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Published: October 8th 2018
I was welcomed today by 0°c.
I had all my warm clothes on, a vest and windbreaker, but it was not working. I started at 7.30, later than planned, because I was not walking 18kms without a coffee. That was breakfast; coffee, a pear, some broken biscuits, and some ibuprofen. I swear that drug is performance enhancing.
In Spain you can buy the turbo 600gm tabs but I’m just occasionally dropping some Australian 200gm kiddies tabs.
Mark, the German guy, left early but when I left an hour later, he looked pretty lonely sitting at the bus stop on the edge of town. He took off down a path that followed the road and after a kilometre, reached a dead end. If the arrows are on the road, you walk on the road. I told him the route earlier and now he was back to walk with me. Once daylight hit, he was plugging in the headphones and going ahead to meet the bus to León.
Strangely, I made it to our destination before he did; too many rest stops Mark.
I was of two minds whether to travel the isolated old Roman route, or divert
An Hour On The Track
It’s just light , no company, just a peaceful dawn.to El Burgo Ranero and join the caravan moving towards Mansilla. At the last minute I took the hard stoney road, and was rewarded with a wonderful day.
The track was tough at times, strewn with rocks ranging up to 75mm or so, and I would have crisscrossed at least one hundred times, constantly searching for the gentle sandy gravel way. As usual, it always looks better on the other side to where you’re walking.
Sometimes there was no good option and I just had to walk over the rocks. I was in my sandals, and they are more sensitive than boots to the hard surfaces.
My feet are improving, and the only issue is a big blister on my right heal. Every time it landed on a rock it felt like getting my foot pinned to the floor with a knife.
But today was magic and I wouldn’t change a thing.
The day was filled with a distant mountain range to my right that looked a light brown in the morning light, with the sun casting shadows that highlighted the sharp, craggy peaks and ridges.
Corn was the crop of the day and
There’s No Going Back
This is where I committed myself to 18kms of seeing no one. I almost waive red but was rewarded by magnificent mountains, bright cornfields, and the privilege of walking on an old Roman road. And it is listed as the alternative route. I must have passed a dozen large crops, drying out for harvest time. The corn cob itself looks black, encased in a tight golden blanket of leaves. I passed one crop on my left early in the morning, and the breeze passing over the moist crop was sweet from the warm sun. It reminded me of the incense you smell when you enter an eastern bazaar. A Melbourne eastern bazaar, to be precise. It was envigorating and I couldn’t get enough. The crop was a couple of hundred metres long and I was sucking it in.
Smell is the one sense that I seldom notice on the Camino. Occasionally you are startled as you walk in the dark of morning, to suddenly realise the local sanitation ponds or a putrid drain is nearby. They have an internationally recognised stink, but at times I am almost drawn to follow the more enticing smells. The sweet cinnamon pastries from the French style patisserie in Sahagun could be sensed around the corner, and when I passed by, 4 of the French girls on the Camino were loading up with sugary delights. I’ve never seen them so happy.
I intentionally didn’t bring
Lovely Soft Morning Sky
It certainly takes your mind off your foot problems. music on this Camino, so my days are filled with passionate foreign discussions coming up behind me, crows, dogs, cars, the wind , tractors, cow bells; if it’s there, I hear it.
The road was constantly flat today and it was only near the end, at Reliegos, that it varied a little. The surface was occasionally ridged in lines about 600mm apart , and I think it’s fair to assume that these are cart tracks from hundreds of years ago, on this ancient road. I saw a sign depicting the origins and construction of the road, and the tracks made sense.
This was the alternative route, maybe because it is difficult and remote, but is certainly worth it, from my memory of the preferred route, from 2016. It was good but this was peaceful and special.
Being the only person in sight certainly highlights your importance on the planet. You could disappear and life would go on.
I’ll break now and may add some picks and a few more observations later.
DS is onto me, so like a newspaper man, I have a deadline. Ha. Not much can be done to me here; you’d have
Sunrise Over The Meseta
This is the second last day of the Meseta. to find me first.
I had a wander, it look 5 minutes, and dropped by the food shop to buy some dinner ingredients, and some of those hundreds and thousands covered jumes you can buy in Spain. Thank god you can’t get them in Australia.
I prepared and ate dinner to the music and extremely talented singers who were jamming at the table.
Jamming, get it; I’m cool.
I’ve just tried to finish this and the internet is playing up.
The manager of the albergue keeps wandering around with a tree bowsaw, offering to cure blisters. No takers so far, and I know there’s people suffering.
There will be some form of entertainment later, so I’ll get back to you tomorrow on that.
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Donna Smith
non-member comment
Early morning read
Thanks Steve but you’re perfectly safe I’m enjoying your blog too much to harass you so yes keep up the great work xx