Tabara - Santa Marta de Tera 23 km

My single room in the albergue was great, except it was at the top of the building and as hot as a furnace but I did manage to get to sleep eventually but woke at 0500. I just got up and left, there was no reason to stay.

After about 10 km there was a choice of route to Santa Marta, the route to the right was 0.5 km shorter but no coffee, so needless to say, I went straight ahead, I figured the extra half km was worth it, and reader, it was.

I arrived in Villanueva de las Peras hoping that I would indeed find a café open, I passed one that was closed and so wasn't hopeful, but as I walked further into the town, I saw Julia's water bottle on a table, then her mochila and I guessed she must be inside the café. So, I ended up having the most wonderful breakfast with Julia. I had asked for tostada and marmalada which the lady brought out to me, but she also brought a small pot of honey and said that it was their own honey, made by their own bees. I'm not hugely fond of honey but it was such a nice gesture I had to try some. I left the marmalada untouched. The honey was the best I have ever tasted, it was amazing. She then came out and gave Julia and I a small sweet cake, no charge. Julia told me that when she arrived the café was closed but an old lady told her to wait and then she went and woke up the owners (it was a Sunday) who very happily got up and served us our breakfast, they could not have been nicer. I made sure to message back to Mirjam and Anne to stop there for coffee and honey toast. The best part of the breakfast however, was my conversation with Julia., I will never forget it She was going on beyond Santa Marta and it would be a while before I would see her again, but she was never far from my thoughts over the next few days.

When I got to Santa Croya de Tera I heard someone whistle, but I couldn't see anyone then I heard a voice shouting 'Normando!' it was Luis and Delphine, they were in the park, when I went over to them Luis insisted that I take some cherries as all the shops were closed, the cherries were huge and tasty, I was still eating them 3 days later. The guys were concerned that all the shops in Santa Marta and possibly the cafés might be closed, I said it was no problem then patted my stomach and said muchas reservas, Luis thought that was hilarious.

We arrived in Santa Marta about 1130, and met the hospitalera who was just coming out of the church next door. Luis told her I was a Baptist Minister so she made a point of inviting me to the 12 o'clock service, which I then felt obliged to go to, the guys thought it was funny.

The albergue was very nice and a real bargain at 5€ very clean, and really good toilets and showers, one of the best so far. It only slept 13 and it was beginning to fill up - one of the first to arrive was the guy we all referred to as bearded Spaniard man, he was an epic snorer. I messaged Mirjam to tell her and Anne to pick up the pace as they might end up not getting a bed, which they did and they arrived in time managing to get the last two beds. Within the next hour three other peregrinos were turned away, their only option was to walk another 6km to a more expensive hostal. I know Mirjam and Anne would have been able and willing to walk to the next town, the truth is that I was not being thoughtful or altruistic, it was completely selfish, I just really wanted to see them again.

It turned out there was a restaurant open but it closed at 1800, so Luis and Delphine and I went and had a very nice dinner, then back to the albergue for a chat with the girls then bed. It rained just as we were getting into bed and I wondered if the path would eb muddy or flooded in the morning, but that was tomorrow's problem.Read more