DAY 38 - CARCABOSO to JARILLA - Thursday 30 May 2024

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It was a beautiful and peaceful start to the walk today, through irrigated farming land. The cows turned to watch us as we walked past and the sun took its time coming up over the hill. There were no bulls bellowing and pawing the ground and any dogs we met, barked, then lost interest. We heard the dawn chorus, then the cuckoo and cow bells. Cyclists passed us with a 'buen camino' and we were able to open the gates for some of them. 

After a while the landscape turned to dehesa. We enjoyed stone walls and flowery tracks and the cork and oak trees, but today they seemed to be positioned closer to the path, so we had quite a bit of shade. We ate our bananas beneath one of these trees, on a handy rock.

As we continued on, we were passed by more cyclists. We noticed footprints in the sandy track and guessed there was a walker ahead of us. He surprised us by calling out 'buen camino' from where he was hidden in deep shade. 

Eventually we arrived at the Roman Arch. This is used as the symbol for the Via de la Plata and appears on top of the cubos, the directional cubes. We managed to take some photos before a bus load of tourists descended from the nearby car park. 

We ate and drank our supplies, then continued through the dehesa. On this part there was actually some running water so we used the stepping stones and we could dip our hats in to provide some cool.

We were on the road for a short time before turning onto a grass-seed filled path, not well-marked. Fortunately our GPS helped us navigate to our hotel, past a row of nesting storks - a great end to the day's walk! 

The iconic Arch of Cáparra
Setting off from Carcaboso this morning
Morning cows
Morning on the Via de la Plata 
Later in the morning, on the Via de la Plata approaching Cáparra 
A rare bench overlooking the Roman ruins of Cáparra provided our picnic lunch spot
The Arch of Cáparra and surrounds 
The Arch of Cáparra
Via de la Plata cubo, or way marker. The symbol at the top is of the Roman road passing through the Arch of Cáparra. 
To finish the day's walk,  a bit of  varied scenery. And some storks. 
Birds. Storks again. 
Day 38 - Map
Day:                                38
Distance:                       30.62 km
Walking time:               6 hrs 49 mins
Elevation gain:             575 meters
Cumulative distance: 733.90 km

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