One chapter ends and another begins

Day 17 – Terradillos de los Templarios to León 15.25km
385.04km so far
512,932 steps so far

Today we walked to Sahagún, officially the halfway point of the full Camino Francés. It was a beautiful morning walk in the cool after a pretty average albergue breakfast. The accommodation was clean and comfortable, but the pillows left a bit to be desired.
What I did love was the communal feel of the place. Last night groups of pilgrims sat around chatting about the day just gone and their plans for tomorrow. As I headed out to collect my washing from the line and looked across the fields surrounding me , I felt nostalgic. There I was, in the middle of Spain on a Tuesday night, it’s still doesn’t quite feel real
The 15km walk into Sahagún passed quickly. On the way in we saw the grand old bullring and preparations underway for the annual bull run in two days’ time. It’s definitely not something I’d have the desire or guts to do, but if it happened while I was there, I’d be a voyeur
We visited the cathedral and collected our halfway certificates. Ironically, we had to climb another bloody hill to earn them.
From there we transferred by bus to León , a bustling city we checked into our accommodation, another beautiful old monastery. I’ve loved these old buildings with stories to tell far more than the modern hotels.
Today was also the day we met the group who will walk from León to Santiago. It was lovely to see my cousin and her husband, along with Elle and Tam, who I did some training walks with before leaving Australia. I would have loved more time with them all, but it was nice to cross paths, even for a day.
We had a beautiful Italian lunch and I will rate it as the best meal I’ve had on the trip yet.
It’s also my last night with the original group. Tomorrow I leave to skip ahead to Sarria and walk the final 111km of my journey, with two of the original group joining me.
Part of me wishes I’d just walked the entire Camino, but another part knows how lucky I am to have had almost five weeks to do what I’ve done.
Tomorrow morning I’ll say goodbye to people I’ve laughed and cried with, shared rooms with, talked far too much about toilet habits with, and experienced this incredible journey with. We lifted each other up when it was needed and made a pretty good team.
When I look back over the past few weeks, the emotion that stands out most is laughter. And that makes me smile.
Tomorrow starts a new adventure. The familiar faces and routines of the past few weeks will be replaced with new people, new conversations and new places. I’m excited to see what comes next. xx

Oh and my right foot is a bit of a mess but a trip to the pharmacy either has me totally ripped off or totally prepared for tomorrow, I’m unsure which but I’m fully stocked xxxRead more