Day 15 Casar de Caceres to Embalse de Alcantara

This was planned to be a long day. Casar de Caceres to Canaveral is 33kmm and there is not a single place to stop in between. No restaurants or hotels. About 23km along the track, there is meant to be an albergue at the big lake, Embalse de Alcantara. However I kept reading contradictory information about the place. It was open. It was shut. It had reopened but had then been closed down by the authorities. So I decided to discount the rumours and ensure I had enough water to carry me the full distance. So carrying my now excessively heavy pack I set off. The route was a bit more circuitous than expected, largely because an AVE track (High Speed Train) track was being built and the route was careful to protect pilgrims from being hit by fast moving trains or indeed construction vehicles. The project seemed to have hit the buffers though, leaving some half-finished architecture across the landscape.

It was a lot further than 22km in the event by the time I got to the dam. Decided to head down to the albergue to see if there was at least some more water available. And what a pleasant surprise - the albergue was open; it had opened the previous week and there was a young hospitalero behind the counter. He took money and stamped the credencial. The setting of the auberge was sensational and it wasn't a hard decision to forget the idea of pressing on to Canaveral and instead stay at the albergue. An hour later, seated outside with olives and a beer, it was clear that this was a great decision. The hospitalero trotted off to the nearest town to buy food and served a very passable dinner. Sometimes on the camino, life gives you some very lucky breaks.