5. Almansa - assailed

Dear reader,

Today I must tell you of a terrible battle that occurred last night.

Sadly, the delights of yesterday’s walk did not continue into the evening. Shortly after dusk, I did lay down to sleep and a deep darkness did descend and I was assailed by a hobgoblin of the Camino - the dreaded iron mattress. Armed with 57 coil springs all sharp and pointed directly into the body, this foe did attack me relentlessly through the night. The battle was hard and I didst fight with all my might. ‘I will not get up until ye bless me’, I cried. Alas, no blessing came. In the last watch, my vicious foe didst falter for a moment, and still wide awake despite the hour I seized the moment and squirted the ugly foe in the eye with my tube of 50+ sunscreen. And while the beast did scream and rub its eye, I smote it in the heart spring with my staff. The beast let out a terrible roar, staggered and collapsed. I smote it again and again until it was flat and lifeless and then didst consign it to the bowels of hell. Soon thereafter, dawn broke and I arose weary yet determined to continue on my way.

As you can clearly see, the beast tore off my right leg at the knee. I feared I wouldst also be covered with welts from his festering bed bug fiends, but thankfully I was spared. It seems that even these blood sucking parasites could not abide such a poor excuse for a mattress.  

And so, dear reader, I live to tell the tale and to limp on to Santiago. And let it be known, that no hobgoblin, nor foul fiend, not even a fold away mattress shall daunt his spirit, nor his avowed intent to be a pilgrim. Onward, ever onward!

And so the path took me first through the woody vale, and then across the open plains.

Actually, just moments after I took this photo, I heard a loud crashing in the bush. And there in front of me, another beast of considerable proportion (maybe twice the size of a wombat). At first, I thought it was a bear, but then I realised it was a wild boar. Sheesh! Thank goodness I have this staff.  The boar took one look at me and, mercifully, hightailed it into the bush on the other side of the road. After that, things became more sedate. The path opened out, and apart from a lack of shade as the day grew hotter, there were no further dangers to negotiate.

The path just keep opening before me and the ground was mostly smooth and quite gentle under foot.

By late morning I was looking for a shady place to pause and eat my banana. In the end, I had to settle for the cool of a concrete underpass.

From there on it was one foot in front of the other on the road to Almansa, which is situated just under that raised plateau you can see in the distance.

I am now happily set up in an albergue in Almansa. I have checked the mattress and it is much more than suitable for sleeping. The clothes are washed, I have purchased supplies for tomorrow’s massive stage to Higueruela (38kms), and it is time for an afternoon nap - a chance to catch up on the sleep that did not happen last night.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow and in the last hour of walking clouds were building. It’s the first time I have seen clouds since arriving in Spain last week. It could make for an interesting walk as much of the path is off-road. We’ll see.

Hopefully there are some knights waiting up in this castle to come to my aide should I be beset by another assailant.