Zamora.

Yay! Beat the rain to Zamora. Two relatively easy days of short hikes in glorious sunshine. Beautiful countryside and loads of wildlife. All looks a bit French along this stretch. Fields full of grape vines, maize and stubble with the odd coppice of birch and poplar here and there. Little wine villages with streets of bodegas.

Spent last night in a tin pueblo with no shops and just one bar. Albergue was just €6 and once again I had the place all to myself. I passed just Two other pilgrims on track. A French couple travelling in the opposite direction. €15 bought me a good meal with a bottle of wine and a couple of brandies. Friendly service and very friendly village also. Awoke to sunshine this morning and decided to skip breakfast to try and beat the rain. Couldn't resist a slight diversion to Morales del Vino. Took an early lunch with a couple of red wines wondering what on earth could be immoral about wine.

Wildlife: Fantastic. In one single momentary glance into the skies around me I saw a heron flying low ove a pond, a huge kite circling gracefully no more than 20 Meters above my head, a peregrin falcon , a kestrel, a pair of dark coloured ducks I didn't recognise, sky larks and countless other round nesting birds. Also saw foxes and all sorts of other birds I couldn't identify along the way. Loads of birds of prey.

Three days sketching in Zamora (hopefully with sunshine) then I take a break from walking for a while and head to the hills to fell trees and make logs and cider and other country stuff. Will build up my arms a bit. They feel as though they're fading to nothing compared to my legs.