El Cubo to Zamora

In what was to become a feature of this camino, I found out last night that the albergue I had planned to stay in tonight had closed unexpectedly, which meant a 31 km walk to Zamora. On the positive side, it was still slightly cooler than it has been over the past few weeks, still it was going to be a long walk so I had no time to dawdle taking pictures or long breaks, I wanted to get there before it did get too hot.. and it did get hot.

Zamora is another beautiful city, I spent the day walking around here with the very lovely Anita from Brisbane, I sat where we had our lunch last time, near the albergue with an amazing view, but it wasn't the same, she wasn't there. So I went to find a cafe, which was not a problem. Although I didn't want to walk around the city, I ended up doing another 10 km by the end of the day. I went into the church to light the candles and ended up doing the tour, it was very interesting. The altar cloth was very moving, it was a beautifully rendered image of an ancient Christian symbol of the Lamb, and i was suddenly reminded that in the end the Lamb wins. Despite all that we have to endure, and all that we suffer, in the end all will be well because the Lamb wins.

Jan and an italian guy called Joelo, whose pack was way too big - he had far too much stuff - arrived in the albergue, along with a guy from New Zealand
The albergue is big but clean with decent toilets/showers, and although the drying line is too small, it has a centrifuge to spin the clothes. It also has a fully stocked fridge, and friendly staff.

Tomorrow, we head to Montamarta, 21 km, it is a nice walk but a lot of it is quite exposed with little shade. I remember being so tired last time, really done in, but this time I felt fitter and my pack was lighter and better fitting. I feel that once you are past Zamora the camino seems to go in very quickly.Read more