DAY 24 - MONESTERIO to MEDINA DE LAS TORRES - Thursday 16 May 2024

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Today we set off as the sun was coming up, as we had a long day's walk ahead. We had a first breakfast of muesli in our room, then a second breakfast of milk coffee, juice and toast with ham and tomato at the bar downstairs, just before we left. 

We walked out on dirt tracks through the dehesa, the fields with oak plantings. There were many stone walls, most made traditionally without the use of concrete. Cows and sheep stopped to stare at us as we walked past, and we stopped to photograph them. 

We came out on a plateau and got some great views over a patchwork of fields. We had a brief chat to an Italian walker before going our separate ways. We passed some pigs, not in fields but there was plenty of mud.

We climbed into Fuente de Cantos and found everything except for one bar shut. There were many locals at the bar and plenty of pilgrims too. We had lunch of... milk coffee and ham and tomato rolls.

The second part of today's itinerary involved a walk on a quiet road, as we had to go off the Via de la Plata to get accommodation. There were views of wildflowers, fields and many olive trees. There were also some curious cows - perhaps they don't see many walkers - and a mule in a field with a sheep.  

When we got to our accommodation, our host told us it is the festival of San Isidro, which explains why everything is shut up. As there is nowhere open for dinner, we have bought a 'breakfast' for tonight, which will no doubt involve ham...

Sunrise in the dehesa
A peaceful country path out from Monesterio
Cow with bell
Sunrise
Another walker ahead
Retying a shoelace, then striding out again
A lovely walk through patchwork countryside, with sheep and a rainbow
The umbrellas were up for a bit . . . 
Iberian pigs
889 km to Santiago
Approaching Fuente de Cantos, where we planned to stop for lunch
Lunch. Almost the entire town was on holidays (apparently all the villages in this area close down for five days to celebrate the festival of San Isidro),  and the one bar that was open was offering very limited food options.  
The first few kilometres of the road to Medina de las Torres featured decaying dry stone walls and masses of poppies 
The road was scenic and quiet, except for the braying of a mule. For the 16 kilometres between Fuente de Cantos and Medina de las Torres we only saw 9 cars, one bike, and a dog that ran away when it saw us.  
There were olive plantations stretching into the distance. Some of the trees looked quite old. 
There were no benches on the way (of course), but we found an attractive alternative for our afternoon tea stop
Approaching Medina de las Torres
Birds and hare 
Day 24 - Map

Day:                               24
Distance:                      35.94 km
Walking time:               7 hrs 22 mins
Elevation gain:             561 metres
Cumulative distance:  446.54 km

Comments

  1. Victoria N17 May 2024 at 22:37

    Fiestas, fiestas, fiestas and more fiestas, they are a constant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aussie Slow Travellers18 May 2024 at 07:27

      Which would be great, if long distance walkers could only work out how to join in!

      Delete
  2. Murray and Sandra23 May 2024 at 22:18

    Guesses at today’s birds: peacock, ?, crested lark, maybe azure winged magpies, not sure

    We’re packing this evening for early morning drive to Dublin airport then on to Estonia! buen Camino!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aussie Slow Travellers24 May 2024 at 06:18

      Thanks for your guesses. Hope you enjoy Estonia!

      Delete

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