Calzada - Fuenterroble de Salvatierra 21

I had a good sleep but I was glad of the quilt as the house was quite cold, it was an old house with very thick stone walls. It was good to be able to get a shower in the morning for a change. It was only a 21km walk today but I made sure I had plenty of water.

I set off in the dark as usual, the path was well marked and fairly flat for the first part of the walk and I got some great photographs. At one point, a family of wild boar ran out of the undergrowth and crossed the path right in front of me.

After about 13 km I reached Valdelcasa where there was a café open, there were about a dozen other peregrinos including some Dutch people I had met a few times over the last week. After my breakfast of coffee and toast I set off. A lot of the last section was on the road and it seemed to go on and on uphill all the way for 3 or 4 km, then I met up with Rita and we carried on to Fuenterroble. I had decided to stay in the same private albergue as Rita and I think that was a good choice, it was very nice, I had a room to myself, with a nice double bed and the shower was one of the best so far.

The hospitalera had recommended a café and so Rita and I went along and had an very good meal, the headed to the shop before it closed. In the evening all the peregrinos were invited to a special peregrino mass in the local church which was more than 500 years old and had a section of excavated Roman road in its grounds. The service was interesting, but all in Spanish so I could only understand bits and pieces. The priest led us in a song and he had an amazing voice that resonated all the way around the sanctuary, the acoustics were fabulous.Read more