Camino Frances Day 35: Ledigos - Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

Quiero, puedo, y me lo merezco 

- written on the napkins at Albergue Trajana

A day of hardcore Mesetas! Walked 29 km in full sunshine, on the first truly hot day of the summer.

In the hopes of beating the heat, we set off at 6 am, fuelled only by instant coffee, a rather squashed pastry from the day before, and very few hours of sleep.

We took an alternative route through the fields to avoid walking on the road. After 16 km we came to the town of Sahagún, where we stopped for a proper breakfast.

From here there are two different possibilities: walking along the road to Bercianos and then El Burgo Ranero, or following the Calzada Romana, the route of the old Roman road, the Via Trajana, straight across the desert to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos. We chose the second option.

The hostel we had arranged to stay at was luxurious, by pilgrim hostel standards, with regular beds rather than bunks, including sheets and a big fluffy towel! What a luxury to leave the sheet sleeping bag and microfibre travel towel stowed in the backpack, for once! And it had a bar/restaurant right on the premises, so we didn't have to move... After a shower and a sandwich, for the first time on this trip we enjoyed the luxury of a real Spanish siesta!

Camino Frances Day 34: Villalcázar de Sirga- Ledigos

When you walk, arrive with every step. That is walking meditation. There’s nothing else to it.

― Thích Nhất Hạnh, How to Walk

Straight, flat gravel road, parallel to the highway. No particularly interesting scenery. Perfect for walking meditation! 

Started out at 5:30, in the dark, in the hopes of beating the heat. 

Stopped for breakfast in Carrion de los Condes, where storks nested in a trinity of nests atop the bell tower.

Carrying on from Carrion... the day began to warm up, much more than it has been doing so far.

Because of this and the old pain in Marius' ankle, we called it a day early, in Ledigos, a village where there is absolutely nothing other than two pilgrim hostels and a handful of highly photogenic houses!

Camino Frances Day 33: Castrojerez - Villalcázar de Sirga

La más larga caminata comienza con un paso

Longest day yet: 38 km!

Set out from Castrojerez at dawn. The first part of the walk was a steep but short climb to Alto de Mostelares, at 910 metres, with spectacular views eastward of the rising sun and Castrojerez and westward over the Mesetas.

The gravel road then dropped even more steeply back down to an elevation of about 800 metres, where it will remain for the rest of the Mesetas. Around 8 am I stopped by San Nicolas, the former hermitage now operated as a pilgrim hostel with only 12 places by the Italian branch of the Confraternity of St. James. I had heard it was a really special place, but my guidebook and the website said it didn't open until the first of June. It turned out that the Italian ospitalieri were already there, airing the blankets, and they gave me a true Italian espresso and a new pilgrim credential to match my first three, in case I run out of space before I get to Santiago!

Meanwhile, my walking buddy had continued on, and so had the Power Trio (Rod, Australian; Patrick, Irish, of course ; and Seret, Estonian), so I walked the rest of the day alone, though always with pilgrims in sight ahead of me and/or behind. After passing through the village of Itero de la Vega and crossing some beautiful plains I came to Boadilla del Camino, where many pilgrims ended their day, but continued on through Fromista, where I stopped to visit the beautiful church.

From here the route continued from one small village to the next. I caught up with Marius in Villamentero de Campos and continued on alongside a highway for another hour to Villalcázar de Sirga, where we turned in for the evening as guests of the Knights of the Order of Malta, otherwise known as the Templars.