Tuesday 7th October 2014 - Banos de Montemayor, Spain

Les and Ian covered 93km today and although this is less than the three previous days, it was a very good effort in adverse conditions. Les told me that it was uphill every kilometre and he had the wind in his face for the whole time. Or that is how it felt! They had lots of stops for coffee, mainly to warm up as the wind was cold.
I managed to repair the broken waste water pipe on the van before driving to the hotel to pick up Les and Ian's luggage. We then followed faithfully their route but again missed them probably passing them when they were having a warming coffee. We are beginning to suspect that they are avoiding us!
We went off route at Bejar, heading for Candelario, mentioned in the Green Guide and also by the lady in the Salamanca campsite. Candelario is a very pretty, traditional Spanish mountain village full of balconied stone houses. It was very picturesque and I took lots of photographs. We arrived at lunchtime and had a snack in the van before we walked around. It was noticeable that there were very few people around and we came to the conclusion that most of the houses are holiday lets or second homes. However it was very interesting and well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Just as we were finishing our walk, we got a text from Les to say that they would soon be stopping at Banos de Montemayor. I had researched on the Internet and found a campsite near Banos so we headed for it. Our route took us through the mountains and chestnut forest until we descended into Banos and there were Ian and Les in the main street. We agreed to go on to check out the campsite and found that it was open and had very reasonable cabins that the lads could stay in. They joined us there and we spent the evening planning, chatting and eating a very good meal at the campsite restaurant. Ian and Les enjoyed the luxury of having all of their luggage with them for a whole night!
The wind today signalled a change in the weather and rain is forecast for the next few days. Time to unpack the wet weather gear.
Cumulative distance cycled 693km.
Photos: Three photos of Candelario and its wildlife; A mountain village between Candelario and Banos; Ian has a coffee with a new Spanish friend; Planning at the campsite.