Overnight - Municipal Albergue
A long, long day, where I passed the halfway mark on this little pilgrimage.
With no particular ailments apparent when I awoke, I decided fairly early on that I'd try and reach Sahagun today and stay at the municipal albergue there. The day started out well with the first 17 kilometres out of Carrion along a flat, open, Roman road with no places for refreshment. Even so, I was making reasonable time and didn't end up stopping until Ledigos, where I had a traditional mixed salad and cup of tea in a small bar where a small group of old men exchanged banter among themselves and with the staff, in between smoke breaks outside. From my limited experience of these places, this seems to be what many older men in rural Spain do with their days. Good luck to them, I suppose.
It was then on through Terradillos de los Templarios, the scheduled end of Brierley’s stage, to Moratinos, where I again stopped for a tea and a very nice chocolate mousse. The final few kilometres into Sahagun saw some increasingly stronger protests from the feet, but they performed admirably and we ambled into the municipal albergue after almost 9 hours, 50,000+ steps, and an impressive (for me, anyway) 40 kilometres on the road.
The Sahagun municipal albergue was more popular than the only other one I've stayed at so far, with half the 60 or so beds filled by the time I arrived (compared to 1 of 16 filled in my other municipal albergue at Cardenuela Riopico). It was housed in an old church and for just 5 Euro for the night, was excellent value for the relative opulence it offered. It also reminded me once again of my naïveté (in hindsight, of course) of booking hotels when places like this dotted the route.
After a short rest, I hobbled around part of this very pretty old town until I came across a pastry cafe, and promptly took up a seat and chomped down several of their specialities washed down with a few pots of tea. It had to be one of the best, if not least healthy, meals I've had so far. But man can't live by ‘ensalada mixt’ alone!
An hour or more later, after thanking the most gracious and hospitable shopkeeper and asking her what time they open in the morning (a very convenient 6:30am), I simultaneously waddled and hobbled out of there and wended my way back to the albergue.
After sitting in my bunk for a while and realising it was too early to go to bed (and thinking my recent diet might be a little short on protein), I decided to head to the bar next door for a very nice hamburger with pot of tea nightcap. Now I'm ready to crash.
I'm still not sure about my destination tomorrow, but it's highly likely to involve less than half of today's effort - and a midday finish at the latest. (A rugby league match involving my favourite team, the Canberra Raiders, is being streamed from 1:00pm Spain time, so that, followed by the penultimate stage of Le Tour, takes care of my Saturday afternoon.)
Weather - Another cooler, overcast morning with a few clouds remaining during the day. It was still warm, especially in the last hour or so, but not as punishing as recent days.
Health - All good, apart from the feet protesting the significant extra distance. They'll have a nice rest soon enough.
Food - Gel; Apple; Mixed salad + bread basket + pot of tea at Legidos cafe; Chocolate mousse desert + pot of tea at Moratinos albergue; Cream pastries x4 + pots of tea x3 at Sahagun cake shop; Hamburger + pot of tea at Sahagun bar
Expenses - Accommodation - 5.00; Food/Drink - 22.40 Total - 27.40
Walking time - 8 hours, 50 minutes (start 6:55am, arrive at accommodation 3:45pm)
Brierley distance - 39.8km (total 408.3km)
Daily Steps - 55,305
Total Camino steps - 653,730
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