DAY 39 - JARILLA to PUERTO de BÉJAR - Friday 31 May 2024

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We started out along the Via Verde this morning, a rail track converted to pedestrian, bike and horse traffic. We enjoyed the many great features of a rail trail - easy under foot, cuttings, elevated views, old stations and gentle gradients. There were cherry trees too, unfortunately none with fruit overhanging the path. We were enjoying ourselves so much we missed our turn and had to backtrack a few hundred metres!

Our first rest stop was in the village of Aldeanueva del Camino, which had some of the essentials for slow travellers - a bar and a supermarket - as well as a fine historic bridge. 

After that we joined the Via de la Plata again, which was on the N630, a tarred road which has been accompanying us a lot of the way. This is the old highway, but most of the traffic goes on the motorway, so it is fairly quiet. We had views of mountains on both sides, but no lake, even though we saw on the map it was quite close. It wasn't until we had climbed quite a bit that we finally got our lake views.

The Via left the road for a brief but welcome shady stretch on a dirt track, then rejoined the N630 to take us into Baños de Montemayor. After a photo with a modern Roman milestone, we found a menu del día to sustain us for the last uphill stretch to Puerto de Bejar. 

Suitably recharged, we headed up on a reconstructed Roman road, with fine views over the surrounds. The path then descended across the N630 to a very overgrown path. We plunged in and the path soon became clearer and shady. We heard a grunt and saw a couple of wild pigs disappearing into the undergrowth. We paddled through a soggy section, feeling like we were in the wild, but we could hear the motorway nearby.

Quite soon we rejoined the N630 and entered a new autonomous region, Castilla y Leon. From there it was a short walk to our accommodation for the night.

A cutting in the scenic Via Verde
The scenic Via Verde
Via Verde above Aldeanueva del Camino 
Aldeanueva del Camino 
Replica Roman milestones (miliarios) have been placed along the route
The Via de la Plata up to Baños de Montemayor  - part road, part track
Baños de Montemayor - a Via de la Plata column and an interesting mural
The path from Baños de Montemayor to Puerto de Béjar 
Birds
Day 39 - Map

Day:                                39
Distance:                       26.49 km
Walking time:               5 hrs 41 mins
Elevation gain:             698 meters
Cumulative distance: 760.39 km

Comments

  1. The Howie's1 June 2024 at 07:19

    Wow, or 2 x 12km days in the last week are nothing compared to you slow Aussie walkers! You are very impressive, just like the photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aussie Slow Travellers3 June 2024 at 22:05

      You're too kind!

      Delete

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