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- Päivä 7
- 13.9.2024 klo 21.58
- 🌬 11 °C
- Korkeus: 872 m
EspanjaLedigos42°21’12” N 4°51’56” W
After a chilly night, and temperatures apparently down to about 2°C early this morning, I was thankful for the thick blanket provided by the albergue.
This albergue offered a breakfast of coffee, fresh orange juice and toast, with butter and jam, which I was pleased to consume. Then it was time to brace the chilly air and set out for Sahagún, my initial destination for today, some 17km away.
I petit-dejeuner’d with my French roommates, wished each other a “bon chemin”, and then they set off rather more rapidly than me.
The first village, about 3km ahead, was Terradillos de los Templarios. The only sign of the Templars (an extinct order of warrior monks from the Middle Ages) for whom the village is named was a modern sculpture. On the way out of the village, around a small square, were a series of knitted flags for (probably) most if not every country of the world, hanging on what first appeared to be a series of washing lines.
A further 4km down the road, we came to Moratinos, a very small village, where I stopped initially to collect a “sello” from a chap sitting outside an albergue & bar, and about whom I’d learnt before beginning my Camino. With a choice of about 15 or so different designs, he melted wax of several colours and then applied his seal. A sello is more usually an ink stamp, but this is my second wax sello.
Pilgrims collect sellos in their “credencial” (pilgrim passport) at least at their accommodation every night, as well as at many other places. The result is a unique record of the journey, and the stops along the way. After 7 days, I haven’t got very many yet - see the picture of my credencial.
Having stopped for the sello, I decided it was also time for a coffee (but I resisted a second breakfast today). After a few minutes, my Canadian friend also came into the bar.
It was then time to get cracking and I carried on along the Camino, leaving Moratinos behind, and was soon amongst sweeping views across the fields under a cloudless sky. Today’s scenery added some gently rolling hills, and reddish-brown ploughed earth to the usual palette.
The path wound its way to the next tiny village, San Nicolás del Real Camino, and then onwards up a gentle rise before Sahagún appeared about 5 or 6km ahead.
For much of the morning, the Autovía “Camino de Santiago” (a motorway between at least Burgos and León) ran parallel to the path, but at least 500m away, with a smaller, local road in between.
I passed a stone sign marking the end of the province of Palencia (which I’ve walked right across in 3 or so days) and the start of the province of León, all still inside the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León.
Rather than approaching Sahagún directly, shortly before the town, the Camino took a sudden turn to the right to pass beside the picturesque little chapel of the Ermita de la Virgen del Puente. The church wasn’t open but there was a rest area overlooking the church, where I rested for half an hour or so. Next to the rest area was a monument marking the halfway point to Santiago de Compostela from Roncevalles in the Pyrenees.
A couple of km later, I reached the edge of Sahagún and passed over the railway lines next to the town’s bullring, where preparations appeared to be underway for an event later today.
I headed into town, aiming first to restock my supply of Compeed plasters at a farmacia and then find some lunch. More or less opposite the farmacia, I spotted an inviting looking cafe and patisserie. Once again, una cerveza Radler came in a frozen glass, with some of the beer a slightly frozen but very refreshing slush!
Fortified with a huge hamburguesa with bacon, egg, cheese and lettuce bursting out on all sides, and a couple of Radlers, it was time to explore the town a little, whilst I have a few hours to kill before something which I will explain later…Lue lisää
