Feeling hot, hot, hot

 [Usual  'blogging on the hoof' disclaimer re spelling and typos, remember to click on photos to enlarge detail :) ]

Today is Friday the 13th -  lucky for some.

 I forgot to mention that yesterday in Plaza Mayor, in the center of Madrid, a bird pooped on me so hopefully it gave us good luck for today, Friday the 13th. 

We started walking today and the forecast looked hot hot hot. 

We had a hearty breakfast as there are no villages between Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo.

 We stocked up our water bottles at the Mercadona, a fantastic little supermarket chain across Spain which has the most amazing fresh food and it's very economical. We always check out the fish department and it never fails to amaze me the range of beautiful fresh fish you see in the fish markets.

The trail today had very little shelter, it was stinking hot. We walked amongst pretty fields of poppies and wild lavender  - a very rural landscape. We crossed little streams with stepping stones that can be treacherous when the streams turn into rivers with the snow  melt, but we managed just fine today. 

Interesting to see some talented person decided to add their artistic flair to the trail marker, must have made a major effort out here in the middle of nowhere :)

As with most villages, they are on hilltops to see the invaders approaching and Colmenar Viejo is no different. We slugged it out up the gradual path to the village in 28° heat with no shade.

 We found brief respite in a shady spot beside the cemetery and sat down on cool marble flagstones and rested, bliss. We looked back to Madrid and in the distance we could see two big blobs that are  huge buildings that mark the edge of the city of Madrid, we'd walked a long way already.

 Turning in the other direction beyond Colmenar Viejo we could see the Sierra de Guadarama which we will cross in a few days time. There's still snow on the tops, but we're  hoping this heat will surely melt that snow by the time we get there. 

 As we slugged our way up the gradual incline we stopped and rested in the cool of the Iglesia. The Iglesia, or Church of the Assumption of Our Lady of Colmenar Viejo sits on a site dating back to the 1540s, incredibly beautiful inside and a cool place to rest a while. It was great to see all the storks nests way up on the basilica roof and in the trees in parks. Will try and get better pics tomorrow.

 Then a small last test of endurance to Hotel Chiscon, our bed for the night. 

It's a fantastic old building with loads of character and best of all it has a bathtub, ( good for clothes washing).  As knackered  as you are when you get in and want to get your pack off,  the drill is wash sweaty gear for the next day, shower and siesta in that order. Dinner is served at 8:30 p.m. so we'll do our housekeeping tasks, check the trail map  for tomorrow and rest up, it's been a long hot day.

Forecast for tomorow Saturday is hot but overcast, yay.