In Puente Almuhey.

In a straight shot on the road, Guardo to Puente Almuhey is about 13 km. But on the alternative that Ender has marked it’s about 36. Having done them both now I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the long route wins hands down.

First on road to a little town with famous Roman arches, then up through a forest to a ridge with beautiful views ( note to self—when you realize you are off your GPS tracks and in a forest on a mountain, don’t try to find creative ways to re-join the tracks. Just go back down and get back on the right track immediately.)

About halfway is the little town of Caminayo, a beautiful little hamlet whose residents used to work in the nearby mines. It’s now a town of a couple dozen. We saw a man cutting grass and asked him if there was a bar in town. One phone call later, and Lourdes was opening up the Centro Social and making us coffee. We had a really lovely stop.

Then about 23 km down and we are now in Puente Almuhey. The Albergue has been closed due to some bureaucratic irregularities so we are in the gorgeous apartamentos turísticos Carricuende. Hard to believe that for 20 euros you get a private room, sheets and towels, washing machine, and breakfast in the bar they own next door. We have a 22 km day tomorrow, so we didn’t even bother to ask if we could have breakfast before their normal opening time of 8 am!Read more