Over the pass we go

Cercedilla to Valsain

 Today we crossed the Sierra de Guadarrama through the Port of Fuenfria  at 1800m -the highest point on the Camino de Madrid and the highest of all interior caminos'. We took a photo at the start😊 

 It's 31ks from a Circedilla to Segovia and it's a tough stage across the mountain pass - much of it on an old Roman road with  loose shale rock - all the time going up, up, up! In winter this pass is blocked by snow and we could still see snow on some of the tops across from the range we were walking. We decided to walk to Valsain today and then tomorrow on to Segovia so we don't have to do 31ks on such a tough stage. 

We left around 8:00 a.m. and plugged away with a few rest stops to refuel and hydrate. We saw two senior Spanish gents, one passing us while we were resting and one going the other direction to us, both looked as fit as fleas and almost skipping across the rocks / scree like sure footed mountain goats.

As we were coming into Valsain we met another peregrino, Robin from Hawaii, and we walked the last few kilometers into Valsain together.

The terrain was hard going up, steep and loose rocks and up, up, up. Then coming down - a long trail down into Valsain. We made the right choice not to go all the way to Segovia today. It was a challenging day and we were glad to take our packs  and shoes off as it was really hot today.

While hard going, the terrain was lovely. On the way up again we heard tinkling cow bells, cuckoos in the trees and a then a raging wild pony came thundering past us in all his glory. He was whinnying and really racing, no chance he was going to stop for a toffee. The pine scent was lovely and we found two water fonts with ice cold water.

We were up with the ski fields😊, well you can see one over a few ridges. 

We made it.

 Walking into Valsain  felt like  walking into a movie scene from a Mexican western -  old buildings and nothing moving. I'll take some pics tomorrow, was too hot and bothered when we walked in and the focus was getting the packs off and some food. It's a very quiet village with no food or services and literally sheep with little bells on  roaming down the main street and a donkey just grazing freely. Locals ride horses from A to B. Very rural and very different but quite the experience in a strange sort of way. you can see snow out our bedroom window in tbe pic below.

We are staying at the only accommodation in Valsain. We all checked in at the same time and as there were no food or services  we took the bus to San Ilfonso de la Granja, approximately 15 minutes away and we found a restaurant down a side street that was still serving so we had a few well-earned beers and a nice very late lunch ) early dinner  together. San Ilfonso de la Granja is a much grander town then Valsain.  Lovely old buildings and there is a palace there that is said to rival the beauty and grandeur of Versailles Palace, perhaps we can make time to visit this tomorrow on our journey to Segovia.

Time to relax and have a wine after a big day, glad we knocked it off but not sure we'll be rushing to do it again in a hurry and very nice to share the last few kilometers with Robin from Hawaii who is a solo peregrino. 

 Happy but tired, hasta luego amigos.