Sahagún

Another bright and sunny day on the Camino! Perfect weather for walking:

About 3 km before the town is a notional halfway point for pilgrims doing the entire route. It is beside a small church, Our Lady of the Bridge:

When I got to Sahagún it was still early and my accommodation Los Balcones del Camino was still locked up and no one answered the bell. I sought help from some passing pilgrims who telephoned the lady who arrived within 5 minutes. ( I still haven’t bought a Spanish SIM card).

This small B and B is great value for money: only 3 rooms but very central. Lots of snacks, fruit etc all laid out for a DIY all day breakfast in the tiny kitchen. I helped myself to a banana and a mandarin. It was Sunday, so no shops open.

I visited 2 churches: San Tirso and Santuario de la Pelegrina.

San Tirso was mostly brick, except for the large stones round the base of the apse. Stone was unavailable in the region, and had to be transported from afar. The local building material was very small bricks, reminding me of Roman bricks.

This photo is looking down to the apse and altar.

On to the Sanctuario; this has been heavily reconstructed and turned into a centre for Camino studies. Sections of original wall plaster have been carefully preserved.