Day 13 - Belorado to Ages - one thousand

This was going to be a long hard day so left the hostal at 6 - but I might as well have left at 4 as I had almost no sleep as our dorm was noisy! Despite a headache it was a fab mornings walk until we stopped after 12km at Villafranca for coffee and tortilla.
The next part of the walk was steeply up but not as hard as I had expected and then the most wonderful stroll through woodland with beautiful birdsong (including Bonellis warblers, tree pipit, firecrests, and short toed tree creepers). Then there were the butterflies - thousands of them following me along the trail and all over the flowers. Also a hummingbird hawk moth - one of my favourite insects.
It was a truly magical day and once the headache went, thanks to paracetamol, I was in heaven! I’m sitting here in an 8 bed dorm writing this with a cuckoo still singing outside. I feel I may not get much sleep this as there is already snoring and coughing :(
Wonderful meal at a local bar in Ages almost next door to the hostal - the owners only spoke Spanish but I managed to communicate and had a great vegetarian meal - with Caroline, Rachel, Roz, Paul and Nick.
Burgos tomorrow for two days!!Læs mere