Planned distance of 32km
July 14th
After dinner it started to rain, thunder mumbling about. So I had my doubts about how the walking would happen tomorrow.
Due to breakfast only being served at 7:30, we all woke up between 6:30 and 7:00. I say we as I connected with a new pilgrim family last night at the dinner table.
Today was the day to conquer Hospitales. This was day 4 of antibiotics and recover. There was no way I was not going over the ‘hospitales’ mountain. I was feeling a lot better, but not 100% yet.
The day started off very misty, very misty. We all had our doubts about what the weather conditions would be once we had walked the 4.3km to the split where you decide which route to follow (over or bypass). We were glad to see that the mist had started to lift and the sun started peeping at us. Mist still hung around, but we were hopeful it would be a great day with sufficient visibility.
It was tough, very tough. Upwards we went, It never seemed to end. Up and up. Although the sign indicated a total of 14,2km, it felt much longer. By the time we reached the peak, the sun was baking down on us, almost no clouds about. Luckily we all brought sufficient water. I made sure to pack a few extra bottles of water and boxed juices. The views are to die for, breathtaking. Taking a break and enjoying a snack and drinks, we sat in awe of all the beauty.
After the little break it was time to move on, past the ruins, a few ups and downs, until the major descent. We lost half the group, as the decided to backtrack to the bypass route to meet friends who did not want to go over.
Antonio, Lara, Isabelle and I proceeded to our overnight stop in Berducedo, it was only around 10 more kilometers, but they felt like 20. Steep downhills I’m loose rocks with the sun bearing down on us. We needed some serious refreshments (Coca Cola) and the next town promised to have a bar. Little did we know that it had closed down a few weeks ago. Lucky for us we still had some sweet snacks so that had to do. The last 4 add kilometers seemed to last a lifetime. We all smiled in relief as our stop came into view. First was the promised Coca Cola.
After the refreshments we checked in had our showers and did the usual washing and finding food stat.
Relaxed the rest of the day and sadly had no connection to the outside world (no cellular and very bad WiFi)
Fluit fluit, my storie is uit.
Some pics of the day
you conquered the mountain. Yeah Viva! be careful of the descends coming up. Robert, no matter what anyone else is doing, create your own switchbacks, i.e. walk slalom. Your shins and knees will thank you. Ultreia!
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