Out of Extremadura

Dropped the key of the albuergue in the churrerria in Aldanueva and quickly got to Banos de Montemayor.  It seemed silly to pass through a Roman spa town without having a bath (especially as the water in the albergue was cold, so my morning shower had been brief in the extreme).  Did the full “circuito romano” of (faintly sulphur-smelling) swimming pool, hot tub, dry sauna, damp sauna, shower and warm seat, and it was wonderfully invigorating and enjoyable (although, at 30€, not exactly cheap).  There were also some excellent mosaics and Roman statues – and, weirdly in that context, some really naff musak coming out of a loudspeaker.  Also amused to see that genuine Roman marble baths were being used as planters outside the balneario.

A Roman bath in Montemayor

The bath(s) put a kick in my stride and I quickly made it up the hill and over the border between Extremadura and Castille-Leon, where I will be for the next 350-odd kilometres.  Although warmed from the bath and the climb (fairly quickly up to nearly 3000’), it was clear that the air was becoming cooler, and there was a faint dusting of snow visible on the highest hills of the sierra above Bejar, about 10 miles to the east.

There were a lot more deciduous trees than previously, some of them still showing a few autumnal colours.  Although somebody in a bar at lunchtime at Calzada de Béjar told me that the area has the best pata negra jamon in the country, I haven’t actually seen a pig for 2-3 days – lots of cows and a few sheep, but no pigs.

After a blissfully quiet afternoon stroll through beautiful empty countryside, with a few miliarios thrown in, got to Fuenterroble de Salvatierra (at about 3100’) with plenty of light in hand – it really would have been quite scary to try that landscape in the dark.

The albuergue at Fuenterroble (the highest albuergue on the camino) was empty except for me.  According to the hospitalera (they keep quite detailed records of everybody who stays), I was the 2494^th pilgrim so far this year, so they were looking forward to passing the 2500 mark.  Had supper in the nearby restaurant with a Barcelona pelegrino who was staying at the local Casa Rural and had come from Roncesvalles on the Camino Francés to Santiago and was now making his way to Cordoba.  He warned me that the Castille-Leon section of the camino is the worst for way-markings – I hope he’s wrong.  Certainly they’ve put a lot of effort into making the markings in Extremadura very clear.