It's done!

Gijon. It's done! We have completed the 1081-kilometer Silver Route from Carmona near Seville to Gijon on the Atlantic coast in just under three weeks. Today's final leg was only 80 kilometers long, but it included five stops, some of which were quite difficult to find due to very vague address information. Once we found the relevant office or bureau, it was closed, which is quite untypical for tourist info. But in the end, with a little improvisation, we managed to get all the stamps.

In La Vega, our first stop, the tourism office was nowhere to be found, even when we asked. So Icke tried at a hotel in the town. “When I went in, there were older people sitting everywhere,” Icke recounted when she returned. A woman in white clothing then explained to her that this was a retirement home and unfortunately she couldn't stamp our pass. Outside on the facade of the building, a large HOTEL sign was displayed, with residencia … written very small beneath it.

But we needed the stamp for RIOSA! This is a large municipality that includes several places. We tried two bars and finally had luck at the bakery. The important thing was: the stamp said RIOSA. In Santa Eulalia, it was a bar, in Soto de Ribera a hairdresser, in Posada de Llanera a pharmacy, and in Gijon again a restaurant.

We traveled to all 30 places of the Ruta Via de la Plata. It's not easy to draw a conclusion; a lot has to sink in first. There were so many impressions, some of which were overwhelming. I spontaneously think of the cathedrals in Salamanca and Leon. Or the Spanish Square in Seville. But we will also not forget the moments when the picture-book landscape of Extremadura radiated its magic and left us standing for minutes with our mouths open.

We learned that this way of traveling is no longer right for us. We need a longer time in one place to arrive, to feel it, and to take it all in. It was difficult to walk past so many museums and magnificent buildings without taking a look inside. That wouldn't have been possible with the dogs. In the last few days, we were running out of strength. The bad weather contributed to that.

We would always take the Silver Route again, but not in one stretch. We would decide each day whether to continue and, if so, how far. Just go with the flow. And in the next vacation, pick up where we left off in the last vacation. We believe that even then, one could not see and experience everything the Silver Route has to offer in terms of attractions and experiences. The mix of culture and nature is unique. We can only hope that it remains so for the next 2000 years …

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