You’ll feel this day in your legs long before lunchtime. First you walk yourself warm, then comes the climb: over 300 metres up, steep and almost without a break. Your breathing finds a rhythm, and your mind goes quiet. Higher up, the landscape is barer and windier. You leave Cantabria behind and arrive in Palencia. At over 8 hours, this is a day for patience.
Brañosera sits high in the mountains and is known as one of the oldest municipalities in Spain. It’s a small, quiet village, just what you need after a day like this. Eat enough along the way, walk at your own pace and let the village wait for you.