Cañaveral to Carcaboso

I had a lazy morning, in my luxurious apartment, and went out for breakfast, the bus wasn't due until 1140 so I had plenty of time. I decided to have a wander around Cañaveral, as I saw very little of it the last time I was here. To be honest there's not much to it, other than the fact that it is a nice little village with amazing views. It is very overcast today and a cool 18°. I had to get two busses one to Plasencia which seems to be a bus hub. and then one to Carcobosso. I was hoping that one more day off the camino would make a big difference to my feet.

Carcaboso was just as dull and uninteresting as I remembered. The albergue is ok, it could do with some modernisation, but it is comfortable enough, and the owner is a friendly guy. I was the only pilgrim. Tomorrow is a long haul on a stage with accommodation difficulties, you have to go off the camino for 7km which you then have to walk back the next day, or else walk 38km to the next town. However, I discovered that if I went back to the bus hub in Plasencia I could get another bus part of the way thereby cutting the distance. Common sense prevailed over the desire to get back on the camino so that's what I planned to do. I had a chat with the hospitalero and he gave me the bus time. and pointed out the stop which was 20 metres from the albergue.

When I was here two years ago I felt that Carcaboso was on its last legs but it seemed to have had some life injected into it, there was some development going on and a new supermarket had opened up.

I went to the excellent and well recommended restaurant up the street and had a really good meal, it was slightly more expensive than the average menu del dia but really good. I met an elderly American, from Texas, and we shared a table. We had a good conversation and I was able to give him some advice about tomorrow's walk. He planned to walk to the Roman Arch and then get a taxi to Aldeanueva, he was doing the camino via a mixture of walking and getting taxis (despite the ease with which I managed to get buses, they often don't stop at the smaller towns and villages on the camino). I suggested to him that he might be better getting a taxi to the Arch, as it is quite a remote spot, and then he could walk the 18m to Aldeanueva from there on a fairly easy path. I also showed him how to use the Buen Camino App, he had downloaded it but couldn't work it out. He said he had done a comino before but he was older now and also finding the heat oppressive. By the time we had finished our meal, it was bedtime for me, so we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways - he was staying in the hotel that the restaurant was part of.Læs mere