Day 6 - Fuente de Cantos to Zafra – 25km

This morning, unlike previous days, I set out by myself again. It was cold, around 2 or 3 degrees, and very foggy. I put on my beanie and later pulled up the hood of my jacket, but I was still cold all morning despite walking quite quickly. It was far too chilly to stop and linger. That said, at least it stayed dry today, and I was really pleased about that.

I faced a bit of a dilemma: I really didn’t want to walk up the N-630 all day, but I also wanted to avoid the mud and water on the waterlogged tracks. In the end, I opted to follow the road. About halfway along, there was an opportunity to join the trail again, so I turned off the road and started down the track. After 50 yards, I saw the conditions getting worse, so I returned to the road. Later, I heard from Gordon, who had taken that route, said that it was pretty bad as he’d had to wade through thigh-high water and tons of mud.

On Saturday, I moved from the region of Andalucía to Extremadura. Nothing much changed at first, but today felt different. There were large vineyards and olive tree plantations, giving the landscape a more managed, farmland feel. It feels like we've left the hills behind. Looking around this morning, I saw large fields with oak trees that reminded me of home.

I made it to my albergue, the Vincent Van Gogh, in Zafra, where I was met by the hospitalero, Antonio. He booked me in and then asked if I would like tea or coffee. This was a first for me, so I said, “Yes, I’ll have a té negro con leche.” I wondered what it would be like, but then Antonio’s wife brought out a very English pot of tea, a jug of milk, a cup, and a plate of biscuits! I was bowled over by their kindness. Later, I learned that his wife, Clare, is Scottish. She carried the tray to a table, and Antonio brought my bag. I spent the next while relaxing and drinking the entire pot of tea, the best I’ve had in Spain.

In the afternoon, I walked into the historic part of town to meet Steve at the castle. Except I couldn’t find the “castle.” I wandered around for ages looking for it, and in desperation, I went to the tourist office. “Castle?” the receptionist said, “There is no castle.” Then I saw a model on display of something that looked a bit like a castle. “Ah, this!” I said. “Ah,” she replied, “the palace!” It turns out the “castle” is now a (very posh) hotel. Eventually, I found the palace, where Steve was waiting for me outside.

We went in and asked if we could look around the battlements of the palace. The receptionist told us that since we weren’t guests, we’d need to buy a drink from the restaurant before going up. So we headed to the restaurant, and I asked for a cup of té con leche—my second of the day! My request caused quite a stir, as five minutes later, the waiter returned to apologize, saying they didn’t have tea. I said, “OK, I’ll have hot chocolate.” A few minutes later, the head waiter came over and said there’d been a mistake; of course, they had tea. Five minutes after that, Steve got his coffee, and I received a large pot of hot water, a tea bag, a cup, and a big jug of hot milk that I finished off after my tea.

I took our receipt back to reception, and the receptionist showed us how to get up to the battlements. It was fascinating to read about the history of the palace, and the views across the town were lovely.

Tonight, I’m heading out to dinner with Gordon and John, which should be a great way to end the day!