```html

[av_slideshow_full size=’featured_large’ stretch=” animation=’slide’ autoplay=’false’ interval=’5′ control_layout=’av-control-default’ src=” attachment=” attachment_size=” position=’top left’ repeat=’no-repeat’ attach=’scroll’]
[av_slide_full id=’8478′][/av_slide_full]
[/av_slideshow_full]

[av_one_fifth first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”]
[av_sidebar widget_area=’Sidebar Blog’]
[/av_one_fifth]

[av_three_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]

Third Week on the Vía de la Plata

From Cañaveral to Salamanca for 183 km, reaching the halfway point of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the third week on the Vía de la Plata

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,pinterest” counters=1 counter_pos=”hidden” style=”button” point_type=”simple”]
[/av_textblock]
[/av_three_fifth]

[av_one_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_one_fifth]

[av_one_fifth first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_one_fifth]

[av_three_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
I'm now in my third week on the Vía de la Plata and today I've arrived in Salamanca. Looking at my map with the stages behind me and those still to come, I realise I'm exactly at the halfway point. 513 km still separate me from Seville; so much ground covered, through joy and hardship alike, yet still so much more to discover.

Over the first two weeks, I've come to know the harshest and truest aspect of an incredible land—Extremadura—a terrain scorched and burned by the sun, which tested me repeatedly, yet revealed itself in all its beauty and magic. A forbidding place inhabited by people who, perhaps for that very reason, have always shown me tremendous warmth, welcoming me each time with a smile and an open hand.

During the third week on the Vía de la Plata, I left Extremadura behind and entered Castilla y León. The landscape grew greener with each kilometre, and the temperatures, still relentlessly high, began hovering around 37-40 degrees Celsius, down from the peaks of 45 degrees I'd experienced in recent days. Yet while the climate and environment have become more welcoming, unfortunately there's a marked and superficial lack of attention shown to pilgrims by the local people, who remain reserved and distant.

Life in the villages continues to follow the same rhythms as those I've passed through before—few people during the day and many after sunset.

Third Week on the Vía de la Plata in Castilla y León

The trail markers remain somewhat problematic. I began noticing fewer and fewer yellow arrows and increasingly more unfamiliar and varied signs. I only understood later that these belonged to other paths and that the Vía de la Plata waymarking often mixed with signage for other routes. As before, the rule remains: pay close attention at junctions.

The pilgrim's menu remains the best choice in terms of food: the prices, though slightly higher given the more touristy locations we're passing through now, hover around 9-12 euros.

Less harsh and more populated than Extremadura, Castilla y León hosts many examples of Roman ruins: one feels fortunate to be able to admire and touch them, part of a history spanning centuries that still preserves itself in these structures, often perfectly preserved and magnificent.

Among the many free-roaming dogs I've encountered along the way, I remember one in particular: a travel companion who shared several kilometres with me and made me feel a little less alone. Nevertheless, this remains a very solitary walk, travelled more by cyclists than on foot. But today, finally, a fellow pilgrim in the hostel. Could this be the beginning of a change?
[/av_textblock]

[/av_three_fifth][av_one_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
GALLERY

---

[/av_textblock]

[av_masonry_gallery ids=’8481,8482,8483,8484,8485,8486,8478′ items=’24’ columns=’flexible’ paginate=’pagination’ size=’flex’ gap=’large’ overlay_fx=” container_links=’active’ id=” caption_elements=’none’ caption_styling=” caption_display=’always’ color=” custom_bg=”]
[/av_one_fifth]

[av_one_fifth first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_one_fifth]

[av_three_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]

Visit the Shop

[/av_textblock]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Also Discover

---

[/av_textblock]

[av_blog blog_type=’taxonomy’ link=’post_tag,130′ blog_style=’blog-grid’ columns=’4′ contents=’title’ content_length=’content’ preview_mode=’custom’ image_size=’square’ items=’4′ offset=’0′ paginate=’no’ conditional=”]
[/av_three_fifth]

[av_one_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_one_fifth]

[av_hr class=’custom’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ custom_border=’av-border-fat’ custom_width=’1500′ custom_border_color=’#ff6600′ custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ icon_select=’no’ custom_icon_color=” icon=’ue808′ font=’entypo-fontello’]

[av_one_fifth first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_one_fifth]

[av_one_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”]
[av_image src=’https://www.apiediperilmondo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Matteo-Scalise-180×180.jpg’ attachment=’7955′ attachment_size=’square’ align=’center’ styling=’circle’ hover=” link=” target=” caption=” font_size=” appearance=” overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’][/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]

MATTEO SCALISE

[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_fifth]

[av_two_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_two_fifth]

[av_one_fifth min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_display=”][/av_one_fifth]

[av_hr class=’custom’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ custom_border=’av-border-fat’ custom_width=’1500′ custom_border_color=’#ff6600′ custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ icon_select=’no’ custom_icon_color=” icon=’ue808′ font=’entypo-fontello’]

[av_comments_list]

```