View from Oban Bothy

View from Oban Bothy

Saturday, 20 September 2014

Via de la Plata: To Calzada de Valdunciel

Afterwards a very bad night's kip (due to me listening to Jim Naughtie's 'Scotland Decides' on t'interweb wireless most of the night) I surfaced around 8am to the sound of hissing down rain lashing against my window.  

Unlike my first leg of the Camino two years ago, this time I had a proper waterproof and a rain cover for my pack. Both were put to good use. 

I diverted to the local Decathlon to buy a very lightweight fleece (€5!) because it had suddenly got much cooler. The weather was much nicer back in Timperley. 

Leaving Salamanca by the Bull Ring, the next 5-6 miles were on roads. Norralot of fun. 

My original plan was to leave Salamanca by bus in order to avoid the roads and the ugly outskirts of what is otherwise a beautiful city. I wish I'd stuck to that idea. Oh well. 

Once off the tarmac the route followed splodgy field paths and dirt-tracks to eventually arrive the little village of Calzada de Valdunciel: 1 shop (closed), 2 bars (open) and most importantly,  1 very cosy Albergue - my bed for the night.  For the princely sum of €5 I have a bunk bed, a simple kitchen and a hot shower.  Magic.

The village has a Casa Rural (a sort of B&B) but that was closed for the fumigacion. Lovely. 

I'm sharing the Albergue with a French couple who started their Camino in Saville where it was a cookingly hot 44degC. 

I could do with a meal but there's nothing to be had here until the morning.  I've got a couple of bread rolls so I'll tuck into them when I finish typing this up.

Today's walk wasn't particularly inspiring,  but I knew that was to be the case. I should have used the bus!

I just hope that the walk tomorrow will be more interesting. 




3 comments:

  1. Oh dear! I'm sure things will get better, and at least the drizzle overnight in Timperley will have wetted your hanging baskets at home, though it is still hot here.
    Enjoy your next meal, and think about how handy it was to have spent the summer eating pies!

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  2. That is amazing JJ, a fiver for a bunk bed and shower. Hopefully you will find food, existing on bread rolls in not so good!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Dawn, I'm afraid it was much later the next day before feast was found - but it more than made up for the famine that preceded it!

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