- Time of past OR future Camino
- 1989, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024...
2 November 2024
The Camino Torres is not named after towers; it is named after Diego de Torres Vilarroel, who is said to have walked it on his pilgrimage to Santiago. But don't let the pilgrimage fool you, he had quite the reputation, and not really a holy one. There is a reason the official start of this Camino (at least, according to the "official" GPS tracks) is not at the cathedral but by the Cave of Salamanca, home to the School of Necromancy. That's where the bust of Torres is. And there is a reason they put it there:
I thought I might stop in Peñasolana for a little breakfast at a bar, but Google was telling me that none of the bars had opened yet (which seemed reasonable, given the time), so I kept walking on. There seemed to be another option for a bar at El Encinar de la Rad, and Google told me that bar was open, but a local walking his dog told me it was closed, and I have known Google to be wrong often enough that I trusted the local, gave up on my detour, and headed back to the Camino. I ended up stopping to eat from the food in my backpack at Rodillo, sitting by the road, at shortly after 11.
Today was a long day, about 33 km. It started off reasonably cool, but by the end I was just walking in a tee shirt. Once you are out of Salamanca and its immediate environs, most of the walking is on dirt farm roads and tractor trails, until the last couple of km into Robliza de Cojos. While it isn't completely flat, it definitely seems like a meseta. There were a fair number of cows by the road, at one point in walked through a flock of sheep, and I even saw a bunch of pigs running around in one of the fields with the cows. I also passed through several large areas where holm oaks were being cultivated. I figured they were oaks because they have acorns, but the leaves didn't look like any oaks leaves I had seen before. Eventually, I used an app to identify one of the trees and satisfy my curiosity.
As mentioned, it was a long day's walk, just over 8 hours. I was pretty tired when I got here. I WhatsApp-ed the hospitalera to let her know I had arrived, and after a bit she replied letting me know where the key was and saying she would be by a little later to register me. Needless to say, I am the only pilgrim here. It seems I am #70 for 2024.
The albergue is small but has most of the essentials. There was a bed made up for me with a real fitted sheet and pillowcase, and a whole heap of blankets. There are also some coffee pods and teabags, and a coffee maker and microwave. There isn't a laundry sink, just the tiny sinks with the toilets and in the shower room, but there is a clothesline hung up on the patio behind the albergue. My only complaint is that the toilets lack seats. Cristina, the hospitalera, came by at about 4:00 to register me and introduce me to the amenities. I gave her one of my buttons.
She took a photo of me, I think for a post in the Camino Torres Facebook group.
After I finish this, I think I will head over to the bar (near the town pool) and see what I can get to eat. Then it will likely be back here for hopefully a restful evening and an early bedtime.
Photos: the bust of Diego de Torres Vilarroel, saying goodbye to my albergue (now Valentín's), the first cow of the day, typical signage (they really like the little blue squares with the arrows), cows amongst the trees, holm oaks, some other weird trees I didn't get close enough to try and identify, the road goes ever on (at least, that's the way it seemed today!)
The Camino Torres is not named after towers; it is named after Diego de Torres Vilarroel, who is said to have walked it on his pilgrimage to Santiago. But don't let the pilgrimage fool you, he had quite the reputation, and not really a holy one. There is a reason the official start of this Camino (at least, according to the "official" GPS tracks) is not at the cathedral but by the Cave of Salamanca, home to the School of Necromancy. That's where the bust of Torres is. And there is a reason they put it there:
With that as a bit of an introduction, on to today's Camino. I left the albergue at around 7 am. I stayed just long enough to say goodbye to my replacement hospitalero, Valentín. It was still dark, but the first part is lit. You start by crossing the Roman bridge, the opposite way from the Via de la Plata. For the first hour or hour and a half, there was no signage, and I relied completely on the GPS tracks I had downloaded. Once the signage started, though, it was fairly decent. I was still happy to have the tracks, though.
I thought I might stop in Peñasolana for a little breakfast at a bar, but Google was telling me that none of the bars had opened yet (which seemed reasonable, given the time), so I kept walking on. There seemed to be another option for a bar at El Encinar de la Rad, and Google told me that bar was open, but a local walking his dog told me it was closed, and I have known Google to be wrong often enough that I trusted the local, gave up on my detour, and headed back to the Camino. I ended up stopping to eat from the food in my backpack at Rodillo, sitting by the road, at shortly after 11.
Today was a long day, about 33 km. It started off reasonably cool, but by the end I was just walking in a tee shirt. Once you are out of Salamanca and its immediate environs, most of the walking is on dirt farm roads and tractor trails, until the last couple of km into Robliza de Cojos. While it isn't completely flat, it definitely seems like a meseta. There were a fair number of cows by the road, at one point in walked through a flock of sheep, and I even saw a bunch of pigs running around in one of the fields with the cows. I also passed through several large areas where holm oaks were being cultivated. I figured they were oaks because they have acorns, but the leaves didn't look like any oaks leaves I had seen before. Eventually, I used an app to identify one of the trees and satisfy my curiosity.
As mentioned, it was a long day's walk, just over 8 hours. I was pretty tired when I got here. I WhatsApp-ed the hospitalera to let her know I had arrived, and after a bit she replied letting me know where the key was and saying she would be by a little later to register me. Needless to say, I am the only pilgrim here. It seems I am #70 for 2024.
The albergue is small but has most of the essentials. There was a bed made up for me with a real fitted sheet and pillowcase, and a whole heap of blankets. There are also some coffee pods and teabags, and a coffee maker and microwave. There isn't a laundry sink, just the tiny sinks with the toilets and in the shower room, but there is a clothesline hung up on the patio behind the albergue. My only complaint is that the toilets lack seats. Cristina, the hospitalera, came by at about 4:00 to register me and introduce me to the amenities. I gave her one of my buttons.
She took a photo of me, I think for a post in the Camino Torres Facebook group.After I finish this, I think I will head over to the bar (near the town pool) and see what I can get to eat. Then it will likely be back here for hopefully a restful evening and an early bedtime.
Photos: the bust of Diego de Torres Vilarroel, saying goodbye to my albergue (now Valentín's), the first cow of the day, typical signage (they really like the little blue squares with the arrows), cows amongst the trees, holm oaks, some other weird trees I didn't get close enough to try and identify, the road goes ever on (at least, that's the way it seemed today!)
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