Our start today was a long shady descent on dirt track. We saw Camino signs, cows, and plenty of flowers. We heard bird song and a river rushing down the hill near us.
At the bottom of the hill, we crossed an old bridge and continued on the dirt track alongside another river. There were lots of miliarios to find and photograph. We saw a couple of trail runners and some walkers with packs coming the other way.
At the beginning of a long rocky ascent to La Calzada de Bejar, a cyclist stopped and pushed his loaded bike up. We could see some snow on the distant mountains - the cyclist told us they had been covered in April. Just as we were coming into the village, some horse riders were leaving - one horse didn't like the look of us but we all managed to pass safely.
La Calzada de Bejar provided us with a second breakfast. Part of the road was sealed off as it looked like some of the balconies might crumble into the street.
The Via de la Plata continued on a wide dirt track. We met many cyclists coming the other way, enjoying the strong tailwind. We enjoyed the refreshing breeze.
At Valverde de Valdelacasa we meandered through the streets following the Camino to discover all the Camino-related signs and statues. We were admiring one when a small herd of cattle came around the corner. We quickly got out of the way. A farmer hurried in from another direction chasing after the cows. An unexpected drama!
After a lemon soft drink in the Bar El Peregrino, we headed up the road to Valdelacasa, which was just a few kilometres away. We had gazpacho, tortilla and calamari for lunch, some Spanish classics.
We had 10 km on tarred road (not our favourite) to get to our accommodation in Guijuelo, but it was unexpectedly scenic, with forest on one side and views of mountains on the other. About halfway we met two men with donkeys and a dog, who were following the old stock route path the Via often shares. We finished the day's walk thinking how great it is that this path is still used for traditional purposes.
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| Via de la Plata, cows, cyclist, snow on the hills |
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| An artistic portrayal of the Via de la Plata, under a highway, Puerto de Béjar |
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| The Via de la Plata, mostly downhill from Puerto de Béjar |
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| Roman milestones (miliarios) along the Via de la Plata |
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| Snow, the Via de la Plata towards La Calzada de Béjar |
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| La Calzada de Béjar |
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| Pilgrimage symbols in La Calzada de Béjar |
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| The Via de la Plata to Valverde de Valdelacasa |
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| Pilgrimage symbols in Valverde de Valdelacasa |
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| Valverde de Valdelacasa |
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| Cows going for a walk in Valverde de Valdelacasa |
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| The road to Valdelacasa |
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| Valdelacasa |
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| A chance encounter with some other long-distance walkers |
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| The road to Guijuelo |
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| Flowers |
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| Birds |
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| Day 40 - Map |
Day: 40
Distance: 32.93 km
Walking time: 6 hrs 41 mins
Elevation gain: 764 meters
Cumulative distance: 793.32 km
We’ve reached Oulu in northern Finland. A very modern city with many technology based industries but we spent the day in picturesque forests and saw Pygmy Owl, a cute, just fledged, baby Tengmalm’s owl and Black and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. But it’s still hot here 28C and we’re getting closer the the arctic circle! Red twilight at 12:30 last night/morning
ReplyDeleteYou're seeing lots of great birds! Red twilight at 12.30 could make sleeping challenging.
DeleteWhat an exciting day. From what I can see in your photos, that encounter with the cows didn't end well for them. Is that steak waiting to be cooked?. Some lovely scenery and flowers as always.
ReplyDeleteNo cows were harmed. Our standard breakfast in Spain is toast with ham and tomato, and that is what you can see in the photo. In fact we've only recently started seeing beef on the menu, so you can rest easy about the cows!
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