11. Pinos Puente to Moclin

We had a great sleep in Pinos Puente and a leisurely start to the day with breakfast in the local bar. There was not too much pressure to get away as it was a relatively short stage today, albeit with a solid climb at the end.

We were on the road by about 9.00am and there was a few kilometres of road walking to begin - thankfully not a busy road.

It was a beautiful stage throughout and here we passed our first field of poppies on this Camino.

And our first plantation of trees - not sure what they are but they seem a bit like silver birch.

We are moving into serious olive growing territory now as you will see in later photos.

We also had another photographer contributing pictures today - thank you Alba.

There was one small pueblo along the way (Olivares) nestled right up in the valley. It is a popular destination for cyclists and there were a dozen or so in the bar where we stopped for coffee (with some seriously good bikes!)

From Olivares, we began the 400 metres ascent to Moclin. 

The views along the way were stunning and the locals had kindly placed a chair for sitting and taking it all in.

Looking the other direction we caught our first glimpse of Moclin castle - which must have been almost impregnable.

We arrived in Moclin just before 1pm, which meant we enjoyed lunch in the  cafe-bar in the central plaza, and then had time to visit a lookout at the edge of town. Here’s the valley we will walk into tomorrow - maṉana. 

It has been a delightful day walking with Alba and it culminated with cooking and sharing a simple meal together in our little apartment.

It was a day of gratitude for friendship and the gifts of shared experience. 

Buen Camino,

Neil, Sarah and Alba