Villafranco de Los Barros to Torremejia

It was a long, hard slog today.

When I left Villafranco de Los Barros, I thought about stopping halfway for a coffee, and possibly staying in Almendralejo. But I decided instead to press on.

For some reason, the first half of the hike went fine. But the second half of the hike never seemed to end.

On a positive note, when I reached Torremejia, and checked into the albergue, I met a group of pilgrims who I had not met before.

 We are all going on to Merida tomorrow. Some of us are staying in Merida. I intend a rest day there. I have completed 15 miles a day for the past three days. Explains why I feel like a wreck.

This is the first group of pilgrims I have met on this hike. There is one American woman - Beverly,  one Dutch woman - Karen and one Spanish man - Jose. We had good conversation over dinner and it was nice to have some conversation. There are more here but I have not met them all.

 Also picked up my first blister. No big deal. During the hike I stopped and treated it right away with a Moleskin. So when I got to here, although it still hurt, it had not gotten worse. I pierced it, drained it, and bandaged it and I think I should be okay now. Of course I will have to be careful with that area.

Note the farming fields out to the horizon.  The yellow arrow is the directional guide.  The blue and yellow symbol is the mark of the El Camino.

The vertical yellow and blue marks indicate that I am also on the Via Pecuaria, a set of trails in the province of Extremadura.

All day,  temperatures were in the high 70s with constant sun and only an occasional warm breeze. It was stressful and exhausting. 

What can I say?  15 miles of never ending,  semi-paved,  dirt and crushed gravel and stone amidst olive grooves and vineyards out to the horizon.

I don't remember why I took this picture.