Meet the pensioners on a 300-km march to protest welfare budget cuts
At half past six the alarm clock goes off, they pick up their sleeping bags, put on their trainers and before setting off someone remarks: "Don't forget to take your blood pressure pills!"
After a short breakfast to recharge their batteries, this group of pensioners, with an average age of 72 years, sets off again.
It's a 300-kilometre walk from where they set off in Valencia to the Spanish capital Madrid, and it means they'll have to cover up to 30 kilometres per day in "infernal heat" if they want to arrive in time for a big demonstration against welfare budget cuts on 15 October.
The epic "adventure" for the group of 22 pensioners is important, they say, to defend the right to decent wages and pensions, and to take a stand against the dismantling of Spain's social welfare infrastructure.
The march comes with price inflation at 9.3% in the 12 months to September, according to the latest data, down a percentage point due to a transport price cut and electricity price slowdown.
Madrid says €6 out of every €10 in its 2023 budget plans will go towards social spending, which, according to Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez is the most allocated for this purpose in the country's history.
After ten days of walking, the physical fatigue is beginning to show, but the mood among the pensioners is not flagging.
Luisa, 83, is still going strong despite the exertion.
"I don't like walking at all," she told Euronews from a service area in Castilla-La Mancha, where the group have stopped for a break.
In her home city of Barcelona, Luisa attends pilates classes and continues to swim as much as she can in the sea, but she doesn't care so much for the long hours of walking.
"From the moment I see the town in the distance until we get
Read more on euronews.com
