Our Walk Along the Via de la Plata

  “It is the hope that kills you...” Sir Peter Ustinov Via de la Plata Stage 24 Continuing Our Camino Pilgrimage It was another very quiet night at the hostel, without even the voices of swallows or pigeons to break the silence.  Reluctantly, we got up around 6:00 AM and made our breakfast of instant coffee and chocolate croissants.  By 6:45 AM, we were packed and heading out onto the streets. Having enjoyed a couple of days off in the last week, it was definitely time to get going again. The sky was just beginning to lighten as we set out, and once again the city lay under that almost eerie, hushed quiet that had become so familiar on these early mornings. As we walked, a sign caught our eye: the Camino Zamorano Portugués. We’d never heard of it, and it wasn’t in our guidebook. A quick online search revealed it was a little-known variant that leaves Zamora and takes pilgrims straight to the Camino Sanabrés via Bragança in Portugal, eventually reconnecting a few stages l...