Woke up in our crazy house. Our Camino friends Gerard and Cristophe were having breakfast and we asked how it was and were told it was okay if you were not too hungry. We decided to venture back in to town, just a few minutes up the road, as there was a bar we had noticed was noisy and full of locals yesterday – normally a good sign. We settled at a table and ordered tostados with tomato and coffees. It was the most dreadful tostado known to humanity. Bread that was barely toasted and so soggy in the middle it seemed someone had injected it with water prior to serving. The tomato was okay. And the coffee acceptable. The tostada was so miserable I actually braved asking the equally miserable bar tender to pop mine back under the toaster but it reappeared in a similar state. I left some- anyone that knows me and my greedy appetite will know that something was seriously wrong for this to have happened. Everything was just bad in this bar. Even the toilets (which you needed to ask for a key for – as if there were millions of toilet abusers in this tiny, dull town) was an odd and disturbing experience. No paper was expected, but having a light switch that only worked when pressed positioned some distance from the actual toilet meant you had to memorise the positioning where everything was positioned before being plummeted in to darkness in the windowless cubicle…. A terrible price. However, the 2 euro coffee and tostado price tag was reasonable so we consoled ourselves with that and set off out of the village which was possibly the most boring and uninspiring village in the whole of Andalusia.

The walk was pleasant, passing by the picturesque ruins of a castle, over a stream and along a footpath though eucalyptus forests and rolling countryside still scattered with friendly looking brown,furry hogs.

After 12km we came to a motorway and navigated the slip roads, taking in a coffee at a truckers stop cafe, before returning to smaller sand tracks which followed the busier roads but offered some peace and tranquillity. There was no idealic spot for lunch but we settled for a rocky formation away from the busy highway. We had bought bread and cheese and tomato but the bread was not to our liking. We have become bread connoisseurs from making our own back home and are loathe to eat dire, white, soggy offerings. This area is not the place to buy bread!

We left a couple of rolls for the wildlife to devour and continues for another 8km till we entered the tiny town of Monesterio. We stepped for a beer then found the municipal albergue. I t was on the outskirts of town, about a ten minute walk from the main street and run by an extremely friendly and helpful young woman. The place had 2 person rooms (a bunk in each) with a bathroom shared between 4, as well as a larger dorm We were offered a choice, which was nice, and opted for the big room. There was no one else in it and it meant we each got a low bed. The facilities were great, clean, and lovely hot showers. There was a large kitchen and dining/sitting area with a log burning stove, so after popping to the supermarket we made a delicious chickpea and spinach curry and ate it with a bottle of vino tinito to wash it down. Fabulous! It was time for Tom and Barbara to hit the sack whilst I caught up with blog before retiring to read my book in my cosy bed ready for our hike tomorrow!