Apr 29 – Another gray morning, but much warmer than yesterday.  Ten miles planned for today.  It is drizzling, but no wind.  A good day to walk.  The rain made the purple flowers bloom.

Sheep in the rain:
Cows in the rain:

Here’s Jim and an old Roman stanchion.  Jim is the one on the right.

At mid morning we came upon a little town where we got a cup of coffee. It had an old Roman bridge, still in working order!

We were passed by another young German, and spoke with him for a while.  He met his wife walking the Camino Frances – how romantic! Now they take turns hiking while the other stays home with their son. He’s very concerned with the world political situation.  So are we.  We reached Aldea del Cano by 1pm, purchased our groceries before the shop closed at 2 (remember, no shopping Saturday evening or Sunday!).  Would you like to have some Special U for breakfast, or some Arroz Inflado? The latter sounds like it might explode in your stomach!

We found our lovely hostal, the Casa Rural.  After a shower and a rest, we went out in search of our midday meal and found that the sun had come out like gangbusters. Hope that’s the end of the rain for a while!

451 miles to go.

Apr 30 – Yesterday we wrestled with the decision of whether to walk a 14 mile day into the city of Cácares, or break the walk into two 7 mile days by stopping in a teeny village with only one alburgue.  The loveliness of this Casa Rural and the possibility of sleeping late, coupled with the forecast of more rain, helped us decide to break the long walk into two.  So seven miles today.

We slept in, and Jim brought me coffee and toast in bed (breakfast in this country is always just toast).  

Our hostess provided marmalade- a real treat!  A wonderful Sunday morning.  We started walking around 9am – another chilly and windy day, with dark clouds threatening more rain.

The land was flat and filled with cat tails and scrub pine, reminiscent of the Outer Banks or Fire Island.

It rained on and off, and we got to Valdesalor around noon.  The alburgue was locked, with a note on the door to pick up the key at the bar down the street.  Now the rain was pouring down.  We reached the bar, which was locked and dark, with no sign telling us what to do now.  Jim asked a woman passing by if she knew where we could pick up the key.  She asked us to wait five minutes, then she came back and opened the bar.  She signed us into the alburgue and gave us the key.

When we got back to the alburgue, the door was open and it was full of dripping wet people arguing in Spanish.  We claimed two bunks quickly, and left them to sort out the rest.  All the 14 beds were filled, and more people kept coming in to get out of the rain.  There is only one bathroom, and the door has been locked since we got here.  It’s going to be a 😩 😭 miserable night.

444 miles to go.