Category Archives: Camino Via de la Plata

Alcuéscar to Aldea del Cano to Valdesalor 

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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.

Mérida to Aljucén to Alcuéscar

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Apr 27 – Back on the road for an easy 12 mile day of flat terrain.  Got to pass by the aqueducts one more time as the sun came up.  So long, Mérida!

A reminder of how far we have yet to travel.

The nice folks of Mérida built a bike path alongside the highway, which gave us a way to walk safely out of the city.

Several miles out, we walked around the Proserpina dam, built by the Romans to provide water for the aqueducts of Mérida. Quiet and so pretty in the morning light.

We met a couple from Montreal who are walking their fifth Camino, and were passed by two bikers. We walked through a little town with an open church (a woman was cleaning inside) and we stopped for a quiet moment.

Walking into Aljucén, we saw some Camino-themed graffiti at the highway underpass.

Aljucén is a town of 247 souls, according to Wikipedia, but it has three alburgues and two restaurants that cater to pilgrims.  There is no hostal near this town where it is possible to get a room with a private bath, so this will be the first of our Alburgue Days.

At an alburgue, you get a bunk bed, access to a shared hot shower and a toilet, an outdoor washtub and line for laundry, and access to a shared refrigerator and stove.  What you don’t get is sheets, towels, shampoo or, usually, privacy. A diehard pilgrim spends every night of his/her Camino in an alburgue, at a nightly rate of $11-13 per person.  We have been carrying shampoo, a lightweight travel towel, and silky traveler’s sheets / pillowcase on the chance that we would need them (the traveler’s sheets are really a miracle – they fold into a sack the size of a little packet of tissue, and only weigh a few ounces).  We picked the Alburgue Annalena because the pictures online showed that the bunks were in four bedrooms instead of in one big dormitory.  As it turned out, no one else chose this alburgue, so we had the whole house to ourselves.  Annalena came by at dusk to check our passports and wish us Buen Camino.

472 miles to go.

Apr 28 – Woke up to a cold, windy morning with rain in the forecast.  Even though the rain had not started when we left the alburgue, we opted to put on our raincoats because it was so cold.  Within an hour, a cold rain started to fall.  Not many pictures today.  We were passed by a woman from Holland and a man named Christian from northern Germany.

Although we only walked 11 miles today, I was beat by the time we got to Alcuéscar, from walking into the wind.  We passed the alburgue and decided we deserved a night in a hostal.  Unfortunately, the Hostal Olivo was overpriced, with very mediocre food, and no wifi.  When it rains, it pours.  461 miles to go.

A Day in Mérida 

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Apr 25 – So, what do hikers do when they have a day off to rest their feet?  They traipse all around town to see the sights, of course!  

All the sights of Mérida are associated with ruins.  Established about 25 BCE as a retirement village of those who fought in the army of Caesar Augustus, Mérida (Augusta Emerita) was a big deal in the Roman Empire, and the capital of Lusitania and later Hispania.  It was overtaken by the Muslims in the 700s, then captured by the Christians in 1230.

After crossing the Puente Romano footbridge, we stared up at the Alcazaba, a fort built by the Muslims by recycling the bricks from the wall the Romans had built to protect the city.

We walked up the battlement wall to look at the river below.

We went down to look at the cistern that kept the fresh water.

Next, we visited the Anfiteatro (amphitheater), where gladiators fought to the death for the amusement of the crowds.  This arena held up to 15,000 people.

Right next door, is the Roman Theatre 🎭, which hosted public speeches and eulogies as well as plays and musical offerings.  It held about 6,000 people.  The excavation of the theatre began in 1910, and is still a work in progress.

They have some lovely gardens too.

While we were there, a group of high school aged kids were setting up to put on a play later in the day.  I spotted some sheep and a babydoll among their props, and concluded that they were a church group staging a Nativity play.  Then they turned on the sound system, and the girls lined up to do a bump and grind the Lady Marmalade’s “Voulez Vou Couchet Avec Moi”.  So much for my theory!  We’ll never know what the play was about, but the music was great, and the kids were having a good time.  We hated to leave!

After all that excitement, we took it down a notch by visiting the antiquities museum.

I’m partial to mosaic tile floors that last 2000 years.

Then we were off to the Basilica of Santa Eulalia, a twelve year old virgin martyred for her Christian beliefs in the year 304.  Story goes that she taunted the Roman court and dared them to kill her.  They tried to talk her out of it, but ultimately obliged by burning her at the stake.  When she died, a dove flew out of her mouth.  The actual church was not open, only the Crypts below.

So much to see in this town!  To be continued…

Torremejia to Mérida

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Apr 24 – Unusual sunrise this morning.  What kind of day will it be?

Another 10 miles today, mainly along a highway.

And along a railroad track.

We met four French, two Belgians, and a Snort (tip of the hat to P. D.  Eastman).

Here is our picture, courtesy of one of the Belgians.

We crossed the Rio Guadiana, by walking over the Puente Romano (pictured above and below), an ancient Roman bridge still in daily use as a footbridge.  Those Romans knew how to build stuff that lasts. And now we are in Mérida (a shortening of the name Augusta Emerita, a city for the veterans of the army of Caesar Augustus) where we will take a few days off to see the best examples of Roman ruins in Spain. Stay tuned!

484 miles to go.

Almendralejo to Torremejia

Backpacking, Camino Via de la Plata, Flashpacking, Hiking, Spain, Travel,

Apr 23 – And now the skies are clear and the sunny weather is back.  We walked two miles along the side of the paved road to get back on our Camino track this morning, past the bull ring.  

Welcome back, yellow arrows!  More grapevines, olive trees, morning mist and flat wide Roman Road.  There is mist at the base of the mountain.  I wonder when we’ll have to climb one?

There was a purple flower growing in the ditches that seemed to glow in the early morning light.  It doesn’t take much to make me happy these days.

I was feeling great that we were able to cut our long walk in half, until we came upon Brendan this morning, or rather, he came upon and swiftly passed us.  He is an Irishman living in Ontario, who takes no rest days and walks 35 – 40 km (22 – 25 miles) a day.  Now I feel like a real 🐌 slug, with my piddly 10 mile day. Oh well, as the saying goes, “everyone walks their own Camino.”

Torremejia is a one horse town, and we had no trouble finding our hostal.  There was an excellent restaurant right across the street with a midday meal of delicious pork, egg and noodle soup, fried eggs, Iberian ham and potatoes.  Yum. We talked to two Belgians who encouraged us to visit Bruge.  It’s now on my list.  494 miles to go.

Villafranca de los Barros to Almendralejo

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Allow me to take a moment to recommend that you check out and follow Jim’s blog  Jim and Karen Walk About (beingheresite.wordpress.com) if you are not already doing so.  While I am a practical traveler, Jim is a spiritual traveler, and his perspective on our adventures is thoughtful and thought provoking.  KF

Apr 22 – Today our guidebook encouraged us to walk 18 miles to Torremejia.  Although I am getting stronger, I’m not sure I am ready for quite that long a hike.  Luckily, my Camino app suggested that there was a town called Almendralejo with places to stay that was halfway between, but it was not part of the Camino.  We decided to break the long march into two shorter days.

When we woke this morning, a new experience greeted us – rain!  So far, our Camino has been sunny, dry and pleasant.  Today we zipped on our raincoats, flipped on our pack covers, stowed our cameras, protected our phones in plastic sandwich bags, and set off in the gray drizzle.  It was a soft spring rain – if you have to walk in the rain, this is the kind I recommend.

The sun never really came up, but there was a faint light in the east as we walked among the grape fields.

We met a young Italian couple wearing matching rain ponchos, and waved at the farmer tending the young vines.  Nothing else to report- it was all rain, all grapes, all day.

We turned on the GPS so we would know where to leave the trail – so long, comforting yellow arrows!  In a few miles, we reached the town of Almendralejo, walked over the highway overpass, and found our hotel.  After a shower and a rest, we made our plan.  As this is Saturday, we know the supermercado Dia will close early today and will not open at all tomorrow, so we need sufficient supplies to get us through until Monday.  As this is not a Camino town, there are no signs for Peregrino Menu al Dia, so we’ll have to find a regular restaurant for our big afternoon meal.

We did our shopping, then set out to find a restaurant.  All the stores in Spain close around two, and that is when the restaurants open for lunch.  We saw some possibilities on Googlemaps, but none near our hotel.  We chose a few options, then set out to walk.  Luckily, the rain had stopped and the sun was poking through – I dried my jacket by putting it back on! 

We passed a lot of café bars that will sell you a plate of French fries or some tapas, but we wanted a meal.  The first restaurant address was a closed building – out of business.  This is the case with many businesses and stores here.  We moved on to a place called Nandos, that Google said was a casual, cozy Afro-Portuguese purveyor of spicy chicken.  Sounded yummy!  We opened the door, and were greeted by somber white-coated waiters in a very upscale venue.  We were whisked over to a dark corner (our hiking clothes probably didn’t meet their dress code) and offered menus.  No chicken at all, never mind spicy or Afro-Portuguese.  The name of the place matched, but they must be under new management.  Well, in for a penny, and we were hungry, so…

I couldn’t understand one thing on the menu, and Google Translate was not being helpful at all.  Evidently the offerings were couched in superlatives that didn’t include words like ‘fish’ or ‘beef’.  We asked for an English menu, perhaps? No bananas for you.  So Jim manned up and selected a random item on the menu – para dos.  The waiter asked lots of questions, but we had to keep shaking our heads in the negative – even with Jim’s pretty decent Spanish, this guy was speaking some other language, and we just didn’t know what he was asking.  Bread came, both crunchy and soft, with liver pâté and goat cheese – very nice!  Beer came, in tall wine glasses.  Little fried cheese empanadas came,  courtesy of the chef ( we understood that).  Green olives came, then more bread.

Finally – what we had ordered:

A bowl of soup!  Fava bean soup, to be sure, with chorizo sausage and hot peppers on the side, and very delicious, but still only a bowl of soup.  And that was our big meal of the day, and there went $35.    But as the story of the day?  Priceless!  504 miles to go.

Zafra to Villafranca de los Barros 

Backpacking, Camino Via de la Plata, Flashpacking, Hiking, Spain, Travel,

Apr 21 –  As we left Zafra in the early morning, I turned around to see a line of peregrinos/hikers/pilgrims following us up the hill.

It reminded me just a little of our Camino Francés experience in 2011, except that then there were 50 and this morning only 5.  Everyone stopped to get a picture of the old tower (Torre de San Francisco) from the 1500s, on the way out of town.

Then everyone rushed up the hill to capture the sunrise.

We talked to a white haired woman from Quebec, a young man from South Korea, and an older gentleman from Rotterdam.  We smiled at the French. It’s good to be on the Camino.

Today we walked 12.5 miles again.  We passed through a little town in the morning where we got some coffee at an open bar.  We sat with the guy from Rotterdam.  His name is Marcel.  This is his third Camino too.

It’s colder than it’s been, and Jim is lamenting the loss of his jacket – he left it at the hostal a few towns back.  More grapes, more olive trees.  We see more ruins.


514 miles to go.

Puebla de Sancho Perez to Zafra

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Apr 20 – Today is a Short Walk Day.  We had the option of walking three extra miles yesterday (which would have been a 17 mile day – boo) to get to Zafra, but opted to stop in Puebla instead, sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, read the news, then proceed on to Zafra this morning so we would have all afternoon to see the sights. Zafra is the first big town we’ve come to, with “things to see” according to TripAdvisor.

We left Puebla around 10am. The sun was already shining!

The walk was mostly a sidewalk alongside the highway, crossing over the railroad tracks.

We passed a beautiful field of red and yellow flowers.

And a house with a bright pink wall that caught my fancy.

Once in Zafra, our first order of business was to stop at the alburgue, where we were told that we can (finally) purchase our pilgrim credentials.  We were unable to get them in Sevilla due to all the Semana Santa hoopla, and have been striking out in every town since.  A credential, or Pilgrim Passport, is the official document that you get stamped and dated in every town you walk through to prove that you actually traveled the Camino.  Today was our lucky day.

The man who runs this alburgue is the president of Friends of the Camino, and was happy to give us our credentials plus a German map.  A lot of Spanish people think we are German on this trip – what’s up with that?

I liked the artwork on the alburgue wall that showed our progress thus far: sore feet in Sevilla, getting lost in Almadén, taking pictures of pigs in El Real, and surviving the water hazard at Fuente de Campos.  I guess everyone has more or less the same Camino experience!

We are staying at the historic Hotel Cervantes.  Don Quixote and Sancho Panza greeted us in the lobby.

We dropped off our packs and went off to explore the town.

El Plaza Grande

I don’t know what this is, but I like it!

There is an old castle here, which is now a hotel.

There is an old church here, Nuestra Señora de la (Our Lady of the) Candelaria, containing paintings by Francisco de Zurbarán, who was born right up the road in Fuente de Cantos, and is a big deal in these parts.   The church was dedicated in 1543.

Like every town, there are old men gathered to sit in the sunshine.

There are narrow streets where shoppers walk.

We asked at our hotel if there was a place where pilgrims could get an early supper.  The receptionist cheerfully directed us to the restaurant around the corner, which did indeed have a Camino shell on the front.  They didn’t open until 9pm.  Not acceptable!  We walked around, looking for fast food options:  pizza 8pm, gyros 8pm, Chinese 8pm.  We were standing at the door of the Chinese place, trying to decipher the Spanish menu, when the proprietress popped her head out and said, “Siete y media”.  7:30!  She reinforced our understanding with hand motions and a gap-toothed grin.  We felt like we’d won the lottery!

So we were standing at her door at 7:30pm.  She let us in and gave us a delicious three course banquet that couldn’t be beat, with real fresh vegetables, spicy chicken, and absolutely zero pork or potatoes!  Our first Nice Person of Spain award goes to the proprietress of Restaurante Chino Oriental!  526 miles to go.

Monesterio to Fuente de Cantos to Puebla de Sancho Perez

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Apr 18 –  Got up early to leave our room by 7am.  As the hotel’s restaurant doesn’t open until 9am, the proprietor made us a picnic breakfast, and hung it on our doorknob – oranges, bananas, juice and a muffin.  Nice touch!  We stopped in town for a quick coffee, then we were on our way.

13.5 miles to go today.  The countryside was particularly beautiful in the early morning light.  We walked alongside stone walls that reminded us of our hike in Ireland.

More Iberian jamon on the hoof, makin’ bacon.

These two pretty ladies posed for a closeup.

We started the morning in sweatshirts and long pants, but by 9:30 we stowed our extra layers, and walked in shorts and tee shirts with our umbrellas up for shade. Really love our German sun umbrellas, as there is very little shade in our future along these old Roman roads.

Lots of wheat growing here. The newly sown fields are dark green; the lighter fields are farther along.

As we approached town, a man stopped his car and gave us a flyer for his new hostal Zaguan.  He made it sound wonderful, even promising us a double bed (cama matrimonio!), which we hardly ever get. We decided to check it out, to encourage his entrepreneurial spirit.  The place was lovely, and even had a pool, but it was a cross between a hostal and an alburgue – we had our own room (with the promised bed), but there was only one bathroom to share among four rooms.  Drat!  The upside was that we had access to a kitchen, so we walked down to the supermercado when it opened at 6pm, and bought the fixings for a veggie omelette, which we ate at the very respectable hour of 6:30pm.  Having to wait until 8 or 9pm for restaurants to open is driving us nuts.  We knew about the unique work and meal hours kept in Spain, but knowing doesn’t make waiting any easier after a long day’s walk!  543 miles to go.

Apr 19 – Left Fuente de Cantos by 7am.  The early morning is the most beautiful time.  

14 miles to walk today, over more farmers fields.  Saw newly planted grape vines, and one field that was planted with both grapes and mature olive trees.  Wonder how that will work out?  Grapes need lots of sun, and usually aren’t planted near anything that casts a shadow.

Water hazard!  Yes, I did skip trippingly across the stones to the left, and avoided getting my boots wet.

We were passed today by all four of the Brits we met at the hostal last night, plus two Spaniards.  As we approached town, we walked over a railroad track.  I liked the sign.

So now we are in our nice hotel, with private bath, waiting for the restaurant to open at 8pm.  529 miles to go.

El Real de la Jara to Monesterio

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Apr 16 – Happy Easter, Happy Resurrection Sunday or Happy Fiesta de Judas to you! In Andalusia, an effigy of Judas is hung on Good Friday, then it is taken down, beaten, burned, exploded with firecrackers or otherwise held accountable for turning Jesus in, on Sunday.  That’ll teach him.

Today we have a 12.5 mile walk.  All the stores and bars are closed for the fiesta, so there is no sense even thinking about a hot breakfast or coffee.  We ate the yogurt and oranges Jim had the prescience to purchase yesterday, and hit the road at 7am.  We took a moment to appreciate the Easter sunrise, pictured above.

Our walk took us out of the province of Andalusia, and into Extremadura.  Sounds pretty extreme!

We met an older German hiker today, who proudly showed us his Garmin satellite tracker.  He always knows right where he is, how much farther he has to go, and exactly where he is going to stay. He prebooked all his rooms for the whole trip, which means he cannot deviate from his plan.  Very German.  We also met a Frenchman who saunters into town, has a drink, and asks for a recommendation of where to stay.  He looked like the happier of the two.

So now we are in Monesterio, in a very nice room.  It is still Easter Day, and no restaurants are open, even the ones that cater to hikers and pilgrims.  Jim found a very small grocery, and bought us an overpriced can of meatballs.  Yes, we ate it cold, out of the can. Yes, it was every bit as Alpo-like as you are thinking.  Yes, I will be happy when the fiesta is over tomorrow!  556 miles to go.

Apr 17 – We decided to spend a day here in Monesterio, as we need the grocery store to open so we can reprovision.  Monesterio is the Iberian Ham capital of Extremadura, and we also didn’t want to miss our chance to see the Museo del Jamón. The sign at the entrance to town shows how important ham is around here.

We arrived at the Museum bright and early, and were given a very comprehensive tour of the raising, slaughter and sausage manufacture of Iberian ham, which are produced by the black pigs we spent some time on the trail with the other day. 

Iberian ham is low in fat, high in protein and full of vitamins.  You should eat some every day.

Famous artists have creativity adorned many Iberian pigs, similar to the decoration of mermaids that we have in Norfolk.

This one is by the famous artist Eduardo Naranjo.

The tour concluded with the opportunity to take a captioned selfie.  Here is ours!