Arco de Caparra to Puerto de Bejar (18.23 miles)


Today turned out to be a fairly good day overall in many ways. I unfortunately didn’t get the long night’s sleep I had hoped for because I was really tired yesterday. I had a long day, and it’s not necessarily the distance but rather the time actually walking and the weather that makes the day. 

Paul came to my room late last night and asked me to join him in asking the owner of the hotel for a ride back to where we had been picked up. It was only four miles but the owner said no and suggested a taxi at $30. We looked at the map and figured if we started from there we would be walking parallel to the Camino and would meet up with it in two to three miles. After figuring it all out I stayed and talked with Paul until almost midnight.

In the morning we were fortunate that we could get breakfast at 7:30 in the morning. It was the usual white toasted roll bread with jelly. Coffee con leche’ of course too. We bought some water bottles at the hotel not knowing if we’d find a store.

We started by 8:00 and found the usual light traffic on the frontage road. The temperature was nice and cool and it got hotter after 1:00 PM, but never over ninety.

We stayed on the road as the Camino ran next to the road most of the way to the town of Aldeanueva del Camino. We found a little store and bought some food for lunch.

The rest of the walk to the next town of Banos de Montemayor was all uphill. Banos means bathroom in Spanish and it also refers to bath. The town of Banos de Montemayor is a funny little resort destination town because it has large bath houses. This goes back to the days of the Romans. It was interesting to see lots of older people, mainly woman, pulling rolling suitcases down the streets. I think they were getting off of tour buses and it looked like it was at an airport. 

The Camino transitioned from the road to trail, and back to the road, and we decided just to stay on the road. It got even steeper out of town and then leveled out in an area on the outskirts of Puerto de Bejar. 

For me the day went by very fast as Paul and I talked the whole time walking. He is in advertising and gave me a whole education on the German political system. I tried to stay away from our presidential election subject, but it seems every European wants to talk about it. 

We had stopped at several little stores we found and made it a point to get cold drinks. Finding stores has been very unusual on the Plata. We even stopped at a nice little park with green grass and a large water fountain to eat as it was seemed like such a nice cool place to take a break from the brown dry scenery.

By the time we got to the outskirts of Puerto de Bejar it was already after four. I know because we took so many breaks that we had not gotten that far, but it didn’t matter because I had enjoyed the day. The next town, Calzada de Bejar, was another 7.5 miles away, or possibly three hours walking. I saw on my downloads that there was a well reviewed albergue in Puerto de Bejar and I decided to stay there and look for it.

Paul wanted to go on and we parted company. I have to say that I had really enjoyed his company the last two days and I had hoped we’d walk together a few more days. But that is what happens on the Camino as everyone has his own pace. He had told me that he had not been starting in the mornings until ten or later and sometimes didn’t get a place to sleep until seven, and even nine. He was happy that I got him going early this morning and just wanted to go further today. He usually walks slow and figured I’d catch up to him. I hope I do!

I turned onto the road to Puerto de Bejar and walked up a very steep hill for about a half mile. The city sign pointed to a street that appeared to have nothing but houses. It was more of a small residential neighborhood and I didn’t see any businesses. I was a little concerned that I might have gotten bad information and didn’t treasure the thought of going on after Paul this late in the day. I didn’t see anyone on the streets and wasn’t sure what to do when a car turned up the street. I flagged the car down and asked the man if there was an albergue there. No, he said, and my heart sank. I showed him the listing on my iPad and he called the phone number for me. No answer, and my heart sank even more. Just as he started to get back into his car his phone rang and it was the owner of the albergue! He told me to wait there and the owner would come and get me. 

Five minutes later a man with a big smile and a warm handshake showed up. He helped me load up the Wheelie and drove back down the steep hill and then a few hundred yards back towards the way Paul and I had walked. Clear as can be, there was the sign for the albergue. We had walked by and had not noticed it because it just looked like a few houses off of the road. But it could have been because we were to busy talking.

The place looks very nice, and of course very clean. It is 12€ ($13.40) for the bed and 3€ ($3.36) for washing and drying my clothes. There are eighteen beds here and I am the only one here tonight. My room has two beds. 
There are no stores or restaurants in the area and I was concerned about eating when Joaquin and his wife asked if I wanted to eat diner there. Yes, of course! Then they asked what time I wanted to eat? What time?! Wow, 7:30 sounds good. Ok. What time would you like breakfast? Wow, breakfast too! How about 7:30 AM? Ok.
I was served diner all by myself and I felt very special. Joaquin served me like I was the most important customer he ever had, always with a smile. Paul missed out on a great place.
Finding this albergue was another one of those Camino experience where things just seems to turn out for the best. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer place to sleep and eat, and where the people again, are truly nice people. 

 
I haven’t really looked at the map to see where I want to go tomorrow and I am just going to play it by ear and hopefully it will be as nice as today.

Best wishes,

Ted (or as Joaquin says, Tao)    

Leaving at sunrise. Always so beautiful.

View from the Camino looking down on a reservoir 

Climbing out of Banos de Montemayor and looking back

Banos de Montemayor 

Albergue Turistico El Acebo

Helen and Joaquin. Nice people!

Being served diner by my lonesome 

My room for the night

Nice bath too