I would be happy to re-walk the the first 14km over and over again under the same conditions. I am less sure of the 10km from Sahagún to Bercianos – at least in that energy sapping sunshine.   We were walking slower today than the last few days and I’m not sure why.  The first 14km was in wonderful, cool and cloudy conditions but we still kept the same slow pace for much of the last 10km when the sun was out trying to kill us.

We started out an hour before sunrise today to try to avoid the afternoon heat. It didn’t help that much. It was obvious it rained some more last night as the ground was still wet and there were some puddles on the trails. What surprised me though is that we have walked about 400km on this Camino so far and the majority of that was on gravel paths. There is also a fair bit of cement and tarmac as well as dirt and stones. What I had not seen yet until today, of all days, we had a trail made of clay dust. Clay would be a good trail under ideal conditions and rain is not in the definition of ideal.  We took five steps onto the clay trail and each step added one kilo of clay goop onto our boots. We quickly retreated to the street and left muddy footprints for the next kilometer.

Before I forget.  I owe Englishmen an apology. Yesterday, I mocked two English guys for not getting a joke. They passed us again today and exchanged a few pleasantries. It turns out they were actually Germans which, of course, makes more sense. 

Also, last night at dinner at the albergue, several pilgrims we’re all sitting around discussing the accommodations, the trail, the weather and current affairs. One guy used a phrase that I remember hearing at least 60 years ago.  I just couldn’t figure out why he brought it up now on the Camino. I also understood it to be critical of the Spanish royalty.  According to the saying, the king often disregarded rules on flights that he was on.  He would just walk around the aircraft even in turbulent conditions. As a result, he often fell down and hurt himself. That saying was “The reign in Spain falls mainly on the plane”. 

Back on the Camino (after such foolishness), I should note that I see the Camino has changed another section.  The official route out of San Nicholas del Real Camino is now a right turn to the main road, then turn left and walk parallel and next to the main all the way to Sahagún except for the jaunt over to the old bridge and the Camino’s “half way” marker. Three years ago, that was an alternative.  The official route then was straight out of San Nicolas and walk the lovely rolling hills of farm roads make of gravel and dirt. No that way is not marked at all and I’m not sure why.  It’s much quieter without the traffic and certainly less boring.  It also has fantastic views of Sahagún and the surrounding plains.  It’s maybe 800m longer but well worth it. There were a few pilgrims on this route today but most pilgrims just followed the only arrows they saw.

 

Sahagún is a bigger city than you would expect in the middle of the Meseta. We always have stopped there for two things. First, we stopped in the Irish pub for a beer and something to eat.  Ordering is fun… an American speaking Spanish to a Central American in Spain and doing Ite Spanish in an Irish accent.  The other thing we always do in Sahagún is to visit the lovely old church of San Tirso (which was oddly closed on a Sunday) and the ruins of a old monastery across the street (somewhat less oddly closed on a Sunday). There should be another stop at the Santuario de la Virgen Peregrina to get a certificate for reaching the halfway point of the Camino Francés but I always thought of that as a participant’s medal.  They don’t give out awards to football players who play the first half of a football match, do they?

It’s bedtime. Peace y’all.

Goodnight George, Leo and Stella