A very long and tiring day. We arrived in Montealegre completely exhausted! Our comfort zone is normally 20 to 25 km a day. Anything over that is really stretching us!
That said, it was an enjoyable day. In part this was due to the scenery which was beautiful in places. Gone are the arid plains, we are now into much more lush vegetation, with vineyards lining a great part of today's trek.
Underfoot it was a different matter! Very hilly, with either very stoney paths or very soft sandy ones, the latter in particular bring very taxing on the legs. Reminded me of when, some 50 years ago, my crew from the MRC Rowing Club and I used to train running on the sand at Eastern Beach in Gibraltar to strengthen our leg muscles. I never liked it then and I still don't like it now! In addition we had long stretches on Tarmac which with temperatures of 26/27 degrees made the feet overheat considerably. There were long stretches with no shade at all, but we still managed to find the occasional spot to lie down and rest.
Montealegre is a small town with a huge, crumbling church of Santiago and the ruins of an old castle with a connection to the Duke of Berwick. No internet connection so will have to research him some other time. We were met by one of the town council members who took us to their Albergue, which we have all to ourselves! Tomorrow we set off for the town of Petrola where it would appear the only accommodation is a mattress on the floor at the local church. No shower..........enough said!
DÍA 6 YECLA A MONTEALEGRE - ADICIONAL
Hoy completamos una gran etapa. Salimos a las 6.30 después de tomar un desayuno de tostada con aceite y llegamos a Yecla en 6 horas! Un día agradable sin demasiado calor y siguiendo la 'Vía Verde' gran parte del camino. Un sendero creado sobre la ruta antigua del tren Chicharra. Fácil de caminar y bien señalizado. Campos de cultivo de cereales, viñedos, olivares... Luego caminos asfaltados para entrar en Yecla y llegar al hotel. No hay albergue. Esta noche es la gran fiesta de San Isidro en Yecla y todos los negocios están cerrados. Gente vestida con trajes típicos, gran ambiente! Hay desfile de carrozas, todas decoradas con papeles de colores, primero pasan los de los chicos con motivos juveniles y luego las de los adultos de gran tamaño e increíblemente decoradas, también hechas de papel.
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