The previous evening we caught the train from Zafra. As the train would only allow 3 bikes at a time it was necessary to get 2 trains. Pen, Sheryl and Grace took the mid-afternoon train while Greg, Kym and me the evening train. It was always the plan to make up time here and there by cutting out a few days to give us more days in the iconic towns. Merida is one of those towns.
Today was a rest day in Caceres. It’s taken my whole time here just to learn how to spell it. It’s a town that dates back to Bronze Age inhabitants however better known for its Roman, Muslim then Christian occupation over last 2000 + years.
Today we left the Camino Ruta de la Plata and travelled along a Via Verde ( verde being the Spanish word for green. Just like in Australia, Spain has closed down thousands of kilometres of unprofitable little used railway lines. Unlike Australia they have poured in tens of millions of dollars to turn them into thousands of kilometres of rail trails.
Yesterday we stayed at Banos de Montemayor. We actually put our schedule behind a day so we could get here for a full day at this spa town. I suppose the best way to sum it up was too much red tape and not enough water.
It’s been a few days since I posted our travels. In that time we stayed at a quirky albergue called the Santa Maria Parroquial. These are albergues that are Christian based and looked after by volunteers of faith
We arrived at Salamanca mid-morning via the ancient Roman bridge. We could actually see the enormous steeple of the main cathedral from about 15km out. Posing for photos first we hung around on the other side of the river taking in the rising stone walls and building I. Front of us.
Tonight we ate a sensational pilgrim meal at Restaurante Me Gusta Comer. However, let this story start from the beginning.
Off to Ourense at a 120 Km/h. Yes, that seems a tad fast even for e-bikes and even though they are with us we obviously aren’t sitting on them.
It’s been a few days and we have travelled more kilometres. Tonight, we find ourselves in Silleda with just 41 km to go to get to Santiago.
