Day 14

Today was a perfect day to walk. Dry, 70 degrees, flat, great path, and a thin cloud cover to protect from the sun. We covered 24 miles and it felt great.

Front of 11th century monastery

Leaving Carrion de los Condes

The first segment was 10 mi between towns or services. This was the longest stretch like that so far.  There was a steady stream of pilgrims on the path. We probably saw 30 ahead and 30 behind the whole segment. After that the numbers thinned greatly. By late morning we would only see a handful, and in the afternoon we might only see 1 or 2. Still can’t figure out where everyone goes,.

The path today.

Old Camino marker. No date visible.

“Bogegas” or store rooms on side of hill. 500 yrs old. Still active.

Used foe wine and grains.

Around lunchtime we stopped at a cafe in a small village. 15 min later a group of 5 women from France came in to town.  They came to our table to ask if we had lost a pair of glasses. Sure enough, they were Sue’s.  We figure they had fallen out when she reached for her phone to take a picture. The women said they found them on the trail some ways back on a hill. Our good fortune that day.

We arrived in Sahagún for the evening and checked in at the Benedictine Monastary of Santa Cruz. They had rooms for us at 5 euros ea, 4 to a room. Very nice. We were invited to a mass at 6:30 in a beautiful old church next door. We went. There were about 12 pilgrims present, so we were called to the front for the pilgrim prayer and blessing.  We were also invited to a communal dinner of soup and bread at 8:30, but we decided to walk around town instead.

Church for mass.

Entrance to monastery where we stay tonight.

Ruins of church in Sahagún.

City gate to Sahagún from 12th century.

We ended up in a small restaurant next to a couple from Dublin and had a wonderful time.