camino!
In the distance I could see a lone pilgrim making his way along the long straight dirt path in front. I had a quick pace knowing I had 25km to do today, with the late start.
I soon caught him up. Lisardo had been walking since April following the Lavante, which starts in Valencia! He is heading for Tabara, with a buen Camino, I said I’ll see him there.
The route leads to the Rio Esla where you cross a narrow bridge. It felt precarious, there wasn’t a lot of room if you came across a car. Luckily I didn’t meet one – perhaps it’s changing?
Once on the other side it follows the cliff face along the banks that involved a tiny bit of scrambling. Then came the only hill of the day, a short climb but nothing too strenuous.
From there the trail winds through wild grass lands, before reaching agricultural fields. Long straight dirt paths stretched to the horizon. Typical of the pictures you see for the Camino.
After 18km without a stop I reached the small village of Faramontanos de Tábara. I stopped for a quick snack from my rucksack and continued on. As I was leaving a met Lorenzo from Italy. He could only speak Italian and Spanish, so I put my pigeon Spanish to the test.
He is walking the Via de la Plata and started in Seville at the beginning of August. Soon we came up to one of his friends, Daniel from Serbia – he could speak English. Making full use of google translate we made our way into Tábara, finishing the day at the Donitvo Albergue.
There I met Benita from Germany and Tania from Australia. Benita had started in Zamora and Tania in Salamanca.
Once showered and pilgrim chores done, I wondered back into the town for a drink and an empanada.
At 8pm we all sat down for a communal meal, gazpacho followed by rice and veg. The hospitalero gave us advice for the next stage before opening a box that we each picked a card from.
Mine said “When we say the Camino is like our own life, we should say that our life is like the Camino, since our life is an ongoing pilgrimage”
Stu's Camino 