Day 9: to Aljucen, 32.7 kms

Day 9 dawned with Roberto The Italian rustling his bags at 6:05 am.  I figured that since I was thus awake, I'd might as well arise too - better for the others to make one round of noise than separately (our Group of Seven had our own room).  I had a  nagging urge to walk two stages today, to skip Merida & all the Semana Santa hubabalu and continue to on to Aljucen, 32.7 kms total, so an early start was providential.

I set out by 6:30am, and tramped along a quiet highway where there was sure footing for the first hour rather than stumble along the dirt path in the dark; then I met up with the Camino and daylight at the exact same moment! A couple more kms on the road (7kms altogether) then 9 more in open fields and cultivated land before reaching the outskirts of Merida about 9:45am.  I saw bright orange rays breaking thru the clouds just above the east horizon, might I see the sun today?

The pilgrim arrives in Merida's old town via 800m of a long arched roman bridge.  I settled down in the nearest bar for a nice breakfast of coffee & toast; found a tiny store open for some lunch supplies, then returned to the route only to meet up with Roberto + 4. They stopped 300m further at the local albergue, while I continued on past the ancient roman aqueduct and out of town up and down miles and miles of paved bike path to a huge lake formed by a dam built in  1st-2nd C. AD to bring water down to town. 

I was circling the lake but started to doubt my path as the arrows had morphed into two horizontal stripes and so I started to backtrack and there saw Iris & Philomena on the road! They said the albergue in Merida was in poor condition: 24 beds one big room, so they decided to press on as well. I was happy for the company but became more concerned about finding a bed in Aljucen as the albergue there was very small.  

As we carried on the road the sun finally came out, our jackets came off, and smiles came on.  We eventually went off-road into hills of chaparral forests with lovely broom and small patches of lavender which made all the long long kilometers of pavement earlier disappear from memory. 

We arrived in Aljucen just before 3pm.  We turned in circles in the center of the tiny hamlet, looking for the albergue when a lady came rushing out of a bar - it was Analena, the hospitalera. Success! She had just 3 beds left!! She took us to the Refugio, gave us a quick tour and said she'd be back at 5 to stamp the credentials, and that Mass and the holiday procession were at 6pm.  She then disappeared back to the bar to continue enjoying her fiesta.

I fell upon my bread and cheese while the other two freshened up; then it was the usual routine of shower, laundry, tend feet (so far just one tiny blister on the sole of one foot that was an only an annoyance for just one day), coffee and rest.  Iris has introduced me to these wonderful packets of Nescafé instant cappuccinos, I don't know how, but they foam up just like they came from a machine and the milk and sugar is all in!  Perfect for thirsty pilgrims and they hardly weigh a thing!

Some of us went to Mass (Maundy Thursday) in the beautiful little 16th C. church in the middle of town but I bowed out in the middle.  I think the squirming 3-year old twins two rows ahead of me wished they could have done the same! Afterwards, the churchgoers formed a procession carrying both a cross and an elaborately draped Madonna statue. They quickly whipped thru the two blocks of the village, then poured into the local bars to warm up from the cold!

Thanks, Allison 
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