251km from Sevilla
The weather is finally starting to clear up, and I left the village early with a barely-grey sky above me.
Just in time since this stage was through a gorgeous national park. There were also lots of loose cows in this area unexpectedly, and many cute spring babies. I ended up playing a casual game of hide and seek with one cow (yes, really.)
Squad.
I ended up having a quite slow day, ambling through the peaceful park and surrounded by infinite purple and yellow wildflowers. A Spanish couple - who had set off at 5am (!!!) from Mérida - caught up to me and the man explained to me that we were surrounded by lavender, a flower called “Jara” and the trees that the cork for wine bottles comes from that I can’t remember the name of.
I took my sweet time getting into town as I'd heard that the albergue would be closed during the siesta hours, and yet still ended up being too early. I sat down in a bar and had a well-earned coke, meeting a couple of new pilgrims I'd seen on the road, and we waited for the doors to open.
The albergue was a special one today, a donativo (donation-based) in a convent next to a monastery. Dinner was given freely and we dined happily together in a group of maybe 12-15 people in what I think was the monastery kitchen.
Many of my trail friends have now gone ahead and whether I ever see them again is mostly up to chance. It's a bittersweet feeling, and somehow it feels a bit like I’ve lived a whole life already though it’s not even been two weeks yet.
Until next time,
A x
About me
Hey! Ameena here - I’m a freelance portraiture and documentary photographer based in London. I enjoy telling stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world.
In this newsletter, I’m digitally retracing my steps on the Camino de Santiago. From March to May 2019, over 45 days, I walked over 900km along the Via de la Plata (the Silver Way) route of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.
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