Day 34: Entrepeñas to Otero de Sanabria

Today is marked as day 34 but I won't get to complete the way to Puebla de Sanabria, and so it's just a half day really. A few months ago, the new station serving Sanabria was opened, not in Puebla,  but 6km away in the middle of a woodland near a village with 45 inhabitants (on a good day). It was opened before completing any signage, or an access road, and it doesn't appear on Google maps. However, all the trains to Madrid go from here. So, there was no point walking past to get to Puebla only to get a taxi back. So, when I return to do the next section, I'll begin from the station in Otero.

Today began from the nice little Casa Rural that I had shared with my Norwegian companion, Kjartan. We agreed to walk the first bit, in the rain, back to the village and the bar where we had eaten the night before. After breakfast we parted company but but before we took a photo on our rain gear 

The village where we had breakfast is called Asturianos, apparently after the people who came from the north in the reconquest of Spain from the Moors. I had determined to wait at the bar for an hour and read the news and have a couple of coffees so that I wouldn't have to arrive at the station too early. It was a good opportunity to chat to the bar owner who gave more insights into the lack of life in the villages and the difficulty of trying to foment anything new once the critical mass of people and infrastructure has disappeared.

The rain continued all morning quite relentlessly though it was that sort of fine rain and not so much of the wind, so it seemed more bearable. From Asturianos I walked on the wet clay path to the village of Palacios de Sanabria. They lied. There are no palaces. But there are two bars and a shop which puts it at serious advantage locally. 

As the rain had turned the clay path into a very slippery surface, and given that I didn't know exactly where the station was, I decided to walk by the side of the national road. It isn't very busy, as I have said before, but the spray from vehicles got me really wet. Thankfully the IKEA poncho kept a lot of it off. 

And so finally I arrived at the new station and am writing this sitting on my very comfortable seat on the high speed train, looking out at the terrain I have walked through these past eight days whizzing past me at a rate of knots. I'm tired now and looking forward to getting home, but no doubt will start getting excited very soon for the next section of the Camino!

Day 33: Rionegro del Puente to Entrepeñas

The landscape today noticeably changed as I moved away from the meseta of Castilla-León and drew closer to the mountainous area which divides Galicia from the rest of the country, the southern part of which is called Sanabria. 

My night staying in the albergue (hostel) was not as bad as I thought it would be. Remembering, at 2am, that I did have earplugs, and finding them easily in my rucksack allowed me to sleep while others snored. Whether I kept them awake or not I am blissfully unaware. The first up this morning was our new Hungarian friend, who wanted to make it to Puebla de Sanabria, 40kms ahead. I was the last to set out with the aim of making a 22km walk, just over half the distance to Puebla de Sanabria. 

The first half of today's journey was not exciting. 9km of scrubland next to a motorway sums it up. The weather was strangely British, with bright sunshine and rain. In two hours I arrived at the interestingly named Mombuey. The name is the extent of the interest, I'm afraid. It was a place which has had its day. It is one of those small towns which existed solely because it was placed on the national road network to provide a place for travellers to stop and rest and eat. With the coming of the motorways, and the killing off of traffic on the national (equivalent to A roads), so these towns have also been killed off. And you can tell. I stopped for a bite to eat at lunchtime. The barman was surly, the salad unwashed, and the place felt tired. There was none of the usual Spanish bonhomie around the place at all. It does have an interesting looking church (which was, of course, like at the churches along the way, locked), but as I moved on, I was glad I hadn't spent a night here.

Back on the way, the second half of the day was much more pleasant. With the Sierra de Culebra hills in the background, famed for their wolves, I went through a series of villages. The villages were all of them quite lovely as places, but they all had one thing in common: no people. I walked along the minor road which linked the first three, and in two hours only one car, with an elderly driver, went past. In the summer, more people do come and live in these villages, but at this time of year they are almost completely depopulated. Many of the houses look in such a state of decay as to be evidently abandoned. It is such a shame. Each of the villages has its own church, and a little ermita shrine, but no Mass or resident priest. There are no bars, shops, or usual signs of life at all. So, here they are...

Firstly, Valdemerilla...

Then, Cernadilla...

Then, San Salvador de Palazuelo. This place amused me because of the very hopeful sign on a ramshackle house by the church, which advertised itself as for sale for a good price. The church was interesting because of its staircase up the tower and the portico.

And finally, Entrepeñas, where I met up with my Norwegian friend Kjartan. The lady who owned the house we were staying in was very welcoming. The house had belonged to her parents. She said that, during the winter, the village has barely 40 inhabitants, all elderly. She was very kind and took us over to the next village, Asturianos, to an excellent bar where we were given a good pilgrim dinner of chickpeas with wild mushrooms and calf's liver. We also had some of the local chorizo and cheese and a good portion of good Iberic ham. 

So, tomorrow is my last day, and is really only a half day before I return to Madrid and back home.

Day 32: Camarzana de Tera to Rionegro del Puente

It was good to wake up today knowing that I had a shorter stage: only 21km. And so, after my regulation two cups of coffee I headed down to the bridge over the River Tera to start today's walk. The weather was lovely, not too warm but sunny, and following the river, seeing the light glistening was a good way up start the day. 

Today was a day of visiting villages. The first village on the way was Calzadilla de Tera, which was sizeable enough, but with very little to recommend it. What I mean is: it has no bar! It has three churches, however. The old church, which is falling down; the new church, which is ugly; and the little chapel or hermitage, which is obviously the most loved. I sat in the square for a while, before moving on to the next village which was very near: Olleros de Tera. This is a village for the most relaxed people as nothing seems to open before 12 noon. I waited for the bar to open and was rewarded with a warm welcome and a very nice plate of grilled sweetbreads which the lady of the house cooked with evident expertise.

The bar owner came out to the road afterwards to ensure I was set on the right road to take up the Camino again. By this time the sun had become quite powerful as I set out along the way which was marked by a very old sign. Not far along the path is the shrine church of Our Lady of Agavanzal. Right by the church was an elderly gentleman on a bike who greeted me. I had been trying to cover up against the sun, but he was of the opinion that it was quite cold. Nonetheless, he was very warm with his greeting and wanted to know how far I would walk today. He told me he had come to the shrine to pray for peace in the world. It is wonderful to meet such saints in day to day life.

The conflicting messages of the various painted yellow arrows as I approached the reservoir of Our Lady of Agavanzal offered the danger of ignoring the danger signs and following a shorter way through the woods or the long and circuitous route following a formerly tarmacked road. I took the safe option which eventually brought me down to the dam of the reservoir. Crossing the dam gave great views not only of the reservoir but also looking downstream beyond the hydroelectric station. The path then followed the edge of the reservoir. I could not help but have a suit down at the edge of the water. It was so tempting to take off my boots and dip my feet in the beautifully clear and chill water, but fear of blisters stopped me. 

As I sat there, the clouds appeared and bright an end to be warmth of the sun. In fact, by the time I reached the next village, Villar de Farfón, it was quite chilly. In that village, the small hostel is run by a travelling evangelical missionary family. I stopped off for a cold drink, and soon realised how cold I had become. 

I now only had six kilometres to walk to the next village, and the end of today's section. The path became a rocky sandy pathway firstly through dehesa and then through woodland. As the path rose up in height, I looked out over acre upon acre of similar mature woodland. Coming from a country where it is difficult to find such expanses of unpopulated and unspoilt landscape, I realised how not only Spain but also something seemingly so small as Zamora province is actually vast. 

It was becoming evening when I finally arrived in Rionegro del Puente. True to its name it has a bridge. In fact, two. And also true to its name it has a river which is black not only in name but also, looking from above, in nature, as you might see from the photo. Tonight I am staying in the pilgrims' hostel as it is the only place to stay in this village. I joined up with my new Norwegian friend again and later we were joined by another pilgrim from Hungary. I feel like the tourist compared to a guy who does 50km days. But we each follow the Camino in our own way, and God finds his way to us in the midst of the Way.

Day 31: Tábara to Camarzana de Tera

As always, I seem to look back to the previous evening at the beginning of these posts. Last night I had dinner in the bar-restaurant attached to the hotel where I was staying. I happened to sit on a table adjacent to another lone diner. He briefly introduced himself as a Norwegian pilgrim. This morning we happened to coincide in the bar at breakfast, and it turns out he is an evangelical pastor. It was interesting how we coincided in ways of thinking about life, the Church, etc. We agreed to walk separately, but to have dinner together in the evening. A very providential meeting.

So, heading out on today's section, I began in good step and decided to sing

Lauds as I went along the road. Once off the main road, it was back on to the compressed earth pathways which traverse the farmland of Spain. I heard again, for the first time since Extremadura, the sound of cowbells, not on cows, but on goats and sheep, guarded by quite vociferous dogs. The terrain was more undulating as I journeyed through this first part of today's section. At one point I can't across a couple of deer who didn't quite know how to react to me, but hung around long enough for me to photograph them. Once again there was three option presented by a bifurcation. Either to travel the traditional route, with no bar or food, or via Villanueva de las Peras where there was the promise of a bar and food. I give no bonus points to anyone guessing which way I went.

When I got to Villanueva de las Peras, I made for the one restaurant, where lots of people were gathered. The tables were beautifully set for a banquet. I was informed that one of the villagers was 100 years old and that the restaurant had been booked out for his birthday lunch. Nonetheless, they took pity on a pilgrim, and put me in the back room, used only in summer for diners, and served me a beautiful plate of embutidos and cheese and a salad, all served on the all too familiar Churchill pottery. It was the perfect lunch for a Sunday and for a day on the Camino. Villanueva de las Peras was half way on the day's journey. The owner advised me not to go back to the Camino, as it involved extra kilometres, but to take the road out of town. So I followed his advice.

On each day I use a variety of tools to help me find the way. And so I put my final destination today - Camarzana - into my Google maps search. Not only did it advise me not to seek out the official Camino path but to take a completely different route which would shave a could of kilometres off the total for the day 

So, on the road out of Villanueva, I eventually took a farmlike road through old woodlands, which took me not to Santa Croya and Santa Marta, but through a beautifully tranquil natural park of holm oak and other trees which led me to the little village of Melgar de Tera. This was really completely off course for the Camino, but I loved finding my own way through completely silent and unspoilt pathways.

The natural park park emerged at the top of the hill above Melgar. From there I had not only the view of the villages ahead to lead me to lodging for the night, but also a first view of the Sanabrian hills through which I would journey in the days ahead. Within a kilometre I was in the village and enjoying a coffee in the bar, full of old gent cronies playing cards on a Sunday afternoon. I still had five kilometres to walk and so set off along the road to Pumarejo, which mostly I bypassed to take the road towards Camarzana to find tonight's lodging. Crossing the River Tera, along which tomorrow's route will set out, I found my way to the village of Camarzana in no time and the Hotel Juan Manuel. Here I caught up with my new Norwegian friend with whom I dined, sharing a really experience of life over dinner and a copa.

Day 30: Granja de Moreruela to Tábara

I must comment, first of all, on the house I stayed in last night. Casas rurales can take various forms but the best of them are country houses that were extended family homes in villages which have become surplus to necessity. A bit of doing up and they become wonderful 'one off' rustic places to stay. You can either rent a room or the whole house depending on your need. The house I stayed in last night is the house of an uncle who died with no children of his own, and the nieces, retaining all the original features, have made it into a very special place to stay. The wonderful patio which one enters through a great oak door would be perfect for a summer gathering. Inside, the rustic charm is complemented by modern central heating and plumbing. I took a room for 30 euros for which, there being no other guests that night, I had the whole house to myself. Tiredness and the need for an early night meant I didn't take full advantage.

On with the Camino! So today we begin the Camino Sanabrés. The signpost at the edge of the village gives you the last chance to change your mind which Camino you are going to do, and I was firmly set on the Ourense route. Bypassing the beautiful former Cistercian monastery of Granja (opens at 11am, so add that to a list of places to visit on a future trip), I started off on the first section of today's walk: 6.5km to the bridge over the river. This was a beautiful walk, firstly on wide agricultural pathways and then entering Mediterranean style woodland with holm oaks. At one point I stopped as I realised there was absolute silence and beauty: the very heart of the Camino. 

Emerging from the woodland onto the quiet provincial road, I spotted that I was not alone. A goatherd was sitting by the road smoking a long pipe, while two donkeys stood by, about twenty goats grazed, and a faithful dog stood watch. We observed each other as I approached, exchanged pleasantries, and that was that. Shortly I arrived at the bridge, the Puente Quintos. It was built about 100 years ago to become the main way to cross the River Esla which, as I mentioned yesterday, had been dammed to form a reservoir. The reservoir is currently drained so the river makes its silent journey through the verdant valley. 

On the other side of the bridge, another choice of Camino to make. I had seen the up and down profile of the next section and when I saw the sign warning about the unevenness, I took the alternative, walking by the side of the road for the next 11km through to the village of Faramontanos de Tábara which I had identified as a good spot for lunch. The road was quiet and not exciting, but it got to where it was going. 

Arriving in Faramontanos, I met a local character. Javier has no legs and gets around the village in his electric mobility scooter. When I saw him he was picking some fennel from the side of the road. Giving me a piece to smell he asked me all about my journey. When I revealed that I was asking sustinence, he accompanied me right to the door of the bar-restaurant. The price for his consideration: a coffee which I was happy to order for him. Lunch was typical rustic food - stewed lentils and pork - with a glass of local wine (no label to allow me to be more specific). Again, another bargain at €10 for the meal!

Getting my legs into the idea that the day hasn't finished and that they have more walking to do is never easy after an hour of rest. Those final 7km sections look short, but when you're tired, they drag. The first half of this section was on wide farm tracks but with beautiful green hills on one side making the scenery reminiscent of home. The second and final section was more woodland, interrupted only by the bridge over the new high speed railway. Right on cue, an AVE train passed as I stood on the bridge. True to form it was fast; too fast for me to get the video option up on my phone...

As I entered Tábara, it felt like more of a place that is lived in than so many other villages I have passed through. The central square with a couple of bars already had some gents who seemed to have settled in for the day. And so to my room. So, four days of the eight of this section done, andand only 345km to Santiago!