Day 44 El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino - Zamora

From El Cubo to Zamora should have been a two day trek.  We decided to do in in one simply because we needed to stop over in Zamora for a day to sort out a few things.  My shoes have begun to disintegrate and James is rushing a new pair to me hopefully to reach us in a town called Puebla de Sanabria which we hope to reach in about 8 days time.  There are very few post offices on the way and one has to rely on stopping in the bigger towns to find one.  Some, like the Puebla de Sanabria one only open in the morning so by the time one reaches it on the daay, the post oiffice is closed and then you have to wait until they open the following day etc!  Nothing is simple - they keep telling me it's part of the experience of walking the Camino!

The path from El Cubo was in part one of the nicest we have been on.  All along the route we had plenty of wild flowers alongside the path, and a variety of fields planted with barley and wheat.  Also the young shoots of large sunflower plantations were beginning to show.  We also came across a few small vineyards - this area used to be a major wine growing region until some problem devastated all the vines.

The terrain was more varied than the previous days with flat plains on the left and rolling hills on the right.  At one point as we climbed over a hill, it reminded us of the view of the Surrey countryside from Box Hill.  The fields had a lush green colour more reminiscent of the English countryside than Spain!

We stopped for a cup of coffee after about 8 miles in the village of Villanueva de Campeon.  There was unfortunately nowhere else to stop for the next 14 miles or so and we were extremely tired by the time we had our first view of Zamora.  The entrance to Zamora is very impressive as we hope our photos show.  Today for part of the way we walked with a new friend, Herman from Germany.  Like all good Germans he likes the odd glass of beer so he joined us for a glass once we reached our destination.

The Albergue in Zamora is new, free and offers a free breakfast - what a change to others we have been to!

Today we are relaxing in the city getting ready for the next few sages of our walk.  In about three days time we have a very difficult week or so ahead.   We will need to climb two of the highest mountains in this region which rise to 4455 feet and 4150 feet, the two highest peaks on our entire journey.

The days are very long as well with distances of over twenty miles.  We hope our feet, legs and every other part of our bodies will be up to the challenge.  Whose idea was this anyway???????????????????????