Last night we had an incredibly nice stay in a Casa Rural, El Rincon del Infante, owned by Juan. A beautiful house, tastefully decorated. Juan and his wife Margarita were most attentive and offered us a variety of cold meats, beer and wine. Juan even insisted on driving this morning to ensure we found the way in the dark. It was like having a police outrider waiting at street corners! Thank you Juan.
Today was another of those very long days when you wish you'd stayed at home! As planned we did it in two stages. We left just after 06:00 and roughly two hours later we had reached the town of Villacañas, where we had breakfast. They had no bread so we ended up having croissants and churros! As we sat down to breakfast, it started to rain, but cleared shortly after. We rested there for about one hour and then geared up for the next 22 Kms or so!
Shortly after we left, the skies opened up and we had to use our ponchos for the very first time! On and on we plodded and eventually the rain stopped. We walked on a trail just by a main road all the way to Tembleque. The entrance to the town was probably the most exciting event of the day. The trail left us having to cross the railway tracks over an incredibly high pedestrian bridge. As we approached the bridge we saw that it had a large sign effectively saying, "NO ENTRY, BRIDGE IN DANGEROUS CONDITION". We looked for an alternative way over but could see none, without having to make a huge detour. Consequently we took the plunge and over we went, with myself leading the way. I was glad when we got to the other side! We finally arrived in the centre of town feeling quite exhausted.
Tembleque has one of the most incredibly beautiful squares we have ever seen. A curious anecdote; the square was inaugurated by King Felipe IV and they held a bullfight in the square. The King insisted on killing the bull himself..........which he did using a type of musket, firing from the Royal Box! All right for some, I guess!
Tomorrow we have an easier day which should not exceed 20 Kms. Fingers crossed. Our thanks to everyone for your kind comments and likes. It helps to keep us on our toes! Did I say toes? They hurt like hell!
Miriam and I are really enjoying your posts and the photographs. You guys are tough ! Best of luck P & M
ReplyDeleteDear Phil and Miriam, thank you for your comments and your good wishes. We really appreciate that specially coming from people such as yourselves who know how tough these Caminos can be! Sorry we've had difficulty posting photos here, but of course lots of photos on our Facebook page. Keep the comments coming. R& AM
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