Day 3. Thursday 25/05/2023. Villaharta to Alcaracejos


Today was the day we used a taxi and Andrea forgot to turn off the system which registers distances, speeds etc. So you are getting an estimate here.

25 km walking, then taxi. Walking time for Andrea just under 6 h, half an hour more for me.  Total time 9 hrs and 20 minutes which included 3 bigger breaks and severa shorter stops of 3 hrs total. And of course Andrea who did these estimates does not know the number of times I sat on the granite blocks indicating the direction of the camino…. 

A very long walk, even allowing for the taxi, and extremely tiring. We had sun right from the start, but still nice and cool. Several kms of road, real road with asphalt and then very beautiful paths, very varied, with outcrops of rocks, a lot of Geröll, so some of them very difficult to walk. These beautiful paths alternated with large tracks, like yesterday, the sort I feel almost certain that they have been built recently to allow firefighters to access wildfires. There certainly have been a lot of wildfires in this area - vast expanses of black trees and undergrowth which is now sprouting lovely fresh green leaves. 

As to the sun, I finally set up my hands-free umbrella. What a pleasure! And it also provided shadow during the pauses….

So overall this was a long walk. On the large tracks we advanced quite fast, but on the narrow paths I slowed down considerably. So much so that I suggested to Andrea that she go ahead at her normal speed and I follow at my little old lady speed, taking great care where and how I put my feet - I just don’t want to fall. 

Another problem where to find a suitable place for a pause - only undergrowth, no trees next to the path. So we curled up under the undergrowth which gives very little shadow and you lie on a sort of slope, gradually sliding down  on to the path into the sun which was quite hot by then. The “quality” of the pauses was particularly important because the path today did  not go through any village, not the tiniest hamlet, where to stop for a rest in comfort and buy some food and drink. So we had to carry everything…

Anyway we made it, Andrea well ahead of me, of course, but that is not a worry. She is 27 years younger than I am, in super form. We are not in a competition and I am extremely pleased that I made it at all.

By the way the taxi driver greeted us with a big bottle of cold water and told us not to drink tap water around here. Apparently the water level in the reservoir which serves for the water supply is so low that there are health problems with drinking it.

Will have a go at the photos now….





















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