6. Tag 4 nach Real de la Jara

New day, new luck. I slept well and woke up around 6. I actually slept alone in the accommodation. Then I packed. Looked out of the window and saw no rain, so I quickly grabbed my things and set off. After a few hundred meters, I entered the forest and had to turn on my headlamp. The rain intensified and the path became more difficult. I had to open and close what felt like 50 gates today to prevent any free-running animals from escaping. Then what shouldn’t have happened, happened: I got lost. Generally, this is never a problem and is part of it, but unfortunately, the timing was very bad. I didn’t see a gate on the right that was closed and kept going straight ahead because it was dark and it had been raining heavily. 30 meters further, there was a path to the right, but it was flooded. The GPS in the app wasn't working, and the path didn't seem to match. So I continued, hiking up the entire mountain in the dark during heavy rain. It was very steep, and I had previously seen wild boars again, but on my way up, I heard ominous animal sounds from the bushes and quickened my pace. Whether it was a bear, a wolf, or just a pig, I can’t say, but I was a bit scared and moved on quickly. Because it rained so much, my phone got wet every time I took it out. Additionally, the GPS functioned poorly. But I saw that I had to go to the right, but there was no path there. So I kept going, hoping to turn right at some point, but no luck. I went up to the peak of the mountain, where I saw another group of animals that snarled at me. Whether they were dogs or wolves, I have no idea. I moved on quickly. I was drenched, had no fear, and had no idea which direction I should go. I would have preferred to teleport home. Since that’s unfortunately not possible yet, I continued and circled around the entire mountain. Time and again, I didn’t know exactly where to go, and my app was not working or the GPS. I was really at my wits' end and considered going back to today’s accommodation, but first, I had to find the way. The rain was so heavy that my glasses were completely fogged up, and I just kept walking in the hope of eventually finding the right path. After a total of 6 km of detours and 1.5 hours, I was more or less back at the starting point where I entered the forest. I was very angry and at the same time relieved to see arrows again. I followed the same path, meticulously paying attention to every arrow until I found the door on the right that I had previously overlooked. I was so glad to be on the right path, even though I was soaked, tired, and unmotivated. It got light, and my mood improved. I saw many animals along the way: horses, donkeys, lambs, cows. I was mostly inspected again. Then I met a herd of sheep and lambs that I had to wait for until they passed by me. The rain decreased a bit, and I felt optimistic. But then I came to a flooded bridge. Normally, you could cross on the left or right at a narrow point, but that wasn't possible here. I actually had to consider going all the way back, but then decided to somehow bypass the dam. I climbed a hill and then went to another spot. There I discovered a gate in the water and thought, 'I have to get across.' And yeah, it was really exhausting, and I almost fell into the water, but it worked, and I walked back 20 minutes to where the bridge and the actual path were. I was happy and continued, only to face another water crossing after 10 minutes. Luckily, there were some stones there, and I managed to get across, but now my shoes and socks were wet, and I still had 8 kilometers ahead of me. This could be something. I actually wanted to walk 20 kilometers to Monasterio after the 8 km, but after my mountain roundabout, I had to forget that. I kept moving on, and the rain picked up again. I couldn’t wait. Then I had to climb another hill, hop over a few streams, and I was finally at my destination.

I hadn’t reserved any accommodation here because I actually wanted to keep going, but in the guidebook, there were 5 hostels. So, I quickly went into a supermarket and bought something. I was lucky because today is usually a holiday, and all shops are closed, but here, each community sets its own rules. After that, I called the hostels. 3 hostels were closed, one did not pick up, and the public hostel told me that they were fully booked because everyone had made reservations. This made me a little angry, since in the past, you couldn't reserve at public hostels. And normally, they say that you can always find a bed on the Camino, but the owners only offered me a 'Lo siento,' which means 'I'm sorry,' which I found very unfortunate. So I had exactly two options left: to walk the 20 km to the next place with my shopping, including 2 1.5-liter bottles, or take a hotel room for 60€. Neither option was tempting, but I chose the first one. However, I needed to take a short break, which was not so easy. Everything was just completely soaked. So I sat down in the forest on a rock with my seat cushion and changed my socks, which were soaked, and ate something from my shopping so that I would have less to carry. My feet were already a bit wrinkled, and I wondered if I could manage the rest of the way. Interestingly, a car stopped and asked if everything was okay. So I continued after ten minutes and was in good spirits when I saw my final challenge for the day: a bridge that was covered with at least 1 meter of water. No possibility to get across on the left or right. I briefly considered swimming across, but firstly, the current would have swept me away, and secondly, I would have had to walk another 19 kilometers with completely wet clothes, and that would have surely given me pneumonia. So option 2 had to be chosen. I went back and called the hotel. The owner was very nice, and they had a special price for pilgrims. So I paid 30€ for a double room with a bathroom, real towels, a refrigerator, and even a TV. I was so happy when I finally arrived at the accommodation. I spoke with the owner, and he said that the water would be gone by tomorrow because it won’t rain tonight. Otherwise, I would probably have to stay one more night in this village. In the end, everything turned out well, and now I’m lying in bed, chuckling over today’s events. I will just lie here and enjoy the peace and the bed, eating my supplies. And I will pre-book accommodations for tomorrow. It’s a pity when the guidebook states that the accommodations are open year-round, but then they are closed anyway. However, that could also be related to today’s holiday. But right now, I’m just thinking about today and enjoying my hotel room.

Pictures to follow