My plan was to stop in the small town of Siete Aguas after a 10 mile (16 km) walk. The reason for the short distance was the 1600 foot elevation gain on this trail, some of it pretty steep. The route was beautiful and I only saw a group of hunters, a few bicyclists and a Guardia Civil patrol unit. That was my good morning. I arrived in Siete Aguas a bit before 1 pm and walked up to the hostal at which I had a reservation. Then the afternoon went kinda bad as the place was locked up tight with a sign that they were closed for a rest (cerrado por descanso) I waited around until about 1:30 and called the two phone numbers but got only a voicemail. It was the only accommodation in town and I didn’t really want to keep walking beyond. I even scouted out some possible camping spots near the cemetery. Around 2 pm, I was hungry so went to a restaurant. A man who I previously spoke to on the street was inside at the bar drinking with a buddy. He told me he was going to Requena and would give me a ride after my meal (which was not very good-chicken breast, fried potatoes, and fried eggplant). I saw him at the bar while I was paying, but by the time I went out he was gone and nowhere to be seen. Hmmm, Requena was 18 miles away and I certainly did not want to walk that far. Another possibility was a truck stop hostel along the way at El Rebollar about eight miles away. Not having many other options, I decided to starting walking in that direction, halfway scouting out camping spots as I went. Well, I did walk as far as El Rebollar by 5 pm, tired and dragging. I was informed by the bartender that there were no rooms available. I told him I was pretty tired and didn’t really want to keep walking. He took pity on me and said that he lived in Requena and would drive me there after his shift ended at 6 pm. Now I was becoming a happy camper, ordered a large draft beer, got on my phone and made a booking for a hotel 🏨 in Requena, and waited for 6 pm. A very nice man, as we drove, we chatted about family and my walk and he told me about the difficulties of trying to make a decent living in Spain. So things were looking much better in the evening. After my shower and clothes washing, I walked around the city a bit, then came back and crashed for ten hours of good 😴 sleep.
It just shows that you need to expect anything on the Camino even if you try to plan it out. My original plan was to walk from Siete Aguas to Requena on Sunday. Since I already did half of the walk on Saturday, I’ve decided to spend two nights here. I will go for a three hour walk outside the city in the morning to make up for the rest of my nine miles, then take it easy the rest of the day. Hopefully I’ll find a decent restaurant, too. Finally, the kindness of strangers at the right time when things look bleak is a godsend. Plus my meager Spanish speaking skills got a good 🏋️♂️ workout. All is good!
I8
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