Vilalba June 30+Jul 01

Blackout day.  No photos, no podcasts, no directions!  Went to open a navigational app and saw, with no small bit of horror, that the phone had not charged last night.  There was about 32% battery left.  OY!  This is so not good.  Dug into my pack and pulled out the back-up charger that had been biding its time for just such an occasion.  Connected phone to charger and the sirens went off alerting me that the phone was wet—which it was not— and that I had better disconnect the charger or risk damaging the phone.  "Oh, not again!"  This happened the other night, on which occasion I turned off the phone, turned it back on, reconnected it and it was fine.  This time that tactic did not work. By the time I finished fiddling, there was about 27% charge.  I knew I had to save what was left for difficult intersections and getting to the hotel. "I will have to navigate without a device."  This is my worst nightmare.  

Fortunately, the route was easy to follow, the waymarks plentiful and at all the right places.  The most critical moment was near the end where there was a traffic circle of such mammoth dimensions that a very high up pedestrian overpass about 1/4 mile long had been built to traverse it.  As I was contemplating whether one on this route was supposed to take advantage of this overpass—who else would be in such a ridiculous place—I espied a sign: 

that announced, yes, you do go up there, across, and down the other side. Part way across I did espy down below, another such sign—you cannot imagine the joy that sight produces— indicating a 90 degree change in direction.  By the time I reached the hotel, five and a half hours after setting out, the phone allowed itself to be charged.  Crisis averted.

I bought a tart:

It was about a 2 1/2  but they did wrap it up very nicely for take-out.

I will be in 

two nights—the tour company recommended an extra night here—and although I don´t really need it, and it is not a stop that invites leisure time, I will make the most of the extra day.  As opposed to the depressing digs of last night, sleazy might be a suitable adjective, here I am in a gorgeous Parador and the luxury feels divine.  

There was only one recommended walk for Vilalba, unless you were looking for  walks for the other Vilalba which is near Barcelona!  The walk was just shy of 6 miles, so I did it twice, once in one direction and once in the other.  Out of the 6 miles, only about one was the pretty part.  The rest was getting there and back.

In between the two walks, I went to the tech store to buy a magnetic charger for my phone.  What they had was a magnetic battery pack, so I bought that, but Alex was able to have a charger sent to my next stop, so I should be set, phone wise.

Enough of technical matters. Here is a view of the river:

And a view from a bridge:

What is notable about this mass of flowers is that they were growing in the middle of the river:

The walk, essentially a river walk, had some art displays:

I have no idea what any of them were about:

It also had an area where there were lots of frogs.  You could hear them, and a delightful chorus it was, but you could see nary a one.

A lively touch of color along an otherwise dreary road:

I am looking forward to the easier days ahead, easier in terms of mileage and terrain.