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Camino Routes
🇪🇸 Routes in Spain
🇪🇸 Camino de MADRID (Madrid - Sahagún)
My Camino de Madrid - Sahagún. June-July 2016.
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[QUOTE="Bad Pilgrim, post: 431371, member: 50859"] [B]STAGE FOUR: SEGOVIA - SANTA MARÍA LA REAL DE NIEVA. 28 of June. 32 KMS[/B] Sightseeing was not over because the arrows took me to the Church of Segovia, which was mesmerizing in the morning light, and then down to a nice view of the castle. While leaving Segovia I heard huffing and puffing, a strange noise... But no human being or animal around me. Then I saw a hot air balloon close over the castle! The sound was coming from above. I took some nice pictures of the skyline of Segovia with the colourful balloon hovering above it, but as I'm a technical savage I don't know how to put pictures here... Just a few kms outside Segovia is Zamarramala. The village looked really uninteresting to me, like a one-horse town. I did a few turns to try to find a cafetería, but I guess it was too early. Now, I don't know how many times I heard the name of Zamarramala from pilgrims and non-pilgrims during the rest of the journey. (Oh, by the way, did you stay in ZAMARRAMALA????!!!!) It seems to be mandatory to stay there. Or the Guardia Civil will come and drive you back if you try to escape, by judging from the look on people's faces. Max Long's guidebook talks about a very basic accomodation (i.e. no water or electricity), so I guess there have been some improvements, or people wouldn't be so bewildered about it. Posts here on the Forum that I rapidly read through seem to point to this. Ok, I get it. It's just that... Why would anyone stay in Zamarramala when you can stay in Segovia?! I understand that there's no albergue in Segovia and that you can spend the whole day there, then to reach Zamarramala in the evening to spend the night there. Well that town didn't look like much to me so I'm glad I stayed in a hostel in Segovia instead. Of course it's a matter of money as well, as accomodation in Segovia is more expensive. I'm no rich guy, but I do prefer hostals whenever possible... Then on to Valseca and Los Huertos. I think I found the first bar of the day in Valseca so I could have breakfast, yum yum. Another guy entered soon after me. Pilgrim outfit. I'm just too shy to throw myself in front of him and ask "Are YOU a PILGRIM?". So I hid behind my café con leche and figured that we would eventually meet later if he was one. After Los Huertos you pass a beautiful but somewhat stern Ermita that apparently contains a shelter for pilgrims in need, but I never investigated. The Camino then follows a disused railway (the rails can't be seen anymore). A cyclist, an ex-pilgrim, stopped and we chatted a bit about the Camino. He gave me some advice for the next stages (along with a paternalistic sermon that the albergue in ZAMARRAMALA is NOT TO BE MISSED.) Then leaving the railway for a bridge. Here the Max Long guide is right: you get off the bridge, to the right, as soon as you've passed it. Arrows are there. The guidebook of the Asociación says you should continue further on the road after the bridge and turn right a bit later. But the difference could be no more than a few hundred meters. This is the meseta and no shade whatsoever. Just some streches of pine forest which will be the trademark of the stages to come. In the tiny town of Añe, there's an albergue, but Max Long says it's in bad state. Later a bicigrino would second this: he had stayed there and had nothing good to say about it. Can other peregrinos confirm...? Anyway, next stop: in Pinilla-Ambroz there are no facilities, but three fuentes. I drank from each and every one of them although they were no more than 50 mtrs apart: I was so thirsty. I guess about 35 degrees C. I arrived in Santa María la Real de Nieva. I wanted to stay in its albergue which is private but donativo, a rare mix. I thought I would be alone as I had seen no-one, except the man in Valseca, on the way. But no: half an hour after my arrival there was a couple, then the one I had seen in Valseca, and late at night yet another pilgrim on bike. So there were five of us all of a sudden. Albergue etiquette: one guy wanted to open the window and I shouted "No!!! Don't let the flies in!" Gee, how many times before they learn. Later in the evening another pilgrim would leave the door wide open while I was outside, so I lost the battle. In fact, he would leave the door wide open even after having left himself, when the albergue was empty. So the couple were mightily upset with him in the evening because they feared someone could have entered and stolen their belongings. Shower flooded, pilgrim couple singing on the bench outside with a guitarr, other pilgrim telling you the story of his Successful Life Without a Cell-Phone, cross-examination about why you didn't stay in ZAMARRAMALA, pilgrims arguing over closed door/open door, me trying to sleep with 1000 flies around me that some pilgrim had invited, noisy bicigrino arriving after bedtime to upset everyone... I was already dreaming of finding a hostal on my next stop... Oh I'm so mean. I really liked the couple, though. It was just too much people all of a sudden, sorry... Back soon! BP [/QUOTE]
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