LIVE from the Camino A pleasant and easy walk? (Vía de la Plata Mérida-Granja de Moreruela 20 March- 7 April)

[Cynistra]

After 16 days of walking (plus another three days to explore Salamanca and Zamora) I've finished my walk on the Vía de la Plata and am now continuing on the Camino Sanabres.
If anyone's interested in a day-by-day report, you can find it on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karol_vloe?igsh=MXJ6d2Y0b3NkZmVwbw==
- just look for posts with VdlP.

This is more about an overall impression and tips and tricks though.

1. I'll start with what I'm aware will probably be the most controversial - how dare I call a walk with at points 34km long indivisible stages easy? I'm by no means a superfit individual - in fact I'm classed as obese, but the walking on this route is, well, easy. There's at points really long days, but there's not really any steep inclines at any point - yes I did have a brief stop here and there to take a breather but the only point at which I actually struggled with the terrain is when I (purposefully) deviated from the camino and followed the GR131 for part of the day. I know from experience that as long as there's not much ascent, and I take a break here and there, I can walk long distances without any problems. The caveat here is that I got "lucky" (more on that later) with the weather. It never got warmer than 27 degrees (80F), and even then there was a nice cool breeze. If it had been much warmer than this (or no breeze) I would have struggled more, or had to do shorter days (like I had to on the Frances last year, to escape the worst of the midday heat)
2. The weather, it is changeable. I've had everything from days where I walked in just a T-shirt all day (up to 27 degrees/80F) to snow and hailstorms on Easter Sunday. The weather changes were sudden (a change of 15 degrees / 27F in the max temperature in the space of 2 days), if not entirely unexpected, as long as you paid close attention to the weather forecast. Bring layers! I had a merino T-shirt, a polartec fleece, a lightweight synthetic jacket, a light rain/wind jacket, an umbrella, and gloves - and I used them all. I could have done without the fleece if I'd been happy wearing the synthetic jacket in the evenings, but I prefer having something separate (besides, on the Mozarabe I did at points need all of it at the same time). Like on the Mozarabe, I was surprised by how it could sometimes be a nice warm day, but still with gusts of icy wind - so you definitely want something that will stop the wind but won't add heat. We also got enough rain that we had to contend with several flooded arroyos and rivers (some knee deep or even deeper) so pack your footwear accordingly and know what you're comfortable with. I personally was OK crossing everything I encountered that didn't have a signposted and relatively short workaround, but I know many people reached their personal limits and walked on roads or took taxis to get around this. The Via de la Plata Facebook group was invaluable for getting up to date information on the flooding conditions.
3. The landscape is nice and pleasant, but rarely spectacular or breathtaking. A few caveats here:
   • I started this walk immediately after the Mozarabe, which has some really amazing scenery, so I started this walk spoiled with what came before
   • In talking to one of the hospitaleros, trying to explain why I wasn't loving this walk so much, I realised it was because the landscape wasn't all that different from what I'm used to in Hertfordshire, UK. Of course, if you're from anywhere else, Spain is a much cheaper place to experience this landscape (and usually with much better weather!)
   • I'm not sure how typical my experience of the landscape is. Everything was green and growing due to the rains, and at least some of the locals indicated it would normally be much more dry and barren
4. The cities were amazing and well worth spending some time in. Mérida, which I'd never heard of before starting this trip, was possibly the biggest surprise and I regret not having had a bit more time to explore here - I had an afternoon but could have easily spent an extra day here. Caceres, Salamanca and Zamora are all worth visiting and spending some time in - although Caceres is a bit of an awkward one, since if you spend the night here, then the next day you're left with the choice of doing either 12 or 45km the next day.
5. More so than on other caminos, you really do need to sit and plan the next few stages, rather than make it up as you go along. Because of some long and indivisible stages (although were needs must people always found ways around this with buses and taxis), if you don't plan ahead you might find yourself with a choice of either a super short or a super long day.
6. It's even more important on this Camino than on others to really limit what you take to the necessities. You will at points need to carry food and water for the day, which will increase your weight carried, especially on hot days where lots of water is necessary. Cafés or even water fountains are sometimes far and few between.
7. A camino with some (but not many) pilgrims around. Quite frankly, after the Mozarabe, where I went days without seeing other pilgrims, the Via de la Plata felt much more social. But this is of course very relative - what I mean is sometimes there were six of us, in the same bar, in the middle of the day. The most pilgrims I've seen in a town overnight was maybe 12-15, so compared to the Frances this is of course very quiet indeed. Also, I think there's a certain process of self-selection going on here as well, since the people you do meet are often more on the introverted side, and quite happy reading a book or otherwise keeping themselves occupied in the evenings. People are still very friendly and chatty in general, but maybe don't expect hanging out to be an all-afternoon or all-evening activity.
8. Cafés, bars, restaurants and supermarkets are happy to take your trade, but realistically most of their income is from the locals; so their opening times are adjusted accordingly. Compared to the Mozarabe though, you can see that supermarkets here do make an effort to cater to pilgrims - there's often a selection of microwave meals and individual drinks for sale. Still, siesta is real and in small towns supermarkets will almost certainly be closed between 2 and 4. Restaurants will (even if they are open) often not cook food for you between 3pm and 8pm, though if you're lucky there may be a selection of tapas on offer. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you will struggle to find appropriate food (unless you're a vegetarian that's happy to live off nothing but bread and tortilla), so you're probably better off finding accommodation with cooking facilities and catering for yourself.
9. Best sections. For me, the cities were the highlight of this trip so I'd probably recommend making sure you have enough time to visit them. My favourite sections were the Parque Natural Coralvo, about 10km out from Mérida, for cool rock formations; the long section between Casar de Cáceres and Cañaveral for nice views (although please stay on the paths when you have the choice! If you have the fitness for it I'd recommend taking the GR131 from just after the first bridge, as it's nicer walking but it does add extra distance, ascent and at points overgrown terrain- but even without this this would be a favourite); Cañaveral - Galisteo for variety through the day and a lovely walled city at the end; and of course the Arco de Caparra. Many people opt to use the shuttle service from here to the hotels, but for me I really enjoyed the six km of so right after this which was a bit wilder and with a few river crossings with stepping stones (maybe not so nice after rain!). The section just after Baños de Montemayor I enjoyed the climb, the views, and the slightly different landscape. I also quite enjoyed the last day to Granja de Moreruela - some rolling hills and water features.
10. Worst sections. Calzada de Valdunciel - El Cubo de Tierra del Vino. Really the only interesting bit on this walk is the birdwatching hut just out of Calzada, and the random bit of art just past it, and you can easily go see that the evening before. Other than that you're basically just walking parallel to an N-road, in the same farmland environment you get both before and after. The first six kilometres out of Mérida (until the embalse de proserpina), and the first seven kilometres out of Salamanca (basically to the first village, although I did spot a plaque promising a greener route in the future). Honestly, any random section between Calzada de Béjar and Montamarta. It's not that any specific section is that much worse or better (and nor would I recommend skipping all of it), it's just that it's all very samey. A lot of people seem to opt to skip Salamanca - Zamora altogether, since there's an easy bus connection and honestly if you're short on time that's not a bad idea. It's a bespoke Salamanca Zamora bus company, you can find the schedule online and just buy your ticket on the bus; the non express will also let you on or off at Calzada or El Cubo.

And that's all for now, folks.
Buen Camino!