Caceres to Canaveral

Awake early and quite clear that a rest day was not required ... brief research suggested a long day required instead, without services, so after an orange and a banana in the room, it was out onto rehearsed route, easy enough and coffee and churros found along the way ... today's cultural offer the chance to watch churro chef squeeze a spiral of thick batter into a vat of hot fat and produce the doughnuts ready for snipping with scissors ... from then it was four stages of around 11k each to the night's bed ... first 11, hard shoulder and track to Casar de Caseras, a handsome town offering an Albergue, several bars and a briefly considered bus back for history, leaving shorter stage for tomorrow ... coffee and cake then the second 11, maybe a bit more, is wonderful, climbing gradually into cow country, dry stone walls and fences containing the cows and the Way ... clear blue sky, N630 far to the left, A66 motorway far right ... the middle Way elevated and peaceful ... picnic of avocado and oats in water and honey (not wanting to carry too much food), with a view of the lake created by the damming of the Rio Tajo, or Tagus as it becomes across the border ... third 11, certainly less, but seemed like more around a diversion to avoid construction works on the new Madrid high speed train track ... including a stretch beside the reservoir on the hard shoulder of the reappeared N630 ... to the closed lakeside Albergue for a rest for the last 11 to Canaveral ... up a track to discover the Fantastic Five Pilgrims having their picnic ... you don't see one for three days, then there are five! Names still being learnt, but it is a combination of German speaking Swiss and Austrian, Italian speaking Italian and French speaking Frenchman ... all of whom speak English, of course ... final 11 tough going along the Via Romana, legs tired and energy lagging ... maybe 45k too much without adequate food ... still, it's done, Albergue pleasant, Fantastic Five arrive ... restaurant opens 7.30 ... so, a late night and ready for bed ... tomorrow maybe a 30 is enough ...