It was a grrreat walk today. Wonderful scenery, billions of poppies and sunny
and warm. I had lots of energy for some reason; perhaps it was the double dose
of sugar in my morning cafe con leche, or maybe because I sang along with the
"Evita" soundtrack all afternoon (this iPhone sure is the bomb!)  |
| Diego passed me about 10:30 am |
Arrived in Puente Duero about 3pm and checked into the best albergue ever! It's
run by Arturo, who's walked more Caminos than I can remember, and is a character
unto himself. The albergue, his home, is a wonderful little wooden house on the
edge of town. There are 2 large courtyards with fruit trees and flower beds,
plenty of benches and picnic tables, a vegetable garden, and a couple of clothes
drying areas. Inside there's a compact kitchen, comfy lounge area bursting with
Camino information and memorabilia, and 2 bunk rooms that sleep a total of 7
pilgrims.
 |
| Michael & Estefan |
Arturo took quite a liking to me & my two amigos and offered to cook us dinner.
We 3 wandered into the village for a few supplies and by 8:30pm we were dining
al fresco (with Oscar, a bicyclist from Madrid who showed up just in time) to a
wonderful dinner of potato torta, meatballs in homemade tomato sauce, salad,
bread and wine.
 |
| Arturo, Estefan, Oscar and me |
After dinner we sat around talking - poor Michael and Oscar had to translate
almost everything for me, but my lack of Spanish didn't stop Arturo from trying
to convince me to come back next year and be the hospitalera while he went off
on Camino!!
almost everything for me, but my lack of Spanish didn't stop Arturo from trying
to convince me to come back next year and be the hospitalera while he went off
on Camino!!
Anyway, my thoughts were minimal walking today so I'll let the pictures tell the
story...
story...
BTW: we lost Carlos today, we think he made his way to Valladolid this afternoon
PN: arrows in Valdestillas poor, just follow main road straight thru (the only
open bar I saw was near the far end of town, around the corner from where the
street meets another in a "V". The markings are also poor after town; the
Camino basically follows the highway to Puente Duero, with arrows on the
powerline towers. After crossing an old bridge, you come up into a pine
forest. You can follow the unmarked (?) trail around to the left and go under
the railway line and around to the Camino by the highway, or go straight thru to
road and follow along power lines and scramble down a very steep embankment to
walk thru the highway road under the railway. Obviously, I recommend the former
after having down the latter!
open bar I saw was near the far end of town, around the corner from where the
street meets another in a "V". The markings are also poor after town; the
Camino basically follows the highway to Puente Duero, with arrows on the
powerline towers. After crossing an old bridge, you come up into a pine
forest. You can follow the unmarked (?) trail around to the left and go under
the railway line and around to the Camino by the highway, or go straight thru to
road and follow along power lines and scramble down a very steep embankment to
walk thru the highway road under the railway. Obviously, I recommend the former
after having down the latter!
Sent from my iPhone
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