Route variant

Today I started walking with the Germans, and soon we met the Belgians. We walked kind of together for 4k, until we reached a decision point: the standard route went left, and continued beside a main road, passing by 4 or 5 villages and was 18k long in total. The variant went right, going towards and then beside a river, passing by a single village before rejoining the main path for the last part. This was a slightly longer route but still not much more than 20k, flat and easy, with a chance of shade and quietness. I was sold on the variant, and so was Jan. The others opted for the standard route for fear of mosquitoes near the river.
I'm very happy with my choice! As the pics show, the path was nice and shaded for the most part. I was not bothered by a single mosquito.
One reason many people choose the standard route is that they can stop for coffee/toilet breaks at any of the villages on the way. I knew I'd have to carry enough food and water to last for the 20k, because it wasn't certain that the single village on this route would have any facilities. I was thinking, how spoiled I'm becoming... at home I often go hiking for similar distance, in much harder conditions, with certainty of NO facilities anywhere.
Anyway, Jan and I have no doubt that we made the best choice.
At Villavieco there was a cafe, but it was closed when we arrived at 8.40. It had a nice outdoor sitting area, so we sat there for a break and ate some of our snacks.
The cafe opened at 9, so we got a chance to use the toilets, and Jan ordered breakfast. We spent about an hour there.
We then continued the nice and pleasant walk (though the river was dry).Read more