Fields of Gold: Monesterio to Fuente de Cantos

 "The wilderness holds answers to more questions than we have yet learned to ask."
Nancy Newhall

Via de la Plata Stage 5

After three nights in municipal albergues, we were ready for a good night's rest at the end of yesterday's stage.  However, that was not to be.  The room above us in the hostel where we stayed last night was either occupied by newlyweds, teenagers who had just discovered sex, or a 'lady of the night' who was entertaining a new client each hour.  The sounds of squeaky mattress springs, a headboard hitting the wall, furniture and other objects crashing to the floor, and groans of male ecstasy and subsequent female disappointment resounded every half hour from mid-afternoon yesterday to first light this morning.  I don't know how anyone could have that much energy or stamina. We can only pray they weren't pilgrims who will provide a nightly soundtrack for the next forty days!

Today was stage number five on the Via de la Plata and our 14th day walking since leaving Cadiz on the Via Augusta. We had two options, a 20 km or a 44 km stage. After yesterday’s 35 km push and with warm temperatures forecast for the afternoon, we opted for the shorter stage that would bring us to Fuente de Cantos. In a few days, we will face three consecutive stages at or over 35 km. So it is necessary and even essential to plan our pace carefully, taking shorter days when we need to rest, recover, and care for ourselves.  If not for happiness' sake, then at least in service of the larger mission.

With only 20 km to walk today, we decided to make a late start, exploring the town a little before setting out, and then finding a proper breakfast, instead of our usual instant coffee and bread.  When we headed out around 7:00 AM, there was a surprisingly cold wind blowing through the streets.  Our laundry from yesterday hadn't dried, so all our clothes were still damp, making us feel even chillier.

Exploring Monesterio

We made our way through the quiet cobblestone streets, which were lined with the usual white buildings.  There seemed to be quite a lot of construction going on, and we were intrigued to see renovations in progress that were at various stages of completion.  One of the most striking examples was a home that had been gutted, but where you could still see the different kinds of tiles that had been on the walls of each floor of the house.  Although two sides of the home and the roof were missing, there were still two paintings hanging on one wall, giving the place a very nostalgic air.  It made us wonder about the people who had hung those paintings, lived there, and then left them behind. 

We made our way to the center of town to the Iglesia Parroquial de San Pedro Apóstol.  It was a beautiful building of red stone and brick, which the sign suggested was built in the Mujedar style.  It looked like it had been through a war or two and undergone extensive repairs.  Perhaps it had, and it made us wonder what stories it had to tell.  Perhaps the White Storks that were nesting on the roof were the descendants of ancestors who had witnessed those events.

We wandered around until nearly 8:00 AM, when we found a café that was open for breakfast.  The café con leche and toast were excellent, making us really glad we had decided to wait. As we enjoyed our luxurious breakfast, we noticed with interest that the far end of the cafe had a wall of jamón Iberico, and it offered 'bespoke ham experiences'. We couldn't help but wonder what that meant.  This really is the ham capital of Spain!

Return to the Camino

We finally headed out of Monesterio around 8:40 AM.  It felt almost deviant to be leaving so late, but we had indicated to our lodgings for tonight that we would arrive for check-in at 2:00 PM, so this gave us plenty of time to reach Fuente de Cantos.  We followed the arrows to the edge of town, and after passing a derelict Alsa bus with all its windows shattered out, we picked up a gravel track that led out into the countryside.

The landscape felt different from previous days - almost Galician in flavour.  The gravel road was bordered on both sides by fieldstone walls, which were in turn lined with a riot of colourful wildflowers.  Beyond the stone walls were olive and cork oak groves, and the tall grasses beneath the trees were being lit by the slanting rays of the morning sun.  To our delight, some of the groves were home to horses and cows that were peacefully grazing among the trees.

Beautiful Landscapes

It was a peaceful morning, and Sean thoroughly enjoyed photographing the beauty of it.  The trees were alive with birdsong, and many small feathered shapes flitted among the low-hanging branches.  At one point, we crossed over a stream, and the loud, insistent voices of Iberian Green frogs joined the fray.

The landscape felt alive, and we revelled in the sunshine, the cool breeze, and the easy walking on quiet country lanes.  As the morning progressed, we began to notice the white buildings and red roofs of several villages off to our right, tucked in among the hills.  Somewhere around an hour into our walk, the landscape began to open up, and we got views back at the undulating landscape we had walked through yesterday.  In the distance, we spotted the ruins of a castle sitting atop a hill, making us feel like we were trespassing into a different time.

About mid-morning, we crested a hill, and the landscape seemed to change once again. Instead of the fieldstone walls and olive groves of the past few days, we found ourselves following a winding gravel track through open fields of grain.  Around us, we could see the rolling hills receding into the distance, covered in a patchwork of light green, dark green, and rich brown squares.  Above us, a Red Kite circled in the clear sky.

Perhaps luckily for us, there was quite a strong wind blowing as we crossed the exposed fields.  It kept us cool, which was no small blessing, but it also carried with it an awful lot of dust.  By the end of the day, one side of our bodies was completely covered with dirt - from our shoes, to our legs, to our faces, and our mouths had that strange parched feel we haven't experienced since walking the gravel range roads of Saskatchewan on the Trans Canada Trail. 

Despite the challenges, we enjoyed the rolling landscape and the blanket of colourful wildflowers that shone brightly under the clear blue sky.  We noticed that the wildflowers in this region are a mix of white, yellow, pink and purple, with a smattering of brilliant red poppies.  Interestingly, two days ago in the Sierra Norte Park, the flowers were predominantly yellow, yesterday they were mainly purple, and today the hills were covered in a blanket of white. Another highlight of this stretch was spotting a Cinereous Vulture circling in the sky above - a new species for us!

As we ascended and descended following the gravel track, we watched as the grass was blown in the wind.  It rippled like waves in the ocean, and we could hear its soft hissing voice beside us on the track.  Eventually, we crested a rise and could see the white buildings and red roofs of Fuente de Cantos ahead of us.  Between us and it lay banks of what we thought was a pond or lake, but in fact turned out to be a large solar power plant.  

At one point, a striking and cool-looking woman passed us wearing a blue shirt adorned with white Camino shells, red pants.  Soon after, she turned off the trail we had listed on our GPX tracks and away from the arrows directing us to walk directly into town. It would take us another two hours to discover why she had chosen the shortcut. 

Walking on, we passed an amazing stretch of patchwork fields, framed by distant mountains. The trail curved close to the town and then wandered back through meandering agricultural fields. At one point, we came across a field of sheep, all wearing bells, which turned the simple act of grazing into a musical interlude as we walked by.

As we followed the bright white gravel road through the rows of enormous black panels, we could feel the heat of the sun reflecting back at us, giving us the impression we were walking inside a convection oven.  The fields, road, and panels were shimmering in the heat around us, and soon we began to get lightheaded.  To add to the challenge, the town kept appearing and disappearing among the hills, making us feel like we were walking away from it, or at the very least, making no progress towards it.  In the end, it felt as though the trail was determined to circumnavigate the town before allowing us to enter. 

Black Out in Fuente de Cantos

Finally, we passed a very foul-smelling and depressing pig farm whose red-faced farmer was running around screaming at the animals. Not long after, we found ourselves at the edge of town.  We immediately noticed a strange feeling, but as we followed the narrow winding streets towards the Church at the center of town, we couldn't put our finger on what it was that felt 'off.'   

People were wandering about, and cars were driving in circles around town. In addition, we had no cell service, and didn't remember where exactly our accommodations for the night were located, so we stepped into a bar at the edge of the main square for a cold beer.  It was cool and dark inside the bar, but we carried our beers out onto the covered patio where the ear-shattering volume of local conversation was a bit quieter.  

As we sat there, the patio began to fill up with other people, all of whom were talking very animatedly.  In fact, many of them seemed to be vying for attention, talking over one another and shouting at full volume to people walking down the street.  As this went on, one man began to sing off-key, trying to top the volume on the patio, while at the same time, a man sitting alone at a table beside us joined the raucous by using the small metal garbage pail on the table as a drum.  

Not knowing where to go and still not having any cell service, we went inside for another round.  At this point, we learned that the power was out, which explained the excitement and why things had felt strange.  We soon discovered that the power outage wasn't just affecting this town, but all of Spain, France, and Portugal.  Oh, that is why things have felt off - they literally are.

At this point, we realized we would have to find our accommodations without the aid of Google Maps, and we began hoping we would be able to check in under the circumstances. I left Sean and the bags in the bar and went in search of the apartment we had booked for the night.  Happily, I soon found it, and even better, the door to the interior courtyard was standing open, a small group of retirees on walkers standing around inside wearing slightly bewildered expressions.  When I stepped into the beautiful garden, complete with a small swimming pool, a man came and asked what I needed.  He proceeded to take me down the street to his office to check in.  Luckily, the building had old-fashioned locks with metal keys (not digital keypads and remote entry), and we were soon inside.  The apartment, which had only cost 10 Euros more than two bunks in the albergue, was huge and absolutely beautiful!  Perhaps best of all, especially during a nationwide blackout, it had a gas stove – we could cook!

El Zaguán de la Plata

We checked into the apartment, El Zaguán de la Plata, which felt more like a palace than a simple room.  Our “room”, in fact, was comprised of three bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a terrace, and a large backyard with a swimming pool and garden. Checked in, I returned to fetch Sean and our backpacks to show him our accommodations for the night. Once inside, we used our headlamps to take showers and hand-washed our clothes, which we hung outside in the blazing sun. We spent an hour luxuriating in the cool interior of our room while cleaning the trail dust out of our camera gear and backpacks.

Here we could spread out and relax in an environment that was absolutely cozy and quiet!  

Figuring we should stretch our legs or grab another cold beer, we stepped out the door - only to see the same group of pilgrims we had watched arrive by taxi yesterday pulling up. Each stepped out in crisp golf shirts, pressed jeans, and shiny leather dress shoes, hauling their luggage into the hotel. They strutted past without so much as a glance in our direction. An hour later, we would spot them walking around town in dusty trail clothes, moving as though their knees and feet were sore after a long day on the trail. The games some people play on the Camino never fail to surprise. It was a reminder that for some, the Camino is more about appearances than the rhythm of walking, the quiet moments, and the small lessons that come with every step.

ZEC at the Church of St. Roch

Returning to the main square of Fuente de Cantos, we arrived at the palm-tree-lined courtyard beside the stunning Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Granada, or Parish of Our Lady of Granada. For us, however, the highlight was a small information plaque across from the church steps, noting that the building and its bell tower are designated as a ZEC for Lesser Kestrels.  Put another way, this church is an Important Birding Area and habitat! Perhaps cheekily, for me, it felt like proof positive that nature is at the heart of spirituality.

We watched the kestrels circling alongside swifts and pigeons, photographing magnificent birds hovering above the church. Soon, we discovered that they were nesting in the sides of the stork nests!

There is no denying that we look different than many pilgrims, with large binoculars strapped to our backpacks and birding camera lenses in tow. Standing there, eyes trained skyward for several hours, drew more attention than we are normally used to. Yet what began as awkward stares and curiosity quickly became a fun and engaging period. 

Local residents and fellow pilgrims alike joined in, chatting with wonder and excitement about the birds. It’s a joy to connect with people over a shared love of nature  - especially the universal desire to protect it.  

Evening Dinner

We eventually left the kestrels to their devices in the bell tower and returned to the bar to enjoy a cold beer. As we sat, we noticed several pilgrims, new to us, rushing about town in search of food. We felt for them as they discovered that everything was closed. Like ourselves earlier in the day, they were unaware that an almost Europe-wide power outage was underway. As a result, the only place that seemed open was the bar where we were sitting, and the only available sustenance was a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. It was a reminder that, for many, the Via de la Plata can be unexpectedly tough -  even on days that feel otherwise calm.

By 8 PM, we called it a night and returned to our apartamentos. With the power still out, we resorted to making two of the dehydrated camping meals we had purchased in Seville to be prepared for “long stages without supplies.” One of the many blessings of the evening was a gas stove in our accommodations, giving us the means to cook despite the blackout. The odds of carrying camping food on a Camino and ending up in the only place with a working gas stove during a continental power outage felt like it could only be a blessing from some unseen force supporting us. 

We sat on the terrace as the sun set, savouring our simple meal beneath a sky filled with stars. House Martins zipped back and forth along the street, skimming nearly head height, like they were playing chicken with us. The warmth of the fading sun, the quiet of the town, the twinkling stars overhead, and the lively dance of the birds made the moment feel perfectly aligned with the Camino - simple, unexpected, and utterly magical.

Lesson of the Day: Expect the unexpected, Be Prepared, and Count your blessings

See you on the Way!