Completing the Via de la Plata

Several years ago, Joe and I began walking the Via de la Plata. Against advice from seasoned pilgrims, we chose to walk in summer.  Big mistake!  For those who haven't read about it, the trip blog begins here:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/11/8-days-on-via-de-la-plata-day-one.html

We got as far as Fuente de Cantos and decided to toss in the towel.
We then jumped up onto the Camino Frances.
I left my blue and yellow "Walking the Via de la Plata" guidebook at the albergue in Leon and have always regretted it. If you happen to find it (my name is inside) I'd pay to get it back!

In 2013, I picked up where I had left off, in Zafra, and walked a few more stages.

This time I finished at Caceres before having to go meet up with my walking group in Pamplona:

Here is that blog thread:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2013/05/zafra-finally.html

Now, Joe and I are talking about finishing up this route. 

We looked at airfare and found tickets

round trip from LAX to Madrid for just over $400.

I just couldn't pass that up!

Since Joe hasn't walked the stages from Zafra, 

I will walk those sections again with him.

We hope to finish up in Astorga,

then travel to Segovia

where we have reservations for Holy Week.

At the bottom is our tentative schedule.

I've made all the necessary reservations,

and now my only concern is getting my foot and my Morton's Neuroma

to a point where it won't bother me too much to walk.

I've ordered special inserts for my new New Balance shoes.

I'm doing water aerobics and stretching each day,

and am lifting free weights 3 times a week.

As soon as the weather permits,

I'll begin walking every day.

Right now, it's 105-112 here in the desert 

so much too hot to walk!

Gearing up means I'll have to buy a new pack.

I sold the Jade 128 last year.

I'm looking at packs between 128 and 130,

and am especially interested in the top-loading Deuter.

Unfortunately, Arcteryx no longer makes the pack

I carried for so many years.

And... I'm on a strict budget!

Using The Budget Mom's workbook.

So far I've been SHOCKED at how much cash I've been wasting!

Ok.. here's our tentative schedule.

Of course, nothing is set in stone.

We'll ride the wave . . . 

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Date	Day	Village	Km	Albergue
5-Mar	Thu	Arrive Madrid
		Train or Bus to Zafra		Hotel Plaza Grande
7-Mar	Sat	Villafranca de los Barros	20	Albergue Carmen
8-Mar	Sun	Taxi to Almendralejo, Walk to Torremejia	14	Alberge Rojo Plata
9-Mar	Mon	Merida	16.5	El Templo Suites
10-Mar	Tue	Merida
11-Mar	Wed	Aljucin	17	Albergue St. Andre
		Thermal Baths
12-Mar	Thu	Alcuescar	22	Albergue
13-Mar	Fri	Aldea de Cano	15.4	Albergue
14-Mar	Sat	Caceres	23	Apartamentos BeHoliday
15-Mar	Sun	Caceres		Albergue
16-Mar	Mon	Cacer de Caceres	11.4	Albergue
17-Mar	Tue	Embalsa 664.26.27.42	23	Embalsa Albergue
18-Mar	Wed	Grimaldo	20	Abergue
19-Mar	Thu	San Gil	21	Albergue
20-Mar	Fri	Carcabosa	14	Señor Elenas
21-Mar	Sat	Oliva de Placecia
22-Mar	Sun	Aldenueva del Camino	19.5	Albergue
23-Mar	Mon	Calzada de Béjar	26	Albergue
24-Mar	Tue	Fuenterroble	21	Albergue
25-Mar	Wed	San Pedro de Rosados	28.6	Albergue
26-Mar	Thu	Salamanca	25	Los Angeles Plaza
27-Mar	Fri
28-Mar	Sat	Urb. El Chinneral	22.6	Albergue Casa Saso
29-Mar	Sun	El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino	15	Albergue Torre de Sabra
30-Mar	Mon	Villanueva de  Campeon	13.5	Albergue Peregrino
13-Mar	Tue	Zamora	19	Albergue Peregrino
1-Apr	Wed	Fontanillas de Castro	25	Albergue
2-Apr	Thur	Granja de Moreruela	12.5	Albergue
3-Apr	Fri	Benavente	25.5	Albergue
4-Apr	Sat	Alija del Infantado	22	Albergue
5-Apr	Sun	La Baneza	20.5	Albergue
6-Apr	Mon	Villares de Orbiga or Astorga	24.5	Albergue or Hotel ???
7-Apr	Tue	Astorga
8-Apr	Wed	Segovia
9-Apr	Thur	Segovia
10-Apr	Fri	Segovia
11-Apr	Sat	Segovia
12-Apr	Sun	Madrid
13-Apr	Mon	Madrid
14-Apr		FLY HOME		`

So that's the plan, Stan!
See you on the Camino!
Love,
Annie

May 9, 2013 - All my Senses

For me, Spain is not just about what I see, 

but what I smell, 

taste, 

and hear.

Like now, for instance.

I'm sitting in El Parque de Paz, the Park of Peace, 

in Zafra, 

in the cool shade of a stand of cypress trees 

and it is anything but quiet! 

 I haven't heard so much bird life since I was a child. 

There is a cacophany of life going on 

high up in the treetops!

I can hear a dove cooing and it's mate calling back. 

"Coo-coodle-coo! coo-coodle-coo! coo-coodke coo!"

I hear the cry of a peacock as he flies overhead. 

 It reminds me of my friend back home, Heidi! 

 She makes everyone laugh with her perfect imitation. 

I bet she's doing it right now up at the Beltaine campout!

An angry jay is scolding a cat 

and I can even hear bees buzzing around the fragrant roses and honeysuckle. 

I haven't heard bees in quite some time. 

Monsanto is killing the bees in the USA

There are tweets and chirps and whistles and chucks. 

There are staccatos and rests.

Mr Gato wandering around under the trees 

must be salivating as he contemplates his lunch. 

No wonder he is so fat and fluffy. 

This place is a happy hunting ground! 

And one bird keeps advertising the food is

 "Free! Free! Free! Free!"

I wish I could record this music and share it with you. 

It's quite amazing. 

Be sure and take a rest in the park when you are in Zafra!

I dropped into a tiny church,  

the Antigua Iglesia de Santa Catalina, also known as "La Vieja."  

I couldn't stay long because they were burning joss sticks,

 but it was a pretty church and I saw some nice stumpwork embroidery there.

 I left a 2 Euro donation.

The joss sticks were overwhelming.
Made my eyes water.

Another Sorrowful Mother.

Gorgeous Stumpwork!

May 9, 2013 - Cenar en Zafra

In looking for an affordable dinner, I stumbled across two restaurants that were serving dinner at 5:30. As you who have walked in Spain know, it's neatly impossible to find food between 4 and 8 pm.

The first restaurant I found served dinner for 9 euros. It was in the Plaza Grande. But I didn't care for the menu

I continued to walk down toward one of the two remaining gates of the city and I found this sweet restaurant, la Marquesa. It is an old olive mill and the floor is glass so you can see where the olives have been ground, pressed, and bottled.

The food was excellent. El Menu del Dia for 8 euros. I had ensalada mixta, lomo plancha, batatas, vino and a chocolate pie with molasses to die for. And I was hoping to lose weight on the Camino!

Olive Grinder

Olive Press

Lovely Patio

Lomo Plancha y batatas

OH MY GOODNESS PIE!

VDLP 2013 Day 1: Zafra

May, 2013
There are two albergues in Zafra. One is the donativo municipal. It is clean but stark.  I showed you the posters for both in the previous post.

The other albergue is a private and is called Albergue de San Francisco. It costs 10 Euros plus 2 Euros if you want desayuno. It is absolutely beautiful!

This albergue has 3 rooms with 5 to 6 beds in each. It has nice showers for each room. There is a kitchen where you can cook, a beautiful patio and garden. It opens at 11 am. They allowed me to leave my mochilla there while I saw the city. Very, VERY nice people!

Nice rooms.

Hot showers!

Nice clean bathrooms.

I spent the morning seeing the Alcazar, and the museum at the Convent de Sta. Clara.
Both were gratis though the Museu accepts donations. 

The Alcazar was built by Lorenzo de Figueroa, the Duke de Feria, in 1437.  It's a really cool fortress that has battlements and a keep. There are 9 towers and you can ask for a key and walk up on the roof. It is now a Parador Hotel, so if you have some extra Euros, you can sleep there!  It's really quite a lovely building, and worth seeing.

Courtyard with fountain.

Long quiet halls.

There was some gorgeous furniture!

Zafra from the battlements

There were spectacular views in all four directions.

Next I visited the Convent de Santa Clara.
The Convent was built by the first Duke de Feria and his wife in 1458.
Their funeral monument is made of alabaster
and built into the wall of the main altar.
 The Baroque altarpiece is from the 17th century.  

There were many treasure to be seen in the Convent.

This flay was used to whip oneself to pay for sins.
Ouch!?

A life sized Baby Jesus

Beautiful Courtyard - for the nuns only!

The altar flowers were fresh and very fragrant

Ceiling

Well, they looked better than they tasted!

You don't see the nuns. You say what you want,
put your money in the little revolving door,
it turns,
and out come your cookies!

The place to buy sweets is easy to miss - watch for the door under the staircase.

After visiting the convent and museum
I bought cookies from the nuns.

I didn't really like them

but it was fun buying them,

and I was happy to help the nuns.

It has been a wonderful day.
Now it is time for some lunch and a siesta.

Below are more photos of Zafra.

Hasta luego!

Annie