Left Puebla, after coffee and tostada with olive oil and tomato, in Cafe Espana, in the drizzle. Three guys left 10 minutes before us and turned left, outside the cafe . They must know what they’re doing….later we’ll go that way, despite the lack of yellow fleches.I made a miscalculation – it poured and we should have taken a taxi. However, we carried on, in our all-encompassing ponchos, upwards, along a minor road. Three Km on, we were relieved to see a faded, yellow fleche ( arrow ) ; we soldiered on and in a typically semi deserted village, under a balcony, we studied the map – we were on the road to Portugal!
The poor signage in this part of Zamora Province, is mainly due to the construction of the AVE high speed train line to La Coruna, from Madrid.
We realised that at some point soon, we should have to turn left( along the AVE line ? ) , or we should soon be in Braganza!
The Camino Provides…..another km on and there stood a fully erected Camino to Santiago signpost – pointing right. Gracias a dios, or whomsoever.
Eventually, after a long climb, on mercifully still passable tracks, we crossed the AVE line and came to the Carretera N525; after 12 km, in the rain, we reached Requejo and Hotel Maite, where we were given a warm welcome and excellent coffee.
Dilemma – the next leg takes you over the Pardonelo Pass, the highest point on the entire Via de la Plata / Sanabres, nearly 1400 metres – the wind was picking up, too; the wettest, coldest conditions I had ever experienced in 🇪🇸.
Fifteen minutes after we had settled into the warmth of the cafe, the three guys mentioned earlier , arrived and went to the adjacent Albergue, which was filling up, according to Mac, who got our Credencials stamped there.
Glad we hadn’t followed them too closely.
Chatting to pelegrinos, most had given up the idea of walking over the pass and were hunkering down for the night there, in the hope of more clement weather; forecasts gave little hope that would be the case. Also, even after making the top, you still had a 7km descent, in wet and slippy conditions to master. We didn’t fancy our chances in those conditions…pragmatism ?
TAXI !
Alvaro , of Taxi Lubian, was summoned by the very helpful lady behind the bar and after a while, we were ensconced in the back of his Insignia, en route to our pre-booked accommodation at La Casa de Irene, a casa rural, in Lubia.
A pretty setting , it would have been glorious in sunny weather.
However, we were just relieved to cast off our saturated boots and warm up. Hunger pangs began to bite and so we decided to walk, in a break in the rain, to the nearest restaurant, 600 metres up , on the main road, have a long Spanish lunch and talk about future walking plans, D & E. Three other pelegrinos were set on the same idea . As we closed the door , another four , male pilgrims came through the gate , looking very muddy and on closer examination, one of them had a bloodied face and knees; he had obviously had a fall.
I was reminded of a quote, from a while back.
“Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise”
The owner, Irene, had left and they had not made a reservation, but we got the door open,sat the injured man down in shelter, whist Mac & I got warm water and some wipes, from our room. ( the other guests just went on their way to the restaurant ). These guys were French, so it was possible to talk, easily enough to the injured pilgrim, who apologised for smoking in between cleaning up, the now dried, white mud from his face and beard, taking extra care around his upper lip and nose – he would need stitches, there.
Meanwhile,arrangements were being made for him to be taken to the restaurant , where we were bound, which acts as a kind of impromptu ” Centro de Salud” 🆘. In true French style he had a couple of Restorative glasses of red wine, whilst waiting to be taken on.
We enjoyed a very hearty € 9.00 Menu Del Dia; I even had a Postres, as one of them was arroz con leche,i.e. Rice pudding. Not the most obvious setting, to be reminded of my mum’s unrivalled ,tour de force, 60 years ago, in Small Heath, Birmingham, UK.
Taking a more leisurely stroll back through this quirky pueblo, pausing to take some photos.
Unsurprisingly , there were plenty of fountains, ancient dwellings and ….hungry chickens.
So, today’ s track has to be The Pretenders’ ” Angel of the Morning” – https://youtu.be/LhGqLF-kfLs
PS Decided I should have to come out, as I was caught wearing socks with sandals, German style. Better than wet boots….
ensuitepilgrim's Blog 
Leave a comment