Up early, underway at 7:20 but headlampless (it’s hard to find good help these days!), navigating the exit from town by streetlight. The moon is down to the tiniest sliver, so it’s not much help.
The plan for the day involves a big hill at the start, and then a very long flat. The hill has a vehicle grade, but it’s long and steady, about 600ft(200m) of climb, marked as 12%. We watch the sunrise from the crest and then head down the other side, on an 18% grade. It’s steep! Yikes! Fortunately some city father had this section concreted, so it’s manageable by going slowly.
After that, just flat. Slightly rolling flat. Five hours of it.
The meseta has surprised me; it’s both more rolling and more green (slightly) than portrayed by reports. So, not to the level of “enjoyable “ but at least tolerable.
Lodging: Albergue en el Camino, Bolladia
Kitsambler's Journeys 