Day: 5
Date: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
From: Segovia To: Santa Maria La Real de Nieva
Distance (Planned): 33.3km Actual (Garmin): 35.4km
Progress: 144/801km
Start Walking: 0628 End: 237pm Time: 8h6m
Ascent: 349m Descent: 463m
Terrain: Undulating hills, through shimmying wheat fields on back country, dirt roads.
Weather: Cool and clear, and then a tad too warm.
Stayed At: Hostel Avanto
General Comments:
- Today was an absolute cracker of a day to be out walking. Within a few kilometres of leaving Segovia the countryside changed to rolling wheat fields which reminded me instantly of the meseta on the Camino Frances. Some people dislike that section, but I love the wide open spaces.
- Even though I was focused on knocking over the kilometres today, and there were plenty of them, I remembered to look behind me and bid a fond farewell to Segovia. Imagine my delight to see a hot air balloon rising over the city and seemingly to follow me over the hills and far away.
- Segovia is definitely a city were a return visit and a longer visit is warranted. Every step through the streets seems to reveal fascinating history whether Roman, Moor, Jewish or other nobility or royal family.
- So it was fabulous to be walking in the open countryside again. The waymarkind today was excellent and even showed a shortcut which would cut off, I’m assuming, a kilometre or two by missing Valseca. As I was in desperate need of a coffee, I decided to ignore the shortcut and headed straight onwards to the village ahead. Unfortunately my efforts were not rewarded by coffee or any food and I plugged onto the next town only to find everything firmly shut up as well.
- Today’s walk reminded me of how many sadly abandoned villages there are in Spain. I’m assuming they are only populated by the very elderly or the very young. While the farming land surrounding these villages looked very productive, the villages themselves looked quite unloved. But maybe I am missing their essence.
- As well as the beautiful wheatfields, the path led me through and past large poplar plantations and through pine tree forests. The later which were being tapped for their sap. I am not sure what they use this sap for.
- The animal highlights for today was a very vocal cuckoo bird calling out in the poplar trees. Such an iconic sound and one that we don’t hear in Australia. I also surprised a deer grazing in one of the large paddocks and it took too its heels, springing away.
Top Tips:
- Be careful leaving Segovia. There is next to no signage or arrows and I suspect the Segovia Council frown on people painting yellow arrows through their historic city. Once you are out of the city boundaries though, waymarking is excellent.
- I had to change my accommodation plans for this evening as my source of information was sadly out of date. The albergue I was aiming for in this very lengthily named village, closed 3 years ago and I wasn’t aware of that until I tried to book it yesterday. Instead I’m staying in a very nice little hostal which is only one kilometre out of the village. If you are considering walking this route, don’t do like I did and miss the turn off to take you directly to the hostel rather than having to walk into the village and then all the way out again. What’s another couple of kilometre at the end of the day?
Buen Camino
Life...one big adventure 
Yes, photos are gorgeous ! Thanks Mel
Sheesh, no cuppa for miles 😦 …. a Jetboil may be on the cards?
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Hmmmm, not sure I need to carry the extra weight. 😁 I figure it is good for me to miss a coffee every now and then.
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Truly an adventure of and for life. Thanks for taking us on the walk with you Mel!
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My pleasure. Happy to go walking on your behalf anytime. 😁
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You’re right Mel seems to be in the Meseta of the French way … how wonderful❤️
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It was a tough, but very beautiful day.
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it happens in almost all the paths a hard day but the fatigue always disappears when you reach the destination❤️
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Dropping that backpack on the floor and pulling your boots off are heavenly!😁
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Absolutely YESSSS 😁
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😎
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Even at a distance Segovia looks lovely. Surely that balloon could have given you a ride! Spain is so big, Mel- relative to Portugal, anyway- and youngsters don’t necessarily want to live miles from anywhere and farm the land. It’s hard work, bucolic though it may look. I’m not a fan of flatness unless it’s beside water, but obviously on a long distance walk it’s a blessing.
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Yes, it is the same in Australia with young people moving to the bigger cities for work and life. All part of growing up, but I feel sad for the villages. Maybe they come alive on the weekends.
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Many of our sleepy little places have weekend festivals in the summer.
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Yes, I know how Spaniards love a party. 😎😎🥳😉🥳
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Pine sap is good for lighting fires, maybe it’s for that?
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I guess so, perhaps cleaning products too?
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What a day! You really are walking long days … how are the feet? I felt for you when I read no coffee, gutting. And I chuckled at the obligatory shadow photo, lol always a winning shot.
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Heading into some shorter days now, thank goodness. I think my sweet spot is about 25k. Anything over that tends to get big. Feet and legs are a bit of a mess, but hopefully a 22k day today will allow them to recover a bit. Ta. X
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Ph-ew! Shorter day.
One pilgrim I’m following is getting massages in the cities. She swears by it … I’m going to try next time. 😆
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Yes, I have heard of that, but just to prove how genuinely weird I am… I despise massages! I can’t even stand it at the hairdresser when they try to give you a head massage.🤪
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Ha ha! Not weird, always good to know what you do and don’t like. And with the shortage of baths and magnesium salt being too heavy to carry it’s gonna have to be those shorter days then!
I hope today was kind. x
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I vote for shorter, flatter days EVERY time!😁
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💃👣
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Well, not quite dancing, but close,
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Beautiful photos. Great commentary. Just out of curiosity can the 30+ km days be split?
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Yes, it can be split. Just need to check which albergues are still operating. I did this big day as I wanted a shorter day into Coca to allow time to see the castle. Apparently it’s fantastic.
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Great photos Mel. Beautiful country side. I’m amazed you have enough energy left at the end of each day to update your Blog xx
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I am not lying to say it was a struggle with this post!😆 Lights out at 8pm! 😊
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Oh boy, I really felt for you on the walking extra kms just for coffee ☕ only to find it not on offer. Oh, the pain!
Love your hot air balloon photos.
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Thanks for the lovely feedback. It was a very beautiful day and easy to take a few good snaps.
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In many places in the world, NZ included the young what or need to go where the work is leaving many small town/village businesses becoming harder to stay viable. Those long stretches would be challenging though a good time to mellow out before the hills. Segovia is amazing and we enjoyed our road trips around Spain and the inland routes can be very interesting.
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It sounds very similar to what happens in Aus too. Luckily, in my small town, the young people sometimes return with their young families and a whole new skill set. It’s great for the town.
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OMG!!! I am reading all of these posts over the weekend!!!! So jealous!!!! Wish I was there with ya!!
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You snooze, you lose!😂😆 Great to have you walking with me virtually anyway. Melx
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Touché!!! 😂😂
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But no doubt, you already have a tonne of exciting adventures lined up for your Summer.
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Beautiful photos with the hot air balloon in the sky. No coffee – that’s a bummer! Oh, and the stork nests … yeah, it feels like Camino.
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I thought you would like the stork’s nests. Nothing quite says Camino like it, does it?
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