Aljucen to Cáceres

The three european pilgrims were very noisy getting up, the English guys (who were all in their late 60s were late in getting up, which is unusual on the camino, as most cyclist fumble about making a racket at 4am, usually because they have forgotten to pack their gear the night before.

The bus to Cáceres was due at 0815 so I was in no hurry, and went down to the bar for breakfast, which was a nice treat. I am not happy about skipping a couple of stages but I don't have many options, I will just have to write it off as a rest day. The bus came on time, it was quite full and by the time we got to Cáceres I was feeling quite sick, I don't travel well in buses. I got off at the bus station, it was about 2 km to the Plaza Mayor but I actually remembered the way as the camino from Valdesalor passes near the bus station. I had booked a bed at the same albergue I had stayed in previously, but check in wasn't until 12 noon, so I went and had some coffee, and then went round to chance my luck and see if I could leave my backpack. The hospitalera checked me in and took my backpack and said the room would be available at 12, and I was ok with that, I could be a tourist without having to carry my backpack around.

When I went back to the albergue, I found I was in a 3-bedded room, which was odd because I had booked a single room, and my Spanish isn't that bad, however, that was the room that was available, so I just go on with it. I had forgotten that the showers here weren't great, not the worst, but not great. When I went back to the room I found that there was another occupant, a spanish guy who spoke no English and was a smoker.

I did some touristy things in the afternoon and lit a candle in the cathedral, I spent a fair bit of time there, I found it a very peaceful space. Even in bigger towns and cities, a lot of the cafe and restaurants close for a few hours in the late afternoon, so I left the cathedral and went for some dinner - patas bravas with cheese and bacon. It was delicious. Tomorrow I would be going to Cañaveral, it is a difficult stage due to accommodation problems. It is 10 km to Casa de Cáceres and you can stay there, however, it is another 35 km from there to Cañaveral because the alberge that is roughly halfway has been closed since before covid and there is no indication of it reopening. It is also a very difficult stage, there is no shade, and nowhere to get food or water. When I came two years ago, almost all the pilgrims got the bus, but it doesn't go through Casa de Cáceres, so it would mean going direct to Cañaveral from here, roughly 46 km.

Once again I found myself contemplating getting a bus, it was not ideal, but the distance, the difficulty and the fact that my feet were still very painful, was pushing me in that direction.

I spent some time in the evening replanning my route, and have worked out a route that will involve another bus but should get me into Santiago by 1st of July.

My infected blister was looking better thanks to Babs' medical advice and a rest day in Cáceres, hopefully the next couple of days I will not be walking any significant distance and so it should improve further. Tomorrow I will get a mid-morning bus to Cañaveral, and have a 2nd rest day, I have booked a solo apartment in the albergue, it's a bit more expensive but having skipped a couple of albergues, its within the overall budget. At least I won't be arriving on a Sunday like last time, when everything was closed.Read more