7. Chinchilla de Monte Aragón

I walked with expansive views this morning as I slowly descended from Higueruela. It seems I am really on the plains of La Mancha, and I will let the photographs do the talking. 

After about 9 kms my left leg really started to ache. In the little town of Hoya Gonzalo I stopped for a break and put on the new bandage I purchased yesterday in Higueruela. It didn’t seem to help much until I also took a ibuprofen. The combination of these two measures allowed me to get moving for the long stretch to Chinchilla but it did take the edge off walking in such amazing country.

The path seemed to go on forever and it was getting hot!

Eventually, I arrived. Chinchilla is an amazing old town build into the side of a limestone cliff - no doubt for defence purposes in earlier days.

I arrived around 1.30, in the heat of the day. I must have looked pretty exhausted. It was a tough last few kilometres, in which I had to regain most of the altitude I had lost since leaving Higueruela. I was wondering around looking for somewhere to wait for Primo, when I was  greeted by Paco, a local who had walked the Camino Frances some years before. We chatted for a couple of minutes and he left. Further on in my wandering, however, he found me again and invited my into his home for a coke. The home is built into the hillside. Like most Spanish homes, it fronts right on to the road. Out the back is a delightful tree-shaded courtyard, and behind that, dug into the limestone of the cliff is a ‘cave’ (beautifully rendered and painted) where the family go for a siesta on the hottest of summer days. I am very grateful for Paco’s hospitality and his offer to call if I had any problems along the way. These acts of kindness are part of what makes pilgrimage on the Camino such a significant experience. Thank you, Paco.