20. San Martin de Valdeiglesias

Today’s stage was a delight from start to finish.

Last night, we were reliably informed by a piece of street graffiti that there were 630 kms to Santiago. We were also told that it would be raining.

Well, despite an extended rumble of thunder in the early morning (heard by Sarah as Neil slept peacefully on) the day dawned with clearish skies.

Geoff here’s the latest weather vane for you - a waskly wabbit.

As soon as we left the town we were walking through ‘delightful woodland paths’ lined with flowers - including bright purple lavender.

Our first stop was in the village of Almorox, where we had breakfast and enjoyed a nice interaction with the barman whose sister is a Paralympic swimmer who had won a bronze medal in a championship event held in Perth.

After Almorox we plunged into terrain so reminiscent of Galicia, with ups and downs, twists and turns, running water, dry stone walls and verdant vegetation. The skies also clouded over and we got a few drops of rain along the way, but not enough to have to don the ponchos. 

A brief pause for an orange allowed us to be introduced to this little ladybird.

Our next acquaintance was slightly larger. Luckily, we have seen numerous bull fighting clips in Spanish bars and Sarah new exactly what to do... run!!

Eventually, we reached the summit of today’s climb. We were rewarded with panoramic views of the surrounding hills (and maybe even a few patches of snow in the far distance).

We undulated along the top for a while, past some massive granite boulders, and then finally descended back down into the township of San Martin.

The municipal albergue seems to be closed - the local police who take care of access let us know it was unavailable. So we are not too unhappy at the prospect of a night in slightly more upmarket accommodation in a casa rural - there might even be sheets! Of course, it being siesta time, we haven’t yet managed to get anyone to answer our knocks on the door, but hopefully we’ll be in before too long.

Buen Camino 

Neils and Sarah 

Our blog today is dedicated in memory of Catherine, with loving thoughts for Gerald and Anne.