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- Sep 9, 2022, 9:07 AM
- ⛅ 14 °C
- Altitude: 849 m
SpainCastille and LeónCarrascal de BarregasRodillo40°53’59” N 5°49’39” W
Salamanca to Robliza de Cojos

When I got out of the cab and put on my pack I really felt like the Camino was starting. It was another short day, about 18 km, and all of it was on the Cañada, a long series of connected paths that shepherds walked with their flocks to take them from northern Spain down to the south for the winter. These routes are now protected by law, and the general public can use them along with the flocks and herds going south. This is called the transhumancia, though I don’t think it is much used for that purpose anymore. Much more common to see cyclists and walkers than anyone working with animals.
It’s been a beautiful day for walking, with a cool breeze and bright sun. I passed several people working in the fields and met a cyclist out for his morning ride. He has walked many of the same Caminos I have, and we actually had a few friends in common if you can believe that! He told me not to worry about the bulls, and that I would likely be seeing quite a few in the next few days. I told him how some friends of mine on this Camino had seen one in front of them and had squeezed under a fence to avoid walking right next to him. This guy said that the fence wouldn’t have stopped the bull from charging if he had been interested, so that I shouldn’t waste my time and dirty my clothes by squeezing under a fence. 😱
I passed many fields of sunflowers, but unfortunately they were all black and hanging down. Every now and then I saw a few late bloomers with bright yellow flowers, which picked up my spirits. Actually the fields reminded me of an art exhibit I had seen in the Bilbao Guggenheim years ago– it was a room filled with vases of sunflowers dipped in lead. The ones in the fields looked a lot like those in the museum, and neither was very attractive.
The albergue is in the old school building. It’s very basic but it has two beds, a bathroom, and a shower -nothing more needed. There’s a cafeteria on the highway about a kilometer away, so I will probably walk over there to get something to eat. There’s also a little shop in town but that’s about it. I haven’t seen too many residents, but thankfully the wife of the mayor was at home when I knocked to get the key to the Albergue. Based on the registry, it looks like there are about two or three people a month coming through here. No moving Pilgrim sidewalk on this Camino!Read more
Traveler Have you decided yet if you will go under the fence or not? 🤣🙃 It all sounds like a perfect start to your Camino!
Laurie Reynolds My answer keeps changing by the minute.
Traveler 😂🤣
Laurie Reynolds Well since you asked, I will share my lengthy deliberative process with you. This morning I had 3 km along the side of an empty road before I hit the Cañada entrance. I think that because I had learned so much about Canadas I was able to make a good decision. Here’s how it went. 1. Any bull or other livestock on the Cañada has escaped from somewhere.
Laurie Reynolds 2. The barbed wire fences or stone walls on either side of the Cañada mark the boundary between private and public property. The bull will have inevitably come from there. Going under the fence just risks going into his home turf and finding a lot of his buddies hanging around.
Laurie Reynolds 3. Since I know the Cañada is 75 m wide, what I should do is figure out whether going to the right or the left of this animal will give me more space. Even if he’s in the middle, that gives me at least 100 feet.
Laurie Reynolds Fortunately, I didn’t have to put my escape plan into action!
Traveler Just as well, since I can think of a lot of uncertainties in that plan, even though I'm sure you gave it plenty of thought while walking! 🤣🤣
Laurie Reynolds The one thing that is crystal clear though is that going under the fence was not the best decision. It may be a different question if you’re on the Villa de La Plata and just walking from one think that to the next, but the Canada is a very different system
Laurie Reynolds But I have just seen that tomorrow’s stage is where Maggie ran into the bull. I guess I will try really hard to make sure whether I’m on the Cañada or not as I walk.