Photos and Bird I.D. please!
Thanks for your sympathy and good wishes. It was a mixture of bad luck and a moment of stupidity - I am normally ultra careful. I was definately targeted by a professional as they were so very fast and despite alterting a security guard within seconds who gave chase the thief disappeared into the crowds. The Guardia Civil were totally disinterested and did not even want a description of the bag I had taken from me. The British Consulate much more helpful.
Despite the above trauma I made it to Burgos and completed my walk from there to Leon. The beautiful wild flowers and the clamorous birdsong on the meseta soon put my troubles into perspective.
I was very sad not to have a camera with me to capture the flowers and the breathtaking vistas - if anyone has any favourite photos of the meseta in full flower they could forward to me I would be very grateful.
Also, although I wrote what I thought were detailed descriptions of the wild birds I saw along the trail I am still having trouble identifying them in my bird guide now I am home. Are there any expert ornothologists out there that could give me clue as to what they probably were and narrow down the possibilities?
My best guesses at present are yellowhammers, corn buntings, goldfinch (only 1), linnets, black redstarts, crested larks and either shrikes or wheatears (neither picture in my book looks quite right). I asked lots of othe peregrinos along the way if they knew for sure what any of them were but most people seemed to be in too much of a hurry to secure a bed in the next stopping place to take much notice of the wildlife!
The noise of the frogs in the rivers was great too!