El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla

Walk to Reliegos, then taxi to Mansilla.

Another lovely Camino day! I’ve been so lucky with the weather this year. Leaving town we soon hit the Senda, where the trees have been yarn bombed with crochet squares this time:

It was a long straight walk with nothing much to report for 13 kms, except tired legs. The Irish girls were joined with more ladies in their green t-shirts: members of a walking club from Galway. One of them stripped off and had a quick swim in an irrigation canal! She said it was a bit fresh, but she swims every day in Galway.

On the outskirts of Reliegos, I stopped for a (well deserved) shandy. After that it was time to call a taxi. I’d walked far enough today. The car arrived in 10 minutes and charged me a modest 7 Euros. He actually lived in Mansilla and dropped me outside my lodging:

The House of Soportales = Supports.

The establishment is owned by the same people as the Albergue, where all the meals are served.

At dinner I sat next to 2 Frenchman, one of whom spoke perfect English. He would not let me pour my own wine: it’s the tradition in France. We all agreed the food is better in France. The Spanish Albergue meals are getting a bit boring and repetitive.

Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero

By bus to Bercianos, then walk to El Burgo. 

Big mistake last night when I didn’t call Jacotrans early enough. It was around 8.30 pm when I suddenly remembered. By this time it was too late. It’s full, he said: we can’t take any more. That’s just a sign of the times. The Camino has never been so busy!

Luckily there was an ALSA bus this morning, leaving from outside the station at 9.21 am. This effectively cut my journey in half. It was still a shock to the system, having to carry my own backpack for the first time this year. The good thing is that my Aarn pack, with its balance pockets at the front, straps very closely to my body and is a very efficient means of carrying a load.

When the bus stopped at Bercianos, I was the only one to get off. Most people were heading straight for Leon. They had had enough of the Meseta. Bercianos was a small place with nothing going on except agriculture:

These giant haystacks were reminiscent of a scene from The Way.

The Senda today was still long and straight, but a row of trees had been planted on the southern side and provided some welcome shade. They are growing bigger by the year. There are also a number of concrete benches for a little sit down.

Now I’m just sitting in the garden of La Costa del Adobe, drinking a sangria. Three Irish girls are sunning themselves, attempting to get a tan to take back home with them. The Italians and myself are in the shade.

My washing will dry in half an hour:

View of my lodging:

Church tower colonised by three storks nests:

This is a close-up of the adobe.

Vegetarian dinner (!!):

Chickpeas w. mushrooms, asparagus, chips, salad. Not bad for a meat-eater, do you agree?

Tiramisu for dessert.

Explanation of adobe (mud bricks), made from soil with a high clay content plus straw. The bricks are left out to dry in the hot Spanish sun over summer. See:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe

Sahagun

I did a quick circumnavigation of the town in the late afternoon, revisiting some of the sites I’d seen before:

These ruins are being restored. It’s a building site at present and completely taped off.

Next door is an important Romanesque church, San Tirso. I’ve been inside in the past, but the door was locked today:

San Tirso is unusual in that the apse is built of stone. “Its a jewel of 12th century Mudejar architecture.” Says the guide.

Archway on leaving the town: Arco de San Benito, a Baroque structure.

Then, back to the beginning of town, to see the old train station building:

Finally, dinner:

On the menu: zucchini soup, grilled hake w. a glass of white and flan.

Moratinos to Sahagun 9.5 km

Dinner yesterday (mixed salad, pork loin and chips) was nothing special but did the job. A Korean group enjoyed themselves:

Today has seen a huge change in the weather. I’ve felt cold for the first time on this Camino, with a fresh breeze whistling across the Meseta. The temperature only reached 20 degrees in Sahagun and the sun kept disappearing.

Looking across to San Nicholas where I stopped for breakfast.

Fresh orange and a snail.

Just before Sahagun is the interesting site of Virgen del Puente, a hermitage dating back to 1174:

There have been some sporadic attempts at excavating the area outside:

The floor has patterns of ferns, but it all needs preserving. My late husband would not have left an archaeological site in this state. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Butterworth

This spot is also the exact half way mark for the Camino Frances:

… and now to Sahagun where I can dig out some warmer clothes!

Carrion to Moratinos

Bus to Terradillos then 3.4 km walk.

The Meseta is hard work when it’s hot! I escaped most of it thanks to ALSA. Rejecting the idea of stuffing myself with more delicious food at San Zoilo (expensive but good!), I left with just a coffee and headed back over the bridge into Carrion:

Looking back at the Monastery at 8.30 am.

I had a few hours to kill before the bus was due at 11.51 am. I should have done some more serious sightseeing, but I felt lazy. I passed by the Santiago Church with its impressive Romanesque door:

The bus stop is right outside the Bar de Espana, which is ideally placed for maximum pilgrim trade. I sat myself down outside and listened to all the conversations going on around me. One person said that 20 people had to sleep in Pamplona bus station as there were no beds to be had. One man hadn’t realised that he needed to purchase a bus ticket online. He had been sitting there oblivious for longer than me before the lady in the bar came to his assistance. When the bus finally arrived, it was almost full - and it was a big bus. In the past, I’d known the bus driver to hang around drinking coffee for half an hour. No such luck for him today with so many people to deal with, some going right on to Sahagun and Leon.

When the bus arrived at Terradillos it was behind schedule. It had to keep getting on and off the motorway in order to reach the drop off points in the small villages en route. My last hour’s walk up to Moratinos was hard going because of the heat in the middle of the day (27 degrees). Google Maps also placed Hostal Moratinos in the wrong place and tried to send me back the way I’d come.

Finally, I’m here and this is the view from my window:

Waiting for dinner, I strolled round the village and took a few pics:

My room is upstairs on the far left of the 5 on the balcony.

Entrance to one of the wine cellars.

Kids yarn bombing.

Villarmentero to Carrion 9.7 km

Another lovely day for walking: breakfast was not served till 8.00 am, but everyone was keen to get on the road early, to beat the heat. We were served quite a substantial breakfast (by Spanish standards) - ham, cheese, French omelette, toast and jam.

Leaving La Casona de Dona Petra at 8.30 am.

The morning was clear. We could see for miles.

This is the “senda” with the church at Villalcazar de Sirga ahead.

I stopped there for a coffee, but the church was not open till 11.00. I didn’t want to hang about for another 20 minutes, so I pressed on.

Medieval pilgrim with his refreshment.

I had booked a somewhat luxurious room at Monasterio de San Zoilo, now a hotel with several stars. This is it:

I had a late lunch of grilled squid (“chipirones”) and a glass of rose:

Elegant dining room.

I enjoyed a long siesta after that, took a bath, washed my clothes and then set about the tedious task of booking an ALSA bus ticket for tomorrow:

Result!

Boadilla to Villamentero 13.5 km

When I arrived at my hotel in Boadilla, En el Camino, it was buzzing with people waiting to check in. I was too exhausted to stand in line after my long day’s walking, I just ordered a G and T and relaxed in the bar, waiting for the line to diminish. It didn’t diminish! More and more kept arriving. They were checking in for both the Albergue and the hotel. When I finally plucked up some energy and checked in, I discovered my backpack had not arrived: the pilgrim’s worst nightmare. The young boss of the place, whom I remembered from last time, immediately started phoning up Jacotrans. It turned out that the people at Albergue Ultreia had locked the door and didn’t hear him knocking. My backpack was still in Castrojeriz! They promised to send it on the day after to my next destination, Villamentero. Still - this meant I only had the clothes I stood up in for the night and a few meagre things in my day pack.

At dinner I sat next to a Frenchwoman and attempted a conversation even though our grasp of each other’s language was very weak. She is walking with a dog, poor thing, and collected up all the leftover chicken bones on our table. He would have an absolute feast.

The hotel was situated just opposite the church. I took this photo just as I was leaving at 8.30 am.

The trail today followed the line of the Canal de Castilla, a feat of Spanish engineering dating back to the late eighteenth century. It looked beautiful this morning on another clear, sunny day. Just outside Fromista, there is a staircase of four locks:

There was plenty of water today and the excess was pouring through the sluice gates and lots more down the spillway. But I don’t suppose there is much canal traffic these days.

Fromista is an interesting place, mainly because of its Romanesque church, now deconsecrated and turned into a museum.

This is an artist’s impression of the style.

Inside, there is an abundance of carvings, designed to teach Bible stories to medieval peasants.

After a coffee and a muffin to keep me going, I set off on the long hot walk to Villamentero. This is the part of the Camino with the “senda” which follows the endless straight road and has little shade. At the village of Revenga I stopped for lunch (shandy and sandwich). As I was leaving the bar, a maxi taxi pulled up to collect a group of pilgrims bound for Carrion. I cheekily asked if they could drop me off along the way, thus saving me the last 2 km. My lucky day! The taxi driver was a bit surprised, saying it’s just down the road, but at 1.30 pm it was getting really hot.

But the best part of the day was arriving at Casona de Dona Petra in Villamentero and finding my backpack waiting for me!