Day 34 - Zamora - 18.5 km

Weather report
Still air and clear skies- mild temperatures- slight misty drops of rain.
Clothes
Long sleeve merino - light wind fleece - rain jacket - same old pants.

How was today?
I had a few things I wanted to do in Zamora so thought an early start would give me a good half day in this historic town.
I set out from my albergue at 7.00 am - completely in the dark with just my excellent head lamp to light my path. This is the first time I have walked alone in the early morning dark. Every other time I have had companions, either intentional or accidental.
I loved it.
In the dark and alone the attention becomes focussed. The first step is to calm the back brain which wants to jump at every noise. Then I put on my sacred music and focussed on the circle of ground illuminated by the headlamp. It felt like the earth was turning under my feet and I was standing still. There was nothing to distract my attention - except the stars. Beautiful.
In this way the first couple of hours seemed to go really fast. The sky very slowly lightened until the sun eventually emerged. We are still on a plain so the scenery is much the same as yesterday.
There has obviously been some heavy rain and I had fun not getting bogged in a very muddy section. I got to Zamora by 11.30 am.
The Albergue didn’t t open till 2 pm so I asked a local cafe if they could mind my back pack (after I bought a coffee and cake) - the answer was yes. So I high tailed it to Decathlon - found some warm pants, a light sleeveless fleece and a replacement for my tiny towel. Unfortunately I left the scarf I was using as a towel at an albergue. Boo hoo! It was a favourite. I was also able to easily get the other items I was looking for - just following my feet and easily getting help when needed.
The Albergue in Zamora is delightful. They offer dinner and breakfast by donation. There is an Irish/ English man here and a couple of French men and some others. I had time to wash most of my clothes. There is a machine that just spins clothes so then they dry very quickly.
Zamora is a lovely town. The approach by the river and then over the bridge is impressive. It’s smaller than Salamanca and for me has a strong Arabic feel.
There were a lot of highlights today. Dark, mud, sunrise, and Zamora itself.
After showers and chores were done I went to find food to tide me over till dinner - I had the best tapas ever!! Sorry no pics. I had a wander around the town. Picked up some food for tomorrow and am now waiting for dinner - only an hour to go.

Buen Camino.Read more