One way of drying the clothes that didn't dry overnight after yesterday's soaking.

Not a deserted village but give it another 30 years.

We walked along this road for a good few hours with regular diversions through little villages.

Someone is going to be eating a lot of soup this winter.

Though it was dry, there were waves of mist during the morning.

How long would it take to get one road through planning in the UK, two is just taking the .....

Now that is what a rear rack should be used for.

The river did look swollen after yesterday's rain, this was an overflow area.

The hills we were about to clamber up for the next couple of hours.

Suppose there are worse jobs on a sunny day.

Was lovely to finally see our accommodation for tonight.

A Steep Old Climb

October 10, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

I slept really well last night, a combination of a very nice bed in the parador we stayed in and the exertions of the last couple of days meant a very sound night's sleep.

Today's walk was a slight incline for 13 miles and then a 3.5 mile steep climb, up 450m. The initial 13 miles was quite straight forward but then came the climb. The first half averaged around 20% for one kilometre, our average speed dropped from 3mph to well below 2mph but were just glad to get through it. The 2nd half eased to around 10%, though we were more than happy to finally reach our accommodation.

Laguna, at 1,150m, has a resident population of 20 people, the only business is the hostel where we stayed. Restaurant, bar and accommodation, they have everything sown up. Though at €3,30 for a large beer, and €14 for a 3 course meal with half a bottle of wine, they weren't trying to fleece the punters.

Around 7pm we went to the bar for quick drink only to meet an Irish guy and a Canadian who I'd chatted to as we left Villafranca this morning. Then Matt joined us, a guy we'd met on our second day, and before you knew it they were mopping the floors and chucking us out at 21:30. A late night by pilgrim standards!

Villafranca to Laguna de Castilla
Distance: 16.64 miles
Time: 6hrs 5mins
Speed: 2.7 mphRead more