Shin splints and wonky little toes have made me slow down and take a day´s rest where none was planned. At least it was in Caceres which made it worth while. Never been there before and it is a delight. The old walled city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you´ve never been I suggest you do a tour of Caceres and Merida which has the finest Roman remains in Spain and they are only 80km apart.
I have a day´s rest scheduled for tomorrow which I won´t take and will do the short walk of 15km to Cañaveral which will put me back on track. Then 30km to Galisteo on Sunday.
In the last week I have attended 2 Masses which is 2 more than I have ever been to before (not counting C of E Communion) - and they couldn´t have been more different. The first was in Don Benito in the Iglesia de Santiago where they were celebrating something to do with the Virgin Mary. Almost all the congregation were females of a certain age each sporting that familiar hairstlye I call the "Spanish Helmet". And the church was packed. The second was in a residence for handicapped men run by Los Hermanos Esclavos de Maria y Los Pobres which has about 5 monks, a few volunteers and some 60-70 severely handicapped men. The congrgation here was exclusively male (of course) and the handful of people present (including the acolyte) were all in a very bad way. Everything the brothers do for these people is paid for from donations. I and a few other peregrinos were staying in the albergue they run which provides free bed, breakfast and evening meal.
Having walked 33km from Caceres to the Embalse de Alcantara, tonight I am the only resident in an albergue turistico run by the Junta de Extremadura on the shores of that very pretty lake. Bed, breakfast, evening meal and 3 beers for only 23EUR!.
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