Day 21 elevation profile
I am excited, today, about walking on a road that was built more than 2000 years ago. We cross the bridge just out of Carrion to embark on this historic route. The Via Aquintana was built by the Romans by bringing in every stone of the 100000 tons needed to build this road through the marshes. I misread the guide book and our planned breakfast stop didn’t exist – so it was heads down and onto our destination.
The excitement of the journey on this ancient roman road was soon washed away by the constant rain that had set in after an hour or so. The relatively short walk of 17km became an arduous, miserable trudge, but at least there was no mud – well done, Romans.
Trudging along the Via Acquintanna.
After 4 hours or so of this straight road with no refuelling stops, we reached Calzadilla wet and cold looking for warm lodging. We found it and soon settled in. We showered, put on warm dry clothes and sat in the cafe to watch and give sympathy to our fellow pilgrims who were choosing to continue in the rain to the next village nearly 10km away. It would be a long afternoon for many – the wind was now blowing more strongly.
Sharing a hearty meal with other pilgrims.
After a short siesta the weather began to clear so we were able to go for a short stroll before sharing a pilgrims’ dinner with the other guests staying the town. The host were a treat and the dinner was hearty and filling. I hadn’t had rabbit since I was a kid. The forecast for tomorrow was for better weather and we slept well that night.