{"id":108437,"date":"2014-11-24T22:08:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T21:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ponyanddogtrip.com\/?p=108437"},"modified":"2020-08-07T15:50:58","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T14:50:58","slug":"monday-nov-24th-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ponyanddogtrip.nl\/en\/monday-nov-24th-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Nov. 24th 2018 over Benavente and Villabr\u00e1zaro to Alija del Infantado > 31 km"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Veel<\/a><\/p>\n

Typical dove cote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Tosca's<\/a><\/p>\n

Leon’s shelter. Something for Animal Cops<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Dit<\/a><\/p>\n

Tosca and Leon together in their shelter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"De<\/a><\/p>\n

The famous advertising for Osborn, along the Spanish road<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Weer<\/a><\/p>\n

Again such an old bridge from the middle ages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Lemen<\/a><\/p>\n

House of mud blocks with old charts. Back to basics!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Oudere<\/a><\/p>\n

Elderly youngsters. Stork nests on the church towers<\/p>\n

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31 km according to the book, but the route was kilometers detour and equally much longer, the rascals.
\n<\/span>There you walk. <\/span>Stress? The walking itself n<\/span>ot really at all. <\/span>As long as the animals go smoothly, it is nice. <\/span>I hardly meet anyone. <\/span>The villages look inhabited in the winter: often shutters closed. <\/span>Does someone live here? Me l<\/span>onely? <\/span>Yes, but that does not bother me, also because of the company and the care for the animals. <\/span>What is the purpose of this trip? <\/span>Back to basics? <\/span>Doing something original? I am too old for <\/span>a peak performance . <\/span>Endurance is still possible. <\/span>Mama Alice? <\/span>I also know that once this trip is finished, some people might show interest, but you should not tell them  than 5 minutes about my experiences . <\/span>Then you become boring. <\/span>So why doing this?<\/span> <\/span>I am Who am (Descartes) is for me: I am, who is walking. <\/span>A thinker, who else ?, once said: je pense, donc je suis (I think, so I am). <\/span>For me: I walk, so I am. <\/span>I certainly think that’s just as strong as a statement! <\/span> <\/span>An old lady, from Rijksweg in Wahlwiller, once said to me: we walked once a week with the (dog) cart to the market in Aachen (beginning 20th century). <\/span>15 km? <\/span>Just like a river flowing is a metaphor for the course of life, thus is the same for my trek.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Eldridge Clever, a black activist and writer in the 1960s in the US, described the people in the train in his book Soul on Ice, on their way home in the evening: The important businessman, the smart official, the workman in his <\/span>working clothes, the coquette teacher and the insecure adolescent. <\/span>They were all pretending to be something, and she, the tired, obese, black cleaning lady, s<\/span>he simply SAT. <\/span>It is also like walking: people work on a leak along the road, they shop, bring children somewhere, and I, I walk. <\/span>C’est ca! <\/span>Delicious, addictive. <\/span>Leon’s pass sounds like one-and-two-tig, two-and-two-tig, just the pace of the heartbeat, and I notice that we often keep the same step, Leon whisking to a poll of good grass, ready to go <\/span>to dash to it and I ditto, ready to warn: you watch it, eh. <\/span>We never arrive at the albergue in time like that. <\/span>Maybe pathetic, but he is better off continuing walking now with his burden, to be able to graze unloaded at the end of the day. <\/span>I walk, so I am.
\n<\/span>But now the story of today.
\n<\/span>Nice weather, this afternoon even with sleeves rolled up in the sun.
\n<\/span>Changing landscape, often something like our South-Limburg, only of course less beautiful ?! <\/span>But first the morning. <\/span>At exactly 8 o’clock the owner of the courtyard where the animals were \/ were tied, was present, to open the gate. <\/span>She was a little younger than me, I guess, with 3 still visible teeth and not a word to exchange. <\/span>I liberated my sweethearts very early. <\/span>See pictures. <\/span>Tosca had been tied up for 16 hours. <\/span>How did he handle pis pis and cas cas? <\/span>Leon got bread and concentrates. <\/span>To my surprise Tosca was not hungry. <\/span>During the day Tosca was active like always and Leon pulled and dashed aside less than usual. <\/span>Are those animals made of iron? The dog is like the<\/span> boss. <\/span>I allowed Leon some more grazing during the day and he seemed to  enjoy that. leon’s hair<\/span> is disappearing under the straps of the pack saddle, so I removed the chest strap and the pelvic belts. <\/span>After all, a 70 kg horserider also only uses one belly belt. <\/span>That went well too. <\/span>The pack saddle stayed in place.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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I had already arranged the inn for tonight. The inn keeper would look for a <\/span>farrier. <\/span>The future is smiling again. <\/span>The town of Benevente was crossed without major problems. <\/span>In the middle of the busy shopping street I pinned in an open niche, with Leon in the other hand. <\/span>And Tosca next to me. <\/span>The branch manager ran out laughing, to photograph the pinning horse from all sides. I lost at least<\/span> one hour searching the right direction. Fortunately no police to bother me.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Th<\/span>e problem is that the historic Via de la Plata still goes on 60 km to the north and then ends in the city of Astorga. But nowadays t<\/span>he Santiago pilgrims have already turned to the west 20 km earlier. <\/span>In Astorga I encounter the east-west route that runs from France to Santiago, the so-called Camino Frances. <\/span>But this piece of Via de la Plata that I now walk is not or hardly walked by pilgrims. <\/span>So no arrows, no signs, bad infrastructure. <\/span>Find it out yourself.
\n<\/span>In Villabr\u00e1zaro I photographed the church tower, with of course again a stork’s nest. <\/span>Because I did not see any children, no people at all, except for these 2 elderly youngsters from the photo, I wanted to ask them to work together with the stork and literally breathe new life into this village . <\/span>One of the old bosses immediately saw that Leon missed an iron, and he thought Leon was very loaded. <\/span>I had to admit he was right there. <\/span>Do you speak French, one of them asked me. <\/span>Yes. <\/span>He says, barely intelligible, ua revior (au revoir in the Villabr\u00e1zarian). <\/span>Here, too, the remains of a disappearing ages-old agricultural culture: mud houses, old carts, collapsing medieval bridges, next to the modern ones. <\/span>Old, black-cloaked females, with under the slab (headscarf) long, never (?) washed, greasy hair. <\/span>In addition, many people with piercings and further all fashionable whims, which I am used to at home in the Nl. <\/span>It also strikes me that fitness equipment is available in every park, but also often on the central village square.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\"Fitnessapparaten<\/a>Fitness in the center of the village<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Het<\/a>A dog on fitness<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>When I arrive at the inn I call the phone number that is on the door. <\/span>Soon after, a lady arrives to open the door. <\/span>There is indeed hot water, loundry powder and a centrifuge and an electric heating. <\/span>O.k. Then quickly doing the laundry. <\/span>Leon and Tosca waited outside until I had finished setling. <\/span>A passer-by beckoned me: walk with me. <\/span>I have a fenced pasture for your horse, with a fence that can be locked. Someone else had<\/span> already offered the local soccer field for Leon, with nice and tall grass, but that was not closed by the manager of the albergue. <\/span>Tomorrow morning 9 am. <\/span>he said. <\/span>Too late, I said. <\/span>Good, 8.30. <\/span>Bale (o.k.). <\/span>And the farrier? <\/span>There is no one in the entire environment. <\/span>Today I did not notice that Leon suffered from the lack of iron at his forehand. In case<\/span> he suffers, I still have the hoof shoes with me. <\/span>Nice is that I now know what raduro? <\/span>is. <\/span>Which Spanish teacher knows that? <\/span>I do, namely farrier. <\/span>Reminds me of that toddler<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"De<\/a><\/p>\n

\"image\"one person may<\/a> love old cars, the other one loves old buildings, old tools, old bridges, old ferry axes, old people<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

of one year old, living opposite of earthmoving company Mertens in Mechelen (Nl), whose first word in addition to the words mum and dad, was “maishakselaar” ( corn cutter). <\/span>And one of our children, when one year old had learnt from his mother Sonja the word berenklauw (Bear’s claw, plant). <\/span>But hope that raduro does not mean horse butcher.
\n<\/span>By the way I’m sorry that always the same unlucky head is on the selfie, but Tosca and Leon have not yet been able to learn to take a picture. <\/span>After all, there must be proof that I am walking this tour myself, instead of spending a year in a hotel at the Spanish South coast and inventing a blog with all kinds of pictures stolen from internet .
\n<\/span>It is now 9.45 pm. <\/span>I sit here at the bar to eat my supper, 3 raciones tapas with a lager, with the new money I pinned with Leon. <\/span>Mmmmm. <\/span>I just booked the albergue for tomorrow. <\/span>Mi problema esta mi caballo. At the telephone: “?<\/span>Caballo si … ..? And further: ….”No problema? <\/span>So, I repeat, caballo no problema? <\/span>Well, then it will be fine. <\/span>I even \u00e4m in a better mood. <\/span>Oladeladio!  When calling an albergue <\/span>I do not talk about Tosca anymore. <\/span>Then they are going to make objections. <\/span>Well she is also satisfied on the mat in the front porch of the inn, with a nice full tommy, asleep.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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