Segovia (Zero Day)

Today was a Zero Day (no trekking) spent in Segovia. I decided to stay another day for several reasons, from staying to to repairing my Wheelie, stopping to rest and sleep in late, and to stop and smell the roses and enjoy beautiful Segovia.

I did sleep late, which sometimes is a luxury on the Camino because starting your day early usually pays off later in the day if you run into an issue. Plus it also gives you more time at the end of a long day finding a place to stay and having time in the evening to relax.

Making that choice late last night turned out to be a good decision too because it was raining most of the morning. For most pilgrims it’s walk rain or shine, so to have a zero day on a rainy day is a bonus.

Segovia was never really on my list of cities to visit but I have to say I was ignorant about it and I have changed my mind. It is a beautiful old city with a rich history going back to the control by the Romans BC, the Moors, and then the rise to power of Spain in the fifteenth century.

I would definitely come back here for a real tourist visit. It obviously is a tourist city which was evident by the hordes of crowds with the same color umbrellas clustered together and clogging the narrow walkways from side to side clueless to anyone else walking the narrow streets. I hate to stereotype, but maybe just in fun. Yes, those Americans, you can spot them a mile away because you can usually hear them before you see them. One Spaniard once told me they are like those cowboys in those western movies, always loud with the Texas accent. And then there are those tourist that are not from the Americas, Africa, Europe, or countries that speak English, that stop in the middle of just about anywhere to shot a photo. Just like yesterday, when I stop at an outdoor cafe and parked my Wheelie next to the ground level cafe sign with a roasted pig with an apple in its mouth. I was sitting right next to it enjoying my snack when this gentleman pushed my Wheelie to the side just to shot a photo of that stuffed pig! That’s like touching my kids, or another mfamily member. It’s everything I own! You get my point. Tourist!

I was fortunate to make contact with one of the managers (Hubert) at Radical Design, the maker of the Wheelie. He has been helpful to me over the years when I had little issues with the Wheelie. He is sending me replacement bolts to a post office in Alcazarén. Hopefully it will be there by the four days it will take me to get there? In the mean time, I found a hardware store within a fifteen minute walk from here that had a similar size bolts. It has a larger head so I could not complexly tighten and seat the bolt. It should good enough to get by a few days, especially on the smooth surfaces down the Camino that I read and heard about. Ha ha! We will see.

I did a little sightseeing around town but spent much of it just relaxing at the hotel. Not many people speak English here like the other Caminos and I try my Spanish and find most are very friendly when they know I am an American. Like tonight, when I went to dinner at a tapa bar. I ordered a drink and three tapas and when the nice waiter asked what I had he repeated three tapas. When he brought me a bill for only £4.50 and one tapa, I told him again I had three. He just looked at me and smiled and said clearly in English, one is free and the other is on the house. Then he shook my hand and said it was nice to met me. I know not all Spaniards are nice and friendly but it sure paints a nice picture for me.

I am packing things up for tomorrow’s trek and the ending place is up in the air? Ane is the stopping point 21 kms (13.04 miles) away that is noted on the guid, but there are no restaurants or bars. No hostals, just a run down alberque that is listed as needing repair, poorly kept, and only having one shower. The next town that has restaurants, stores, hostals, and an alberque is Santa Maria la Real de Nieva (easy simple and short name to remember), which is another 6.8 miles (11 kms). That would be around a twenty mile day, which would not be too bad if it is all level and smooth as they say. Ha! I will see, and as a backup I will have food for lunch and dinner.

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

Best wishes,

Ted

Segovia

Segovia on a typical day.

The Segovia Cathedral in the Centro Plaza

Centro Plaza a five minute walk from my hostal.

The view of Segovia from the hostal terrace. The snow covered mountains in the background is the area of the pass (Puerto de la Fuenfria).

Segovia view from the terrace.

Segovia view from the terrace.

What a contrast, a Roman aqueduct built in 50 BC and a modern carousel.

The sun setting in Segovia

Ok, funny question? Why do the Spanish have square toilets and bidets and we have oval and round ones? Are they onto something and we are wrong?