25th September, Camino Sanabres to Santa Marta de Tera

…although still on the Via de la Plata

Another chilly start – and storms still forecast. We were up and about in good time to grab some breakfast, there was plenty of bread.

Matthew’s knee injury seemed to be settling down, he was clearly a happy bunny:

Once out the village of Tabara our route followed clearly marked tracks. Maps weren’t needed, our way was well signposted:

We didn’t stop here – but it certainly looked tempting. Some Albergues are ‘municipal’. Others are private, like this one.

Villanueva and lunchtime. It was quite (=very) hot and we were in need of a cuppa and something to eat. A tiny Villanueva pussycat hopped on to Vanessa’s guitar….actually it was Matthew’s, she was just carrying it. Said pussycat had clearly decided that hitching a ride was a bit of a lark and didn’t really want to disembark any time soon:

Being a bit of a softy, Vanessa got quite worried about her new friend. She was convinced, probably quite correctly, that it had been abandoned. A few minutes after this chance meeting, the cat was being fed and watered quite royally – milk and sardines.

The ungrateful feline then vanished without even saying thank you. There’s gratitude.

High-tech woodburner. A micro-controller does the clever bit: it monitors combustion and tweaks the various vents to ensure maximum efficiency. Of the three black pipes at the back, one is the flue and the other two convey pumped hot air to different parts of the building. Clever, eh?

Leaving the village we came across some interesting buildings. These were used for storage:

Others were lived in:

 Quite reminiscent of Kinver Edge.

Ruins of a mud-walled house

Hot, hot, hot…in Santa Croya de Tera

Santa Croya de Tera had a private Albergue. At 10Euros per night it was cheap enough, but there wasn’t a kitchen. We continued a little further, across the river, to the next village of Santa Marta de Tera where there was a modern municipal Albergue:

Heaven knows how much this place cost to put together: dormitory accommodation was good, the kitchen was good, showers superb, there was a coin-controlled washing machine. Unfortunately the place hadn’t been cleaned for quite a long time – the beds looked suspiciously grubby. We were expecting a hospitalero to roll up to collect our donations but none came.

The church in Santa Marta de Tera:

  Statue of Santiago peregrino at the back of Santa Marta de Tera church

After a good meal (and a few beers) in the local bar/restaurant I retired to my dorm in the albergue – but not before smothering my arms in Deet. I really didn’t fancy another night being eaten by bedbugs.