Sahara, Serengeti? ~ Day 59 ~ June 4, 2014

Day 59, June 4
16 miles, 726 miles
Altitude: 2,706 feet (2,950 feet daily high)
Weather: sunny 48-78F
Terradillos de los Templarios

Terradillos de los Templarios is the half-way point from Saint Jean de Pied to Santiago de Compostella which makes it about the three-fourths point for my walk. There is a real celebratory feeling.

Walking continues through the meseta. I feel as if I could be in the Saraha Desert or the Serengeti plains of Africa. Hushed landscape that speaks.

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Meseta Blues ~ Day 57 ~ June 2, 2014

Day 57, June 2
16 miles, 698 total miles
Altitude: 2,559 feet (2,952 feet daily high)
Weather: sun with clouds 48-78F
Fromista

I walk as if riding in a skiff through a ocean though it is not Indigo, Sapphire, or Turquoise blue water. It is an ocean of wheat varying in color from platinum blonde to deep green. With a whisper of wind the tips of wheat gently rise and fall. As the ocean is seldom flat, neither are the wheat fields seldom without motion. The current peacefully carries me along.

The flat Spanish mesetas are often under rated as mundane and monotonous. I find the mesetas to be as tranquil as floating on a raft. From this perspective I see wildflower punctuate the landscape in every imaginable color.

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To Market, To Market ~ Day 48 ~ May 24, 2014

Day 48, May 24
17 miles, 574 total miles
Altitude: 1,263 feet (daily high 1,830)
Weather: blue sky with clouds, 55-68F
Logrono

Shelves of chocolate bars, gummy bears, and packages muffins.
Boxes of cookies, crackers, cocoa puffs, and corn flakes.
Pre-shrunk packets of olives, cheese, and sausage.
Self-service vending machine shops.

Walk away from the yellow arrowed pilgrim’s path markets and find vine ripe heirloom tomatoes, regional cheeses, aged hams, and wine for incredible values. Shop like the locals.

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