I left at dawn passing through the village following a dirt path. It was chilly, cold enough to put my jumper on. I walked with Tania talking about her life living “off grid” in Australia.
The views weren’t too great, the route passed by quarries, with Large trucks thundering by kicking up plumes of dust.
I pulled ahead and after a while the route joined a forest track leaving behind the industrial excavation and HGVs.
After 11km I reached Calzadilla de Tera for the promised cafe stop. I couldn’t find it, and while probing google maps on my phone Tania caught up.
According to the map the nearest bar was in Olleros de Tera, and with the directions from a local we proceeded to the village along an irrigation canal.
We trudged through the quiet streets, feeling drained. We had done 13km with no breaks. We pulled up to the cafe to find it’s closed on Tuesdays. There was nothing for it, we had to keep moving. According to Gronze the next place for food was Rionegro – another 14km.
I left Tania who wanted rest and continued on. The route followed a single track road to an old church being renovated before heading off into shrubland. At this point my left calf began to hurt. I couldn’t tell if it was cramp or something more. When on the Camino, you just have to grin and bear it.
The path wound through the shrubland in the shadow of a dam, before winding up a mesa to join the road that crossed it.
From there it hugged the shore. I found a shaded spot to rest and have a drink. As I was strapping my bag back on, Tania caught up with me.
Together we walked into Villar de Farfón. There were signs promising drinks – blue painted wooden signs. We reached a small Albergue with 4 beds. They had a donativo refreshments operation.
It is owned by a family of South Africans, who rebuilt it from ruins. Their only purpose to serve pilgrims. If I wasn’t on a time table, I would have stopped there.
Daniel was already here and planned to spend the night. He had come down with a cold and was taking it easy.
This is likely to be our last meeting. I wished him farewell and continued on with Tania. The blue signs erected by the South Africans took us all the way into Rionegro.
The path was much more picturesque, and a beautiful end to the day. Once at Rionegro, we joined Benita at the albergue. One that would accommodate 4 times our group.
Marcus and George soon arrived. We had some drinks at the adjacent bar then moved on to a restaurant that gave a pilgrims menu. I’ve never had a pilgrims menu like this.
It was gourmet stuff. Four course meal with wine and liquor. All for 15€. We were very spoilt. The chef had clearly been trained, just by the way he cooked and presented the dishes.
Today has shown the nature of the journey. The Camino taketh and it giveth. A long hard 28km without food and a brief cold drink with the South Africans. Then after the hardship, a full on gourmet feast.
Tomorrow I’ll be pulling a 40km. Leaving behind my new friends, fortunate for them, they’re not on a clock. I’ll now be catching the coat tails of the wave of pilgrims in front.
Stu's Camino 