Day 9 – Alvorge to Cernache – 26km/16.1 miles
Today was finally a shorter day which allowed me to arrive in town earlier than the last few days. The difference between 1pm and 4pm is quite a bit when you take into account the daily routine of cleaning yourself, clothes and figuring out food that doesn’t leave all much for relaxing. Today started with a really nice walk through rolling hills on old Roman roads before we took a shortcut on the road to cut off 2.5km of non scenic Camino. After a coffee and some croissants, we decided to split up for the day.
I put on some music and spread my wings a bit to see how fast I could walk the next 12km. I did in just over 2 hours which is good but still not as good as I will be. Music while walking long distance is a great way to make you ignore pains and boring stretches of road, but it can also enhance the experience when the right song comes on at the right time. I enjoy it just as much as the silence and birds. Today was probably the kids beautiful day of walking so far passing through forested mountains and streams. Along the way I caught up to Crystal who left earlier and we had lunch before finishing the day in town. The interesting thing about this way is that people are also walking from the north towards Fatima, so you’ll see them for a moment and continue in your directions. This route starts slow but once you get into the interior of the country things really change for the better.
