There is not a lot to report about today's trek. It was another easy day, just over 11 miles from Puente la Reina to here. This town also has the word "puente" in its name, which means that it also has a centuries-old stone bridge, which I walked over to get to this pilgrim's refuge. I'm not going to paste a picture of it, because I walked across several stone bridges today, all of which are hundreds os years old. 800-year-old bridges are a dime a dozen around here.
417 miles yet to walk, by the way. In another two days, I should have the number below 400. Today's hike was mostly through farmland up and down hills with a village every few miles. The refuge where I'm staying is called la Casa Mágica or the Magic House. It has a balcony with hammocks, single beds (no bunk beds), and comfortable arm chairs. It's a refreshing change. Most of these places are very spartan.
As you can see by the following picture, I'm having a rough time on this trip. At least I had tbe decency to put down the can of beer before the nice Brazilian lady, who is running this place, snapped the picture.
Incidentally, I have a great time when this T-shirt comes up in rotation. If I walk into a cafe and someone starts giggling, I know that I'm dealing with a native English speaker. The people who speK English as a second language always ask me what the word slacker means.
I saw more political graffiti on the way here today. The Spanish part says, "Felipe, you won't be king." That was a bad prognostication, because Felipe took over the kingship from his father Juan Carlos recently. The heir to Fransisco Franco refers to the fact that Franco installed Juan Carlos as king before his death. Juan Carlos had a mixed reputation. On the one hand, he presided over the installation of a democratic government in Spain, and when the military initiated a coup in 1981, occupying both Parliament and the city of Valencia, Juan Carlos went on TV to denounce the coup, which is credited with causing its failure.
On the other hand, Juan Carlos has a reputation as a womanizer, and members of his family have been accused of financial shenanigans. He was also photographed next to the body of an elephant, that he had reportedly shot to death on an African safari. That did not sit well with those who want to save the African elephant from extinction.
2 comments:
It looks like you are having a lot of fun!
I have a question. Do the places have laundry facilities or do people wash their clothing by hand? I read that you hung your clothes out one day but they were still damp later on.
I love that T-shirt!
Most places have coin-operated washers and driers. For the few items I have, I prefer to wash them by hand and hang them out to dry rather than pay the equivalent of about ten bucks for the machines.
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