Madrid Camino Day 7- Añe to Nava de la Asuncion
May 13, 2017
After a night of thunderstorms and no food I needed to get going. I’d gone out last evening during a break in the rain (but during ongoing and continuous lightning flashes) looking for supplies. No luck. I was told by a one-eyed woman with a lame dog that there was neither a bar nor a store. “No bar,” she said, her black, hollow eye socket looking terribly scary in the flashes of lightning. “No Tienda!” And she laughed and hobbled away, her three legged dog trailing behind. I scurried back to the albergue and filled my empty belly with cold water. I was up and on the road before the sun.

11kms before breakfast, through astounding countryside with just the birds and the rabbits and a fox for company. And always the rhythmic crunching of my boots on gravel. That is certainly one of the positive aspects of the Madrid Camino – virtually no paved road walking and wonderful solitude.

I took a break in Santa Maria la Real de Nieva and grabbed food supplies from a small corner grocery. Had a picnic in the Plaza. I carried on through more wonderful pine forests for another 12 kms to Nava de la Asuncion.

A helpful fellow named Ruben heard me asking directions to the albergue and helped me out. He called a friend who put him in touch with the woman in charge of the key. She said it would be an hour. Reuben took me to a nice restaurant and offered to buy me lunch. I was grateful but opted for water. We chatted in broken Spanish and English. Ruben shared photos of his work as a renovation specialist. He was currently working on the Escorial Palace near Segovia. I was caught up in Ruben’s enthusiasm for his work and his obvious pride in his home town. Lovely man.
Once again, I had the albergue to myself. The beds were soft and I was a tad concerned about my back after the 23 km walk, but my feet and legs were fine. I may take the short walk to Coca tomorrow as a ‘rest day’ – only 10 kms – and book into the little hotel there because the next day will be a longer one. Still contemplating…