Tabara to Santa Marta de Tera (20.00 miles / 32.20 k)

Today was going to be a great day as I was still excited about my day yesterday and now I also had another tool to find my way on the Camino. It was also going to be a short day of only about 13 miles. 

I went to bed after midnight because I was visiting and writing my blog. I figured I’d sleep a little later too since it was a short day and I’d be stopping early.

Things looked good as the bar at the hotel was actually open in the morning so I stopped to get a quick breakfast, even it is only a tostada (white toasted bread). 

I had heard conversion about this section of the Camino running next to the construction of the new highway. The camino route had changed because the construction and there were suppose to be piles of dirt and construction materials on the path. The man in the bar confirmed this and drew me a map to an alternate start. It had rained last night and it was suppose to rain again today. 

With my new Sims card and the Camino program, along with google maps, I checked to see if there was an alternate route to Santa Marta. Google showed that there was, but on the paved roads. Part of it was back on busy N-631 and then on quiet country roads. The Camino program also showed that the road ran next to the Camino. The sky looked like it was threatening to rain, so I decided to take the road. 

I don’t know if it was that my knee and shin felt better, or if it was just because I was still excited about my Simms card and the new Camino program, but I started walking with lighter footsteps. I actually felt a little rhythm back in my walk too. 

N-631 was busy like I expected but it was only for about five miles. Once I turned off to the other road I was in heaven. I only saw a car every ten to fifteen minutes and they were generally going slow. It was a fairly wide road with a hard packed shoulder that I was able to walk on most of the time. Even though it’s easier to pull the Wheelie on asphalt, soft surfaces feel much better on the feet and joints, especially my knee and shin.

I made quick time and got to a junction going to Villanueva da las Peras, which I remember seeing as the town before Santa Croya de Tera and then Santa Marta de Tera. I tried to open the Google map and the Camino app, but there was no cell service. My guide book wasn’t any help because it is very sparse and doesn’t really shown the roads. I walked a little further thinking it was the right way and then saw the sign pointing in the right direction to Santa Maria. 

I went through the little village of Bercianos de Valverde and saw another sign confirming Santa Maria was just four kilometers (2.5 miles). Wow, it was after one and I was excited that I was almost there and I’d have my short day! 

Just outside of town I stopped and had a snack and tried my cell phone again but there was no service. I hadn’t seen a car or a person, and I had not seen a sign for an alberque. I looked at my guide book again and then I saw it, Santa Marta, and I am in Santa Maria! What! The “i” and “t” look a lot alike in small print! Oh no, Wrong Way Ted showed up again!

I was pretty upset as I wasn’t sure where I was because Santa Maria was not on my guide book and I was on the outskirts of town and I had not seen a person. Wait, there’s a motorcyclist! I waved my arms like crazy and he started to drive off and turned around and waited for me. He started to tell me a closer way to find the Camino from where we were, but then he said it was easier to go back to Bercianos de Valverde where the Camino is just outside of town. Sounded further but with Wrong Way Ted going the easier way might be better than the shorter way.

So back I went through the town of Bercianos. I was hoping no one had seen me the first time, even though I went through on the outer road the first time. 

About half a mile outside of town I saw the Camino crossing. Great! It was fairly wide and was compacted sand from the rain and was easy to pull the Wheelie on. It started towards the woods, and then suddenly turned back towards Bercianos. No it can’t be? Sure enough the Camino went onto the same street that I had just walked on to get out of town! The third time in this town and people must think I am nuts!

I was so frustrated and embarrassed that I wasn’t watching and would have missed the yellow arrow if an old man hadn’t pointed it out to me. I would have ended back up in Santa Maria!

Once I was back on the Camino I literally stopped and shook my head and laughed at myself. I said to myself, “what else could happen?” And then it started to pour rain! 

The rain wasn’t that bad to walk in, and as I had mentioned, I’d rather walk in rain than the heat. I have a good Gore-Tex parka and pants, and waterproof shoes, so it’s not a big issue. 

The Camino had a couple of steep climbs but overall it was actually pretty. The surface was very good and preferable to asphalt. However, I was getting tired.

Once I got to Santa Croya de Tera I came to the Casa Anita Alberque, the only one in town. I was feeling pretty frazzled and was happy to stop as it was after four. I was told that they had closed much of the hotel and there was only one bed left in a three bed room. I have to say that my instinct, as tired as I was, didn’t feel good about the place. However, I said sure how much! Twenty euros. What, for one bed in a three bed room?! Alright, I am tired and I will take it.

So up three flights of stairs we walked and there was my bed in a tiny, I mean tiny, room with three beds. My bed was in the middle and there was probably two to maybe three feet between the beds. There was no end table, chair, nothing for my stuff. There were no racks or hooks to hang anything dry or wet. I asked if there was a place I could put my backpack, as I had left the Wheelie downstairs, and she showed me a little nightstand in the hallway. 

I sat on the bed and thought of how unhappy I felt here. I also felt the owners were taking advantage of the pilgrims by charging so much for what was not really a nice place. I have always felt that most people on the Caminos seem to go out of their way to help the pilgrims and not take advantage of them. I did not feel that way about this place.

I grabbed my backpack and knocked on the owner’s door and asked for my twenty euros back. She did and asked me why I was leaving. I just said, “I don’t like it, and it is too much money.”

I was so tired that I had forgotten that the adjoining town of Santa Marta de Ters had a municiple albergue. It was less than a half mile away and I headed over there. When I got there I was shocked by how nice the place was. It looked brand new and had a full kitchen, two huge baths, and two rooms with six beds each. 

When I got there a young guy from Spain, Ashen, just walked in from registering at the church and he told me where to go. I started over there and ran into Richard, who was walking with Ashen. Richard told me it was after five so no one would be there to sign in, bbut I could just leave the 5€ ($5.60) in the donation box. The only thing was that I couldn’t get my Camino passport stamped. That was no problem because I had it stamped at the alberque I had just walked out of.

I asked Richard if there was a store, and because his mother is Spanish, he speaks Spanish fluently. He asked a couple of men where the store was, and then he kindly walked over there with me. I bought food for the morning and lunch, and I told Richard I wasn’t sure what I’d do for diner. He told me Ashen loved to cook and I could join them for diner at the alberque. Wow, yes, thank you.

Walking back, for some unknown reason, Richard told me that he just started meditating. As some of you know, I mediate and have been doing so since 1976. It’s not something I talk about but it’s what has helped me complete all my treks as it melts away all the physical and mental tension from a day of trekking. I practice it twice a day, every morning and evening. It is not a religious practice. It was good to hear that someone understands and relates to what I do. And as it turned out, I picked the room that Richard and Ashem were in. They both made it a point to allow me the twenty minutes to meditate without me asking them. For me on the Camino it’s been hard at times to find a quiet place to mediate when you are in an alberque, so this was wonderful.

Richard and Ashen had met on the Camino Norte in May of this year and became friends. They stayed in touch and decided to do a section of the Plata. They started in Salamanca and will stopped in a few days

There were three other Spanish pilgrims at the alberque and two joined us for diner. Ashen cook and absolutely wonderful dine. Chicken and rice dish, fresh salad, peas with apples, fresh picked mushrooms (from the Camino) cooked in butter and garlic, and a few other cut up items from the store. The two Spaniards supplied the wine and I brought drinks and water. And I did the dishes too!

Diner was great, but the conversations and fun we had were even better. It will be a diner that I’ll remember.

My short day turned into a very long day. The thirteen miles turned into twenty miles, seven miles further and four hours more. My day went from great to bad, and then finally to fantastic. I can’t believe that I end up with two great days on the Camino after thinking they were going to be one of the worst. That’s what they refer to as a Camino experience!

Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully it will be another good one.

Best wishes,

Ted

Threatening to rain at sunrise

On the nice quiet road

On the Camino heading out of my favorite town, Bercianos 

Old ruins along the way

Coming into Santa Croya de Tera 

Crossing a river on the Camino 

Beautiful old building in town

The municiple alberque where I stayed. Great place!

Our great and fun diner together. Ashen front right and second on the left (partially hidden). I can’t remember the names of the two others. Later found out they were police officers. No wonder I liked them.