Day 12 Villaharta to
Alcarcejos
19kms
Well.. we had to cheat a little today. Today’s walk was to
be 38kms but there is no way I could walk 38kms in the heat. The temperatures
are still reaching about 37 degrees during the day.
We arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 6am and drop us off
at the halfway mark. This worked out very well.
When the taxi dropped us off, the moon was just setting in the west and
the sun was just rising in the east. It is a beautiful time to be up and about.
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| sunrise |
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| moonset |
The landscape is beginning to change again. The Sierra
Morena mountains are now behind us and the landscape is beginning to look a
little bit like Australia.
This area was actually heavily mined by the Romans
2000 years ago. They mined Mercury and Silver. I wondered if there isn’t a
connection between the healing waters of the last little village and the minerals
around here.
We walked through
fields of Holm Oaks and Olive trees.The landscape actually consists of wheat fields, cattle
grazing fields, olive groves and Mediterranean forests. The way was very well
marked.
Someone from Alcaracejos decided to donate granite markers to direct
pilgrims to his village. He did a great job as there were markers every ½ km or
so.
As we walked into Alcaracejos today I marveled at the design
of the Spanish streets. All the balconies hanging with flowers, the interior
courtyards, the Moorish influence is all so beautiful but… sometimes I question
the interior design. Last night, in Villaharta, we stayed in a great place. It
was clean and spacious but the interior left something to wonder about. The owner
in Villaharta was incredibly friendly, in fact he prepared a special meal just
for us but I am sure there must have been a sale of odd tiles when they
built the house.
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| bathroom in Villaharta |
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| Kitchen is Villaharta |
Alcaracejos was a funny little town, certainly not very
friendly.
Everyone seemed
rather perturbed about something. I am not sure if the economic situation is getting
people down but most people here were very grumpy. Except for the lovely woman
at information centre, she was ecstatic to be helping pilgrims. She was bubbly
and very keen to help. The town could take a few lessons from her.
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| Alcaracejos |
Day 13 Alcaracejos to Hinojosa del Duque 24 kms
We got lost, well, not actually lost, just took a few wrong
turns. Most people are surprised that we are not carrying some kind of guide.
We are only carrying maps and a compass and relying on the yellow arrows. The
Germans that we met earlier were carrying a very detailed, almost step by step guide.
We actually prefer not to carry a guide and let the camino guide us. I think it
is more fun this way. We left very early
again and the morning sunrise made the wheat fields glisten like gold.
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| On the way to Hinojosa del Duque |
We passed through a little village called Fuente la Lancha
and saw your classic church with a stork on top.
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Most of the buildings in this area are made of granite, even
the fence posts are made of granite.
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We are finding ourselves getting stronger and stronger.
Tomorrow will be a 34 kms day and we are thinking we will attempt that distance.
It will mean leaving at 5am and finding arrows in the dark but… that is the
adventure.
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