May 8. Anjucen

We just had a menu and del Dia and feel that we are really on the Camino again. Just as we had hoped for. First course ensalada and. Pumpkin puree shared. Then second course chicken with more salad and couscous. Third course yogurt with fruit and kiwi and pear shared. With a jug of wine. Before dinner we toured the 15th century church.

May 9. Aljucen to Acuescar

The morning started with usual getting dressed and rearranging our things. Them we went to a local bar for breakfast. This entailed waiting for coffee and more waiting for an open faced jambon Iberico and tomato sandwich.

Today's walk was through flowers on end. The temperature started out around 10 then rose to around 17C  Great for walking. Perhaps five hours for 20 plus mistakes and finding the albergue.

We will eat a pilgrims meal at El Bodegon.

To facilitate getting going tomorrow morning we bought eggs and boiled them for breakfast.

Future jambon Iberico 

May 8. Merida to Aljucen

It was a nice cool morning to start walking, 10C. We walked to the north side of Merida and found the second bar open. Coffee and an open faced sandwich did the trick.

Walking today was much easier as it was warm enough but not hot. Susie found it easier with me carrying her denser personal gear in exchange for my much lighter Crocs.

We arrived at Aljucen around 2 PM and got a room with the help of the reception at the hotel with no available rooms.

More ruins on the way out of Merida.

Shortly before we arrived, they had rain and flooding. So our timing was perfect. Had we arrived earlier, the paths would have been water logged. As it was, there was a bit of puddling but no mud.

May 7. Castiblacos de los Arroyo's to Merida

For some reason,, we felt the walk more than in previous years. Maybe it was our lack of exposure to any heat or perhaps the years are catching up with us. I will blame it on heat because we just came out of winter. After feeling the heat for two days I decided that we didn't need a 10 km longer day and that we should take a bus to Merida. It wasn't simple because it meant going back to Sevilla then going up to Merida. The first bus was a no show making for a long wait. When we went through Sevilla, I learned that it was festival time. That explained the limited hotel availability and high prices.

In Sevilla we met a Montrealer cum Spaniard who told us some of the history of Sevilla and Merida. As a result we toured the Roman ruins in Merida on arrival. Very impressive. Even more impressive given that they built all of this and all the way up to Hadrian's wall.

In Merida, we walked into Hotel Aquaforum and got a very nice room for 50 Eur.

Dinner was prosciutto-like pork and salad. Very tasty and healthy. Isn't beer a health food?

The Flowers are everywhere, even on trees.

May 6. Guillena to Castiblacos de los Arroyos

I slept really well considering that we were in a room' with another couple and I was in the upper bunk. Getting organized before leaving was a challenge when everything you have is scattered on the bunk bed. But we made it. 

There was no place open to get breakfast so we picked up food at the supermarket Andy headed out.

Not far out of town, we came to a fork in the trail. We took the new route because it bypassed a stream crossing. It took us by orchards and olive groves. We're saw just baby olives. Not even mm in diameter.

We checked into a private albergue with a double room. Suites us fine for just 30 Eur 

Dinner is was hard to find because they eat after 8 here. We ended up having donair with a guy from Duncan BC. Tomorrow is a long day do we need rest. Today was less than 20 kms. Warm at about 25.

May 4. to Seville

The day started with a nice smooth landing in Casablanca, Morocco. There we transferred out of the huge 787 into a narrow body aircraft with just 4 seats across. Clearing customs was smooth but slow. We caught the shuttle bus to Seville. It's cheap at 6 euro each and quite frequent. From where we disembarked, it was a bit of a struggle to find our way around the city. The streets are often narrow and short with name changes .

This made it difficult to find our hotel. And then it was a small family business run remotely. Eventually some people helped by calling the owner and getting instructions. By then we had given up on buying a SIM card for my cell phone because the stores closed early on Sunday.

Then as we looked for a restaurant, we found a phone store that was open and tried to buy a card. They couldn't supply one without a passport so we had to walk back to the hotel. Eventually we got a 240 gig card for 20 Euro. A bargain by Canadian standards.

May 3. Kingston to Dorval and Airborne to

Damp day, 5C when we walked to the train station, 45 minutes. Our train was on time and left at 14:08. Stopped at Brockville and Cornwall, our destination, Dorval. There's a free shuttle bus to the airport, which took about 5 minutes. After waiting we checked in and cleared security. All was smooth. We just had to hurry up and wait.

We tried to get into the Desjardins lounge but they only took Desjardins credit cards, so we tried Air France who had a one hour wait.  So we went to a restaurant for dinner. It was good but a lounge would have been better.