Long, flat, and wet

Palencia to Amusco, 33 km, 93m elevation.

I left my hotel before seven and was in a nice Casa Rural here in Amusco before 3 PM. Things couldn’t have been any flatter, even if I was back home in East Central Illinois.

It wasn’t the world‘s prettiest walk, and three hours of steady rain didn’t help it, but it was very interesting to see all of the locks and mechanical paraphernalia, as I walked along the Canal de Castilla. The canal is a late 1700s engineering marvel, whose original purpose was to connect the Meseta with the north of Spain, so that grain from the central area could be exported. More than 200 km of navigable waters were built in a Y shape. But soon after its inauguration, railroads became a predominant form of transport, leaving the canal with a primary function of irrigation. There were many abandoned buildings along the water, as well as a lot of mechanical installations. I didn’t understand any of it, but it was a nice interruption.

I had a total of about three hours of rain, maybe a little more. Steady but never heavy. It was a perfect day for the Altus poncho, because I could easily whip it off and tuck the sleeves under my backpack straps. And then five minutes later, put it back on. For me, a rain jacket would have been a huge hassle in this situation.

I am staying in a Casa Rural that is built above a 15C synagogue. Actually, it was built in the 13th or 14th century as a bodega, and then re-purposed in the 15 C as a synagogue. Wikipedia tells me that the town of Amusco once had a population of more than 300 Jewish people. Like so many small rural towns, Amusco seems to be in that familiar death spiral —school closed, butcher closed, one bar left. But the housing affordability crisis may have a silver lining, because there are a few young families who cannot afford to buy a house in the capital, and have moved here to fix something up.

More canal tomorrow, but it’s a short day.

https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/palencia-…Læs mere