Retortillo to Caracena via the GR 86

There are two halves to today’s walk. Retortillo to Tarancueña and Tarancueña to Caracena. The camino puts you on the highway for the first half. But there is a GR alternative of about twice that distance. Since the second half is only about 8 or 9, we decided to go for the off-road 24-25 Km option.

What a day. Lots of having to check the GPS, especially during the first half of the walk. That first part had lots of squishy ground, lots of meadows with high grasses, sometimes even having to cross cultivated fields. We saw tons of structures built against the rock face. According to one very nice man in Valvedenizo, those structures were used for animals. He also showed us the beautiful mushrooms he had just harvested and was going to use to make a revuelto (scrambled eggs) for him and his 100 year old mother. Those two constituted one of two families in the town.

The last part of the walk, from Tarancueña, was through a canyon. It was a little bit tricky in places but nothing beyond our meager abilities. There were some rocky places where we had to ascend 4 or 5 feet but there were always little crevices or protrusions for our feet to grab. We had several stream crossings, and once I planted a foot in about 6” of water but nothing too bad. We saw some huge birds of prey circling over the canyon. Cool.

We have a place to stay in Caracena. Rodrigo, the son of the bar owner, who used to allow pilgrims to stay in his house but then moved away, is back. He has taken over the bar/restaurant and is converting a house into a Casa rural. He has also gone to culinary school and his menu is quite upscale. We have eaten a very yummy meal — lamb and mushroom ravioli, some fancy rice snd pork dish, and I had cuajada for dessert, which is one of my favorite foods on earth.

The casa where we’re staying is still a workbench progress. But it is finished enough for us to stay — comfy beds, good shower, washing machine — what more could we want?!Read more