Calzadilla de Los Barros

Aurelio, Keiko, and I set off together in the darkness, the path was clearly marked and although my feet were sore, we made good time in the cool of the early morning, it was like the start of a good joke; a Scotsman, a Spaniard and a Japanese woman went for a walk...

Keiko is 70 and has lived in New York for many years but spends a lot of time doing walks all over the world, she was not a fast walker but Aurelio and I were happy to keep her company, she was funny and asked us lots of questions. As the sun began to climb Keiko insisted that we press on and leave her, she was happy to walk at her own pace and so we said our goodbyes and Aurelio and I sped up to our own natural pace. It was just as well we did for the camino path seemed to go on forever, we could see it winding its way across the countryside for many km. After a couple of hours the heat really began to build up and there was no shade. Aurelio was true to his word that he would help me on the walk, making sure that we stopped regularly for a short rest and some water and snacks, and every so often as I walked behind him he would say "Norman OK?" to which I always said "Si, bueno" even though at times I didn't feel very bueno. Some of the hills we had to climb were not very steep but they were very long and just seemed to go on and on. However, after about 4.5 hours we found ourselves in Fuente de Cantos, where we stopped for an ice cold cerveza and coffee and a cake.

Aurelio doesn't like stopping for too long so we pressed on. The last 7 km was really hard going, there was no shade and the heat was brutal and seemed to bounce off the path back at us. My mochilla felt heavier with every step, but Aurelio wouldn't let us take it easy he kept us pressing on, because the best way to get out of the heat and rest was to reach our destination. It is one of the key aspects of the camino, that there is often nothing between point A and point B and no matter how difficult it is you have to just keep going putting one foot in front of the other until you get there. We could see our destination in the distance, but it didn't seem to be getting any closer as the path wound its way across the landscape, until suddenly we were there. We had left Monesterio just before 7am and arrived in Calzadilla de los Barros at 1pm.

The place we were staying, the Hostal Los Rodreguez, was on the far side of the town but the camino went right past the door so it was going to be a quick start the next day. It was more of a motel than an albergue and cost 15€ (average price for an albergue in Extremadura) but absolutely not worth it. Aurelio and I shared a room, it had the smallest bathroom ever, but the shower was ok, and there was a hole in the door that looked like it had been kicked in. The food was ok but not great, and the staff were quite unfriendly, it was noticeable because up until that point everyone we had met had been very friendly and helpful.

I was very relieved when Keiko arrived a few hours later, I was worried about her walking on her own but she is independent, tough and there's no stopping her. I have been constantly challenged by the resilience and stamina of the people I have met, many of whom are a lot older than me. I suspect there is a connection with their obvious physical and mental well being and the fact that they are all either training to walk a camino or walking one. It is worth reflecting on.Read more