An early start with the concern that it was going to be a hot day. The walk was picturesque with kilometre after kilometre of cork trees and short grass beneath giving the appearance it is mowed. It was almost like a fairytale forest and throughout the morning the temperature was idyllic, so everything was astonishingly surreal. Just so perfect and not another pilgrim in sight. We managed to have a lot of fun along the way. Some of the really large cork trees have been harvested and the huge trunks look nude with the thick deeply textured bark missing. The remaining black stumps will hopefully repair. We have seen so many cork trees for so many days it seems it must be a lucrative trade.
We turned at the first road crossing to get to Oliva de Plasencia. At this point we came across Marian. Luckily she was seated at the turn off resting or I'm sure we would have missed the turn and proceeded along the Camino which was clearly marked. Our overnight stop of Oliva is well frequented by many pilgrims, as the alternatives are hellishly long distances away. But unfortunately it is 6 kilometres off the actual Camino. The walk thus far was brilliant, the road walk (although safe enough) less so.
Positioned on the side of a steepish hill, the village is deceptively large. Just two small grocery shops with very restricted operating hours, a pharmacy and a bar. All the essentials. The town is adorned in knitted and crotcheted blankets, everywhere, the town seats, the town walls, bus stops, roof to town square, houses, just everywhere. Sure hope they manage to get a good supply of discounted wool! It truly is mind boggling. There was even a knitted group of a teacher and six students seated at a desk for lessons. It is an unusual sight and fascinating to have seen. I wonder what happens when it rains though.
Our accommodation is nice, an old stone building renovated. The room is big enough without being large but is comfortable and clean. We met two other guests, Wolfgang and Rosie, with whom we had dinner and drinks for many happy hours. Our Dutch friends, Ben and Anne were also in the village and joined us for drinks and convivial conversation. As both are approaching 80 they are looking at a shorter day tomorrow hopefully to avoid the heat predicted. Wolfgang and Rosie are heading south with the aim to lease a property in Spain (with a view to purchasing later) in which they will spend over half the year and therefore under European rules, pay reduced Spanish rate of tax rather than German.
Just a very brief video to show the track. Couldn't afford for the battery to run flat because we needed the GPS for our destination today.
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