The Camino, Stage 3 — May 14, 2025: El Cubo de Vino to Zamora (34 km — should have only been 31, but we took a wrong turn!)

9 - 19°C —Blue sky, cloudy later in the day

By Jim 

During our siesta yesterday it poured buckets, which gave the walkers and cyclists who arrived later a story or two to share at the communal supper.

Our stage today was officially 31 km, so we were out of the albergue and on the trail by 6:00 a.m.  It was still dark but the moon lit our way.  At mid-morning, we walked down an escarpment and were overtaken by a vista so beautiful that we forgot how impressed we had been with the sunrise. The trail opened up onto rolling hills of crops and oak trees.  Our map promised us two towns complete with bars and a restaurant but, although the towns materialized, the services never did.  By the time we could see our destination, Zamora, we still had 8 km to go — these last two and a half hours dragged on.  A short cut that I sold to Laurel was thwarted by a farmer who proclaimed “Probido el Passo!”  Eight kilometers became ten and Laurel proved that she could still walk 34 km in a day.  It took a pizza on Plaza Mayor and a glass of vino tinto for her to forgive me.

Here ends our travels for a while as we now begin a two week stint as volunteer hospitalaros at the Albergue de Peregrinos in Zamora.

Compostela Confidential

The hot buzz on the Camino today was that a “French Royal,” a VIP if you like, was among us walking the Camino incognito.  Juergen (a pilgrim from Belgium) texted me partway through our stage and asked me if I could keep a secret because he had some “big” news to tell us when we arrived.  Our arrival and check-in at the albergue was paused while Juergen told everyone (so much for secrecy) that Charles from Montpelier, France, is Charles Prince Napoleon (Head of the House of Bonaparte — disputed).  It was quite the scoop for Juergen, who had only walked with Charles for one day and blew his cover.  Kenny (from Reno), who had walked with Charles for a week but fell behind yesterday, arrived at the albergue oblivious to the secret identity.  Quite the “Santiago secret!”  Meanwhile, Charles had been called back to France for business and will resume his Camino at a later date.  All I can say is, he was a gentleman.   When he saw Laurel and I in the pizza restaurant on Plaza Mayor he came in to say hello and goodbye. It turns out, I can’t keep a secret!

Albergue de Peregrinos, our home in Zamora for the next two weeks