Well it was good to get into Santa Marta crossing the River Tera, from which everything in the area gets its name. The albergue was a multiple-purpose hall which is clearly also the voting station come election day. It was very large with some beds in the corner and great showers. Unfortunately, it had no heating. I checked the temperature on my watch to see 10DegC inside. Not much warmer than the outside but a quick hot water fill of an old coke bottle meant a warm night in both sleeping bags. The morning came bright and cold and I warmed up by pushing on. Unfortunately the Camino started behaving badly and then it turned South and crossed the Rio Tera again! So, I abandoned it for the road which has been running in consistently the correct direction for days. The Spanish mark all their roads every 10m, 100m, km and in units of 10km so you always know where you are and how you are progressing. In 2 days I will have been walking for a month and I was happy to see that I am still managing a 5.5kmph/3.42mph pace. Another number of significance is 900m above sea level or just under 3000ft. Not that high but it has been thought provoking today to see the road maintenance crews out testing the snow ploughs and gritters.
