Day 16: Embalse de Alcántara to Grimaldo

The welcome and atmosphere at the Albergue or hostel at the Embalse was warm, but the hostel itself was not. The brutal concrete bunker type structure and lack of heating made it an uncomfortable morning. However, as the light of day came forth, the beauty and stillness of the surroundings came back into view. This morning was cool and cloudy as we set off along the N630 road once again to walk the first half of today's section which would lead us to the town of Cañaveral. (Don't forget: the first conquistadors to colonise Mexico and the southern states were from Extremadura and took names from here over to there, hence Cape Canaveral.)

The road continued along the side of the reservoir, so we had the water on one side and the old railway line on the other side. As we came to the furthest extent of the water, we could see the remains of the Roman Alconétar bridge, which were transferred here to avoid destruction in their original situation over the Tagus when the dam was built. 

The road then began to rise up between grassy hills reminiscent of the Scottish lowlands. After a short distance our lunch stop of Cañaveral came into view, nestled amidst the hills. The last 3km to the town we up an uphill rough path bringing us to the even steeper road up to the church square.

After a first refreshing drink of lemonade we went in search of lunch and found it in the form of a menu of the day in a very popular little Bar-Restaurant called Delfi. After the respite provided by Cañaveral, it was time to take the road out of town and then uphill for about 3 miles firstly through farm land and then pine wood. Here we found the so called 'Republic fountain', inaugurated during the time of the Republic in the 1930s. I had forgotten that this section includes quite a steep section which was mercifully short. However, once at the top of the hill, the view towards the distant Sierra de Salamanca to the north was breathtaking. 

Walking down the wooded hillside, we crossed the road to enter a beautifully cool section of dehesa, or wooded farm land. The 3km of dehesa brought us promptly to the bottom of the hill below Grimaldo. The last steep hill brought us to the church and castle like house beside it, and also face to face with our host, César, from the Casa Rural Posada de Grimaldo, a very comfortable place to spend tonight.