Day 3 – Manzanares El Real to Cercedilla

So, after a very pleasant stay with Ray and Rosa at their little garden albergue, we set off today for Cercedilla. Ray and Rosa were great hosts and provided a wonderful dinner and there were two other pilgrims staying with us in their small albergue. So, the walk to Mataelpino was the first stage of 7 1/2 k’s, which was glorious and the weather was fantastic.

 

 

The views were great! We saw lots of animals along the way and then when we got to Mataelpino, we managed to find a cafe that was open and had an amazing, huge breakfast. First, we ordered toast with tomato and then the lady asked, “Do you want ham?” Yes. “Do you want cheese?” Yes. “Do you want some eggs?” Yes. So, we ended up with this huge breakfast, which was great.  

 

 

And then from Mataelpino, we headed towards Navacerrada. We had a little bit of a navigation challenge there. I was using a new mapping app called OsmAnd. And I had tried to set the destination, next destination being Navacerrada to follow that because it gives us the distance to go. But unfortunately, I think it took us on the wrong track a couple of times. So, I gave up using that and fell back on the trusty Gronza map.  

And then we got into Navacerrada and had a wonderful lunch before heading on to Cercedilla. And in fact, just passed Cercedilla because we stayed at the youth hostel at Las DeHesas. And why did we stay at a youth hostel? Well, because it gives you about a 3 1/2k start up the hill for the next day.  

 

 

So, it’s past the town of Cercedilla and it’s very good value. I think we paid 56 euros for a private double room with bathroom, including dinner and breakfast. The only slight downside is that you end up having dinner with all of the kids who are staying at the youth hostel.  

 

 

So, it’s a bit like being back at school and the noise was horrendous. Ultimately, it was a great place to stay and it was great that the authorities allow adult hikers to stay there. So, then we managed to get a good night’s sleep, ready for the mountain the next day.