On to plan B

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain and to hear what I was expecting -- my pal is heading home. I'm going to walk a bit more and see how it goes. I don't mind walking alone at all but it gets lonely at night. So I'll take a look at a map of Spain tonight and decide whether to forge ahead or move over to another camino.

Today's walk started out with a few curve balls but ended with a very nice 12 k walk on a dirt road along the rushing Pisuerga River. I left the hotel about 7:45, after waiting for a while for the rain to let up. The first half hour or so up to the top of a dam was rainy but soon stopped and never started again. 

At my first town I had my first encounter of the day with unchained growling barking dogs. I just stood there calling loudly and finally someone came to pull the worst offender away. I quickly walked up through the town and was on my way out when I realized that my rain poncho, which I had cleverly left draped over my pack, must have fallen off. So I had to go back through the mean dog gauntlet. Fortunately another woman who heard all the commotion came out, and she walked me back to the beginning of town and yelled at all the dogs.  Retracing my steps, I found the poncho about five minutes before the entrance to town, but no way was I going to walk back through a third time. So I found some farm paths and circumnavigated the lovely town of Corvio and quickly found the turn-off for the medieval rock graves --about seven in a row of all sizes, with all feet pointing towards sunrise. 

Next came the guide's warning to look for an unmarked untraveled turn-off to the left. I had already prepared myself for the inevitability of getting lost, but somehow after what seemed like an eternity of going in circles, I saw a town below, and figured it had to be Matamorisca (which translates, I think, into "kill the young moorish woman.")  A very kind woman helped me get back on track and offered to drive me to my destination, still about 20 k away, but you all know my response.  

From there the day went without a hitch except for a few more unchained barking dogs in two towns ending in "of Zalima", who may well be the young moorish woman referred to in the previous town. 

The last 12k or so were wonderful, alongside a river on a dirt road the whole way into my destination. 

So now the sun is shining, the temperature is in the high 60s, my clothes are drying and the supermarket opens in a half hour. Perfect!