Day 13 – at Las Corralizas (Bronchales)

These days start out cloudless and cool, above freezing, but only just. The cloud rolls in mid-morning and stormy rain showers then hang around throughout the day. After a lazy start on my part, finishing a book (The Liquid Land) before heading out.

There is a path down through the forest to the village of Bronchales where I picked up some bread and took a coffee. From there we headed up Sierra Alta. At 1854 metres it poked out from the cloud occasionally, and we were fortunate enough to get a view, but just as the heavy rain came. I took it as a good opportunity to test the ankle and run back, something I haven’t done since the visit to Egilsay island in Orkney in May, hurrying to make the last ferry. It stood up well. Back for late lunch and a chilled afternoon.

Every now and then we encounter a stray person with a basket; mushroom people, collectors of the Marzuelo variety, which occur at this time of year in pine forests at these relatively high altitudes. There’s actually a display of them at one point on the track, keen I guess that people don’t collect the wrong variety, which is poisonous.