Camino camaraderie..

Calzadilla de la Cueza to Sahagun – day 18 – 22.92kms….

Last night I had dinner with Sarah and Perry from Toronto….sea bass, preceded by a delicious garden salad and followed by apple tart (wine and water included for €16)

However…intermittent water supply throughout the whole Albergue (hostel) and no flushing toilets or showers…and no fan or aircon….very hot in rooms…a cold shower was desperately needed!

I woke this morning at 5.30am….dealt to toes (blister plasters…and Vaseline on feet) and went downstairs at 6am…breakfast wasn’t until 7am…no water, luckily I had bottled water to at least clean my teeth! Just as I was wondering if I would skip breakfast and hit the road while it was still cool, my friends Perry and Sarah (from Toronto) appeared also very frustrated with the “dry” situation…and we left together!! As the sun was rising…

Still nice and cool…over the token bridge out of the deserted village of Calzadilla de la Cueza!!! The town with no water!

My first toe stop (I will call them toe stops as the broken toe needs to be released periodically) was about 6km in…Perry and Sarah carried on while I released the foot and watched the sun rise….not many on the track at this time…in fact saw no one…

I then carried on to the first village, Ledigos, being a Sunday .. still asleep at 8am…. But needed another toe stop to repair the bluster plasters….foot was happy for a while…so off I went…still no morning coffee insight until about 8kms in at Terradillos de Los Templar’s, I spied my friend (the taxi team gals) Gail from yesterday…sitting on a terrace outside a very nice looking Albergue…I popped in to say hi

Gail was waiting for her taxi again today…as her huge heel blister is prohibiting her from walking and her hubby and team had already left….the proprietor made us a great coffee…then Perry and Sarah appeared, I had passed them in last town, they joined us (Sarah is a coffee gal too)… and suddenly the Albergue was doing a roaring trade in coffees and a clean functional bathroom!!!

Snap dragon flowers welcoming everyone in!!!

Perry and Sarah and the token Kiwi…and then we all continued on our way….

Leaving this town, waved on by an iron Templar (knight)

Opening up to stone paths and fields of green…until another toe decided it needed some attention…dealing to these guys immediately….means the day goes well…but note: it is not just all about toes(although one would think so)

Side of the road operation…lucky I carry all the necessary bits with me!!! Then 20 meters down the track …the perfect place…

Sarah and I still took the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor furniture…. Before carrying on …until… in the distance a hill that looked like hobbit town!!!

The tiny village of Moratinos…and its bodegas…

These Bodegas are set in the hills , historically used for wine making and storage of wine, cheeses, hams etc….when the world was without fridges!! …. Below the sign on the hill…saying these are not hobbit houses…the first thing I thought of, when I saw them in the distance!

Cute diversions….followed the arrows through the village …everything closed in a Sunday..

The locals lapping up the sunshine!

Leaving the village and back into the countryside…388kms to go…nearing the official halfway point in Sagagun!

Poppies still prevalent in this area…dotting the green with red…one more village …9kms out from our destination and the second coffee stop…San Nicolas del Real Camino…

A great bar adorned with pilgrim memorabilia….reminded me of the Puhoi pub near my home in NZ…treasuring the old…

And not just the old humans passing through on a daily (hourly) basis!

The last part of the journey…was those hard cobbled stone paths…while providing peace and serenity…knocked the joints and knees around….oh just saying at this point after folding my walking poles up yesterday…and trying to resurrect them today…the joining mechanisms are broken and they are not safe to use…so they got carried for the day…ready to be ditched at my destination…and I will be in search of a new set before the next mountain range!!

Newly sown fields of sunflowers that will be blooming for the late June pilgrims…and the town of Sahagun in the distance…toes just hanging in….one more shoe off rest stop and then into the outlying paths leading to a cool shower and cool beer…

But first a compulsory detour (a few extra steps)

The official half way point on the Camino Frances route to Santiago de Compostela for those of us who started in St Jean pied de Port…

It was then the last (longest) 2kms to our hostel …. On the outskirts of town…street art, past factories and streets covered in weeds and then home…for me two nights…I walk the stage tommorow and transferred back so will catch up with friends a day behind…