Casar de Caceres to Canaveral, 20 miles

Today I almost over slept as I set my alarm for 6:30, but didn’t hear it. I think it was a combination of feeling tired and because I had my ear plugs in. I don’t always sleep with them but we were directly across from the church and the bells chimed on the hour and every half hour. I fell asleep after eleven and the bells woke me up at 11:30, so in went the ear plugs. They do stop ringing the bells after midnight and don’t start again until seven in the morning. 

It was a nice place to stay, and very pilgrim friendly, which makes it hard to leave, especially wondering what I’d find next.

The Camino out of town was easy to follow at first. It was a wide gravel road and ran parallel to the frontage road. The terrain was gently rolling hills that later turned into some rough steep climbs. After several miles it turned into a narrow footpath with deep ruts, big boulders, and slippery granite surfaces. 

At this point the Camino still ran next to the road but it was much steeper and following the up and down ridges. It was hard to be struggling on the trail when within twenty to fifty feet I could see the fairly level road. I decided to walk on the road again and I was thankful in this heat.

I made it to a large reservoir by noon and the Camino followed the road around the shore. There use to be an old town in the middle of where the reservoir sits and the town was moved after the dam was built. You can still see some if the remains of structures along the shoreline. There are also remains of an old medieval bridge that that’s still visible near where the river once flowed through the valley. 

The morning, as usual, went fairly easy as it was cool. I tried not to look at my watch for fear of realizing it was in the afternoon and when the heat would start.

I had felt something this morning that I had not felt in a many days, cold! It was only sixty degrees in the morning and it seemed cold. My wishful thinking was that it would last the whole day. No such luck, by noon it was well into the nineties. Between 2:00 and 4:30 it was between 98 and 100 degrees. Yes, it was brutal, especially the last four miles into Canaveral, which was all up hill. 

I got into town around 4:30 and there was not a person on the street. Probably the heat? It looked like a ghost town and I was a little concerned whether I could find a place to sleep and eat. I walked through much of the town and found the only albergue on the main street. It is new and very clean and I was the only one there.

I looked in the log book and it looks like only one or two others have stayed here the last few days. I was the only one here until the German man that stay in the same place as me last night, showed up at seven. The first thing he said to me was, “it was too hot.”

I have to say that my biggest regret in preparing for this Camino was that I did not bring my tent. I have a great Sierra Designs tent that is lightweight and very easy to pitch. The added weight is minimal and not noticeable pulling the Wheelie. I many options that a tent wouldn’t be practical, but having a tent here would take lots of pressure off of going long distances, especially in the heat. I could have stopped just about anywhere. Much of the Camino Plata has gone through very remote places, which had beautiful and great places to stop and pitch a tent. It would be more difficult on the Camino Francis because the number of people. But here, I haven’t seen another person on the Plata in three days.

Having gone over sixty nights in a tent on my trek to Canada has shown me how nice it is. Every night you sleep in the same tent, same sleeping bag, and with the same pad. You know what your getting every night. If I could ship it here cheaply and quickly I would probably do it.

The owners of the albergue are a mother and daughter. This is fairly new and I think their anticipation is that the Plata will become more popular in the future. I can tell that they are sincerely nice people and that those are the kinds of people that make the Camino experience special. 

There is only one store and restaurant in town. The restaurant doesn’t not open until 8:30, which is too late as I want to get to bed early. I bought my old favorite from the Camino Francis, egg and potato omelette tostada for dinner. I warmed it up here and this way I can get to be early. I also bought some food and water for tomorrow as I have another 18-20 mile day. I just hope it’s not as hot. 

Best wishes,

Ted

Leaving at sunrise

My only friends on the Camino in the morning 

My other friends 

Camino Via de la Plata granite marker. 

The Camino the early part of the day

The Camino narrowing and following the ridge line 

Much of what I encountered today

Approaching the reservoir 

The reservoir 

Remains of the old medieval bridge

Wild fruit tree growing along the road. Peach? Bridge in background. 

It looked like a peach but red inside, and it tasted different? 

Canaveral. Looking like a ghost town. No one on the streets!

My albergue for the night

Nice place with a living room and flat screen tv. Big kitchen and dining area downstairs.

My bed for the night