Tuesday, June 2, 2026  

Our group had a start of full buffet breakfast options, hotel check out, bus load up and we were off to our first day of walking!  Louise dropped us in the town of Garcihernández.  More Massive stork nests in the bell towers and all of them were filled with fluttering wings! 

It felt so great to have my backpack on and be ambling once again in Spain!!  The weather was very pleasant and we walked an easy hour, mostly through wildflower and cow fields.

Vitor set out with us for a bit and then he was off with the faster trekkers.  Unexpectedly he and Louise arrived in the bus to inform us we were “lost” and headed off to rescue the groups that were even further off track since they were so far ahead of us!!! 

Laughably WE ALL GOT LOST!!!  At least it’s laughable after the fact  and given we are all safe and free to pull metaphors from the incident.  We were lost In pockets.  Two lead pilgrims got lost individually, I was with a group of four that were in the back, and there were two pockets of folks that were way ahead of us who also overlooked the way marker – that we all missed!   It still took us another twenty minutes or so to figure out where we went wrong and to get back on track!!! We were slated to cover 6 miles – turned out to be a little over 8.

After we finally got all congregated together, we walked to the church in Alba de Tormes where our trek concluded – the town where Saint Teresa of Ávila is buried.  We then waited around for the opportunity to use the sanctuary for our mass conducted by Father Bernardine, which ended up being like 45 minutes, and then the mass itself lasted seemingly a half an hour. 

Lunch was hungrily being anticipated and De La Santa was only steps away! I opted out and decided to sit on a bench and eat my pepperoni stick, some corn nuts and peanuts plus an apple. 

We had a two hour bus ride to our place of lodging and the views were serene and beautiful.  We crossed into Portugal and gained an hour!  At one point we climbed in elevation along winding roads, into a heavenly complex of medieval brick walls and buildings, to Castelo Rodrigo.  The surrounding vistas were truly stunning in the sun’s afternoon glow! And then it became apparent – this WAS our place of lodging!  Within the lovely village we came to Historic Guesthouse Cistern.  This place is Gorgeous!!! The panoramic views were astounding and being surrounded by ancient, medieval buildings – enchanting!  There were three bedrooms on the main establishment as well as a dining hall and outdoor patio, all  exquisitely appointed  and welcoming!  My room had two windows with far reaching views, one with a window seat and also a hanging chair.  Plus there was a Most Beautiful pool!!  A breeze had moved in, yet a few from our party donned suits and took advantage of this opportunity. The others of us thoroughly enjoyed that breeze on Cistern’s patio!

Our communal dinner was excellent and professionally placed before us.  The staff was great and very warm in their treatment of us.  We enjoyed Salad, pumpkin soup, casserole with potato and cod fish and a tart for dessert!

What a Very Wonderful day!  (9 miles)