Cercedilla to Segovia (10.24 miles / 16.51 kms)

So, today was the big day, or what is the biggest challenge on the Camino Madrid, climbing and crossing the Puerto de la Fuenfria (pass) over the 1,796m (6,106’) mountain top that has an eight degree, five mile long, steep uphill climb, and then fifteen downhill miles to Segovia.

To make sure I had the energy for this long stretch I started out the door at 7:30 this morning. I checked out at the office and was given a bagged picnic lunch, which I kindly declined as I had picked up food and drinks from the store yesterday. The picnic lunch was probably left over dinner since there was a lot of food left! Just kidding of course because I really appreciated staying there and the kindness of being given food on my departure.

The temperature was chilly and around 33 degrees, cloudy, and a little windy. Fortunately I had packed several layers of wool clothing and I was still a little cold. Earlier in the week there had been a 20% chance of snow.

The alberque is on the Camino and once out the door you are already going up that steep uphill climb. Of course I immediately started huffing and puffing just to cross the street to get to the sidewalk. Oh, that sidewalk, rough cobble rock sidewalk. It just takes more energy to pull the Wheelie over that surface so I just moved onto the road whenever there was no traffic. After about a half mile the road narrowed, with a wood guardrail hugging the shoulder. The trail running directly next to the road was rough, rocky, and in places so narrow between trees that I could not pass with the Wheelie. I made the decision to walk on the road and fortunately at that time of morning there wasn’t much traffic, though cars that did pass had to slow down because it was so narrow.

After about a mile the road ended at a parking area. Just like Manzanares el Real, it was a staging area for hikers, mountain bikers, and extreme runners.

The Camino here is not well marked, even along the road. You can easily take one of the many trails that fork off in different directions by mistake. I came to a fork in the trail and almost made that mistake and three hikers saw my confusion and pointed me in the right direction. That was also one of the things pointed out in all the literature about the Camino de Madrid, and that is that it is well marked. Oh!

It was good to see some of the other people huffing and puffing too, but I usually saw them as they were passing me. Show offs! At least the four pilgrim bikers passed me with the usual, “Buen Camino.”

The Camino was fairly wide and smooth until about a half mile from the end of the road and then became part of the old Roman stone road. I immediately felt the difference in the difficulty I had pulling the Wheelie. If ever asked if there was a place I couldn’t or should take the Wheelie, this is the place! The difficulty was not only the steep uphill but the huge stone cobbles. I could not just pull straight but had to zig zag over the smoothest areas. I saw the four bikers in the distance get off their bikes and start pushing their bikes, and I knew I was facing a tough challenge. After I passed a cattle gate the surface changed even more. It was even steeper and the many of the stones were completely dislodged with nothing looking smooth. I could see the bikers pushing their bikes with great effort and wondered if I could keep going. I knew that I was about half way to the top and with only about two and a half miles to go and so I went on.

It got so rough, and the stones so dislodged, that I was not only concentrating on pulling the Wheelie up the smoothest area, but also cautiously looking for the safest place to step on the large stones. I knew that I had the energy to go the short distance to the top, but I was a little concerned about slipping and my knee. I stopped and went over what I had said to myself about being smart on this Camino. This was my first trek in eighteen months and with my untested new knee. As much as I have always pushed myself and not given up, I thought that the prudent and smart thing to do was to turn around rather than risk hurting myself and possibly setting me back even months more.

Had this been on the Camino Francis I could have sent the Wheelie to Segovia and just hiked over the pass with my backpack. I actually have all my stuff in a regular backpack that is packed inside the Wheelie. Unfortunately, it would have been difficult and time consuming, if I even could, find a way to have the Wheelie transported to Segovia.

As I turned around and started back I heard a metal clunk and just thought it was the bottom of the Wheelie frame hitting the rocks. I continued to hear it and finally stopped to check it out. As it turned out my decision was the right decision. All the rough terrain and jostling had worked loose, and lost, one of only four bolts that hold the Wheelie together. Had I gone on it could have bent the frame or caused the Wheelie to be completely useless.

Luckily I have another cross bar that is held in place with Velcro that makes the Wheelie stable enough to use temporarily on smoother surfaces until I get a replacement bolt.

I headed back to Cercedilla, where thankfully there is a train station, and caught the 10:34 am train to Segovia. While on the train I met a nice English man that gave me some tips about Segovia. The ride was about forty minutes and goes around the mountains and through a few tunnels. I couldn’t help but look out the window at the mountains and thinking of what it would have been like coming down on this side of the pass. I had only a little over two miles to go and then another fifteen miles on a gently downhill slope. Well, that is what the literature says anyway?

Once I got to Segovia the English man told me that the Camino runs through the Centro Plaza, the plaza with the big cathedral, like all old Spanish towns. It was also where I could find a hotel.

It was about a four and a half mile walk to the Centro and once I got there I got caught up with a typical Sunday Spanish weekend in the Centro. There I was pulling the Wheelie and as I turned a corner there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people celebrating some kind of festival. I was frozen in the crowds as they turned in my direction. They were lead by four or five people inside giant costumes about twelve feet tall, followed by a small band of men playing some type of upbeat Spanish tune. I couldn’t move and had to stand there for about ten minutes until the crowd had passed. It was like out of a movie, but funny.

I was pretty beat and had no idea of where to stay, so I just googled Booking.com and found the first hotel on their site, Hostal Segovia. Looked interesting, but at that price it’s got to be a dump. But Booking.com states it’s a 9.2 good rating, and five stars. I google mapped it and it was only a few hundred feet away from where I was sitting! That’s it, I am not shopping around, so I walked there and was pleasantly surprised what a great hotel it was and what a great location it had. And, it was highly rated and discounted just for me because they knew I was beat and wanted a place now! Well, not really but it’s nice to think that way.

So, a long day ended well, and how fortunate I was to have found a great place to stay. The hotel, and my room, are really nice, almost too nice because it’s going to be hard to leave knowing there will be some not so pleasant places to stay. Segovia looks like a wonderful town with lots of interesting history and I may be tempted to stay an extra day?

I packed lots of food for the trek over the pass and thought of just staying in my room tonight. It seemed like such a nice and exciting place that I ended up going out. I found a nice restaurants a few steps from the hotel and had dinner. As always in Spain, everything starts at nine at night, even on Sunday night, and I just had to walk around and enjoy the scenery and people after dinner. Now I am comfortably tucked in bed writing my blog and wondering why I would want to start walking another fifteen to twenty miles and then sleep in who knows where. It’s because it’s the Camino and every day is just another part of the Camino experience, good or bad.

As always, please excuse the typos, grammar, and spelling, as I am to tired to review this.

Best wishes to all.

Ted

Leaving the alberque in the cold morning.

The Old Roman Road. The short part of smooth and fairly level section.

The Old Roman Road. The rougher and steeper section that only gets worse.

Segovia.

Segovia Centro area. Note the Roman aqueduct built in 50 BC. Castle in the background.

Roman aqueduct built 50 BC and still looks like new. How did they do it without computers?

My hotel, Hostal Segovia, to the left and facing the small square (plaza).

My room for the night. Not bad for €55 a night. It would $250-$400 in San Francisco or Seattle.

A luxury on the Camino, a tube to soak the aching body.

The view from my