Another day all alone, but I did have some human contact. I helped a young shepherd chase a little lamb. I'm not sure what I would have done if he had run towards me (the lamb, not the shepherd), but after about 10 minutes, the little frisky baby was back with the herd. Then I also got waves from two men with big earth moving equipment, trying to repair the rain damage. The first 12 kms were entirely on a dirt farm track, great for walking, at least now that the rains are done. The damage was pretty spectacular. I can't imagine it would have been much fun to walk through those tracks in wet weather -- I occasionally saw footprints that were at least four inches deep. I've done that kind of mud before and it's not fun. There were several streams to cross and I took advantage to soak my feet in the icy water. 10 minutes soak, five minutes air dry, and voilà, that's a real break.
The second half of the walk today was less idyllic -- I was on a very nice track (made of sand, gravel, and dirt, a pilgrim's dream surface) but sandwiched in between the superhighway A-66 on the right, and the national highway N-630 on the left. And there were lots of my least favorite trees, eucalyptus, but at least I had some shade.
The weather continues to be very nice -- I had my wool gloves on this morning till about 10 am. It feels like it may be warming up a bit, but I hope not too much! The last time I walked through here it was pouring rain and the only place to stay was a sad room over a sadder bar. This time I've moved up a bit, to the two star Hostal El Pilar. It is much cleaner and the bed doesn't sag, so I am thankful for those small things.
This town has a nice little plaza, and every other storefront is a ham-sausage-chorizo place. When I asked a waiter yesterday if it was true that Monesterio was the ham capital of Spain, he responded with a snort and assured me that that label belongs to some town in Huelva. Since I'm not a big jamón serrano fan (well, here it's jamón ibérico, which means, I think, that the pigs only ate acorns), but I suppose I'll have a few slices to see what all the fuss is about.
Coming up are big stretches of the Roman Road, some of it in very good shape. But those Romans must have had indestructible feet because the paving is really hard on mine.
Giving thanks for another nice day on the Via de la Plata, and now off to visit the Vdlp visitor's center, which looks like it has a couple of those Roman mile markers (milarios). I think Trajan and Hadrian both hail from these parts. And maybe one more.
Hi, Laurie. I walked the Via de La Plata in March and April of 2010, a few months before you. It has taken me till now to write anything (on anything at all). However, I started posting on a blog and today was on this same stage into Extremadura. I, too, talk of jamon!!
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