Time to Enjoy

 

Day 13: Time to Enjoy (Caspe to Escatron)

5:00 a.m. Wake up. Pre-departure routine:  Breakfast, wash up, pack.

The alarm is ringing. It’s dark outside. There are two of us, Deb and I, but the bathroom holds one person only. So who is getting up and at’em first? Me. I roll back the sheet, roll out of the bed and schlep on over to the bathroom. 

One minute in the shower for a quick rinse-off. Just enough to feel refreshed. 

I open some grocery items for a quick bit of protein and some carbs. Have some fruit, perhaps some berries or an apple and my first hit of sports drink and water mix for the day.

I pack up my shaving kit, medicine kit, phone charge cable and lunch kit. Put on some blister protection - purely defensive - and extra padding for the feet and softener. Shirt and pants on. Shoes on. I’m ready. Deb’s ready. We head for the door, and off we go into the darkness. 

It’s  six a.m., still dark and according to my phone, the temperature is 71F. After about 15 minutes, we are outside the city limits of Caspe. Very soon the first light of dawn will sneak out from behind the hills. We are headed to Escatron, which is an impossible 18 mile walk. 

I check my messages one more time. I have confirmed a pick-up with the owner of the house where we will spend the night. The plan is to message him when we are about 3 miles out of Escatron with the gps location of where we stopped, and he will rescue from the god-forsaken heat wave. We figure we can do 15 miles by 1:00 p.m., but 18 miles is out of the question.

6:45 We leave the pavement and head into the fields, walking along dirt farm roads. 

It’s a good morning so far, starting in the usual 70° temperatures. God willing it will stay cool longer. 

And that is what we get for the first 6 miles / two and one-half hours of the hike: lower 70s with a cooling breeze. Out here in Aragon, the humidity tends to stay low. That is a godsend, because high humidity keeps the body from releasing the heat, generated by the constant walking with 30 extra pounds for the backpack.

9:00 Arrive Chiprana. Temperature 75°. So when one does see water, it is a special moment to drop the packs, find a seat, chill out, rest, take a break, enjoy the view and stop temporarily the incessant drive to cover more mileage.

The views of Chiprana and the surrounding waters of the El Embalse ( reservoir ) de Mequinenza are gorgeous. And the town itself looks wonderful. However, the Camino does not go into town but only skirts it. Going into the town for a break, kills our timing. To avoid the heat later in the day, we need to keep moving. So we can’t do it. 

There is a public bench on the outskirts, and we have time for a recharge. The usual: fruit, yogurt, cold cuts and cheese, a pastry, etc. 

So even if we really really wanted to stay and explore Chiprana, the time out would have simply been impossible logistics wise. Unfortunately from this point on, the remaining 2/3's (10 miles) have no water or food or shade.

These are some of the decisions we have to make on a daily basis. Walk a short distance, stop and spend an hour or two to explore something beautiful, or cover distance to compensate for the heat, water and food situation on down the path. 

The long, straight road

Another observation. Deb and I have not seen any other hikers, at all, not a one. We have been truly alone on the trails.

The rest of the day's hike was beautiful through the Aragon land, but that might simply require a special perspective. 

10:30 a.m. Quick stop for sunblock and get my Macchiato Latte out of my backpack.

11:20 a.m. Another quick stop under the only tree along the road that we've seen this morning. Enjoying our first amount, if brief, of shade.

Seems like we have approximately 3 Mi left. The temperature right now is 85°. In fact, the temperatures did not break 80° until about an hour ago. 

1:00 p.m. Not much to say except that we make it to the pickup point. I call our driver, and he shows up about 30 minutes later with ice cold, super ice-cold water. Deb and I have walked 15 miles out of an 18 mile day. Temperatures at the end are about 90f, as expected, with full-on sun and no shade. Cloud cover, of which there was none, would have made the day perfect. 

But for 15 Mi in this weather, I'm feeling pretty good about the day.

I make a comment to our driver about how I find the land beautiful, in its own way. Our driver is quite clear that he finds the surrounding landscape dry and brown, and prefers the green and lushness of the Basque country or Asturias or anywhere along the north coast. He finds nothing beautiful in his homeland. 

Of course, I don't live here and maybe, if I did, that would change my opinion. 

2:00 p.m. We check-in, unpack, wash clothes, shower and rest for a bit. 

We have already decided that we can’t make tomorrow’s 18-mile hike. We are taking the bus from Escatron tomorrow morning. There are no towns, no roadside bars, no gas stations with quick marts and no water stops whatsoever. And the temperatures again will hit the 90’s by noon. An 18-mile day would have us still hiking around 3:00 p.m. 

It’s a tautology, but tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today. Despite the heat, we have time to explore, so Deb and I take a walk. 

First, we find a bar that doesn't have food but does have Wi-Fi. However this is a food run. So we move on. 

Walking down the street, we find the bus stop, which has a printed schedule. We will need that tomorrow.

Then we find the public pool which doesn't have Wi-Fi but does have tapas and agua con gas (that’s carbonated water). Time to eat. It’s not spectacular but it does the trick. More importantly, the agua con gas does the trick.

It’s back to the room to get out of the heat and rest.

Despite being 6:00 p.m., we stage an impromptu visit to Parroquia Católica de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora, and it is a pleasant surprise. The church is unlocked and open for visitors, despite being Sunday evening. The docent is a gracious, warm and inviting person. He slows his Spanish down so that we can keep up during his amazing historical tour of the church. We spend half-an-hour there. For a small town on a Sunday evening, this is an amazing experience. 

The sacristy piece of the church is a rescued relief from a nearby monastery, and adorns the altar area in the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption.

We truly enjoy this personal tour from a serious and deeply knowledgeable person about this slice of life in Escatron.

 

Next we walk down to the port of Escatron on the Ebro River - the same river where we started nine days ago and over 100 miles to the southeast. It is not a port in any sense of the word to me. There is a sports club for kayaking and canoeing with a ramp to get into the river.

We are at Náutico Sports club for an evening meal. We order the Plato Combinado (the combined plate): mixed salad with cheese, fried eggs, French fries, chorizo and wine, and two extra bottles of agua con gas.

It's now 8:00 p.m. and we're still sitting at our table with the setting sun behind us and the Ebro flowing past, in front of us. Since we are taking the bus, tonight we have no sense of urgency. We can stay as long as we want.  The view of the river and trees in front of us is fantastic. The winds are blowing strong tonight so the trees are more than swaying; they are rocking back and forth as the wind gusts through the trees.

Because we are taking the bus tomorrow to Quinto, we are out late. It is already 9:00 p.m., but it is time to head back. Looking south from the low river banks of the Río Ebro out over Escatron which sits atop a hill, late evening clouds are forming over the city. 

No rush. We get to sleep in three extra hours - perhaps till 8:00 a.m, maybe 9:00 - hours after breaking dawn.

Walking uphill from the river valley back to the town, we come across and walk down an old style, narrow Spanish street with the brilliant cloud formations overhead. 

It is a beautiful evening.