Day 5 on the Meseta

Not in a physical sense, but many people find this the most difficult day. Flat is one word that springs to mind on this stretch of the path. Treeless is another and monotonous is a third.

A short 17km on a vehicleless country road. Wheat fields stretching out to the horizon on both sides. But there is plenty to discover here. We counted up to 25 different species of wild flowers and heard several different strains of birdsong. The things to look for are just a bit more subtle.

There is an old saying “the landscape of Castilla is in her sky”. And it is a huge sky. Today the sky was a very pale blue as there was a very thin layer of cloud so while everything was bright the colours in the fields were subtle and the shadows were muted.

It started out about 3 degrees and reached about 18, but this could be a very hot place in the summer, up to 40 degrees. There were no villages for the 17km and no water fountains. At about the 12km mark there was a keenly anticipated food truck we had heard about. By coincidence we met Carolyn and John, Trish, Janie, Victoria and Craig there, so it was quite a little party.

Our destination today was Calzadilla de la Cueza. Several local towns are named Calzada or Calzadilla, meaning road, ie the Roman or pilgrim road. We joined a section of the original Roman road, Calzada Romana, the Via Aquitana. Still intact and used after 2000 years but with a new gravel topping. The road is in an area of wetland devoid of any stone for construction so they reckon 100,000 tons of rock came from elsewhere to provide a basecouse and raise the road above the flood level.

The town we are in has a permanent population of 60 but many times that when the pilgrims hit town. There are two large albergues and our hotel. The hotel has about 20 rooms and is run by one family. They front at reception, serve at the bar, service the rooms, do your laundry, prepare all the meals, serve in the restaurant, and all the time very friendly and accommodating. Before dinner we went for a walk round town. That took all of about 5 minutes.

Dinner can become quite rowdy affairs as the wine flows and everyone relaxes after the effort of the day. We were with Janie, Roger and Bryony (from the Hutt) and Karen and Alexis from the tablelands out of Cairns. Karen and Alexis like a beer, and not a small one. Unfortunately Karen has injured her foot so she and Alexis reduce their walking each day and get a cab. Getting a cab is easy. Walk into any bar or cafe and someone will have a cousin, or son in law, or uncle who has a cab. The going rate is one euro per kilometre.

Today was a milestone day. We have completed half our camino, 17 of 34 days walking, and somewhere today passed the halfway point in distance to Santiago . Our credentials are now half full.

Paul can’t believe the time has flashed by so quickly and we have come so far. He feels the time is going far too fast.

Barbara feels it has taken a long time to get this far and that means we have a long time to go.

A summation at the halfway mark:

It is more fun than we thought.
We are enjoying the journey and not thinking of the destination.
The comraderie, the food and coffee are wonderful.
The walking has been very pleasant.
We are healthy and uninjured, most bits are still working.
We are going at our pace in lovely conditions, great villages, great scenery, great weather, great trail.

Spoiler alert. The next photos will contain pictures of feet. Parental guidance is recommended.

Ipod theme song for today: The Wanderer by Dion

I’m the type of guy who likes to roam around
I’m never in one place, I roam from town to town