Carrión de los Condes

I’m up at 5.30 - and where is everyone? Tonight is the first night I do not have a reservation anywhere… so I am a little apprehensive. It seems I am not the only one with this idea! The day starts with a short 5k out of the town, and then I am at a fork in the road. Left takes you by the road, right by the river. So I start the day meandering by the river on a slightly longer route.

The sun rises and it truly is beautiful today - there are birds singing everywhere, and the sound of nature waking up. The sun rises over fields of grain (wheat? Barley? I still don’t know) and the walk by the river is peaceful. I am missing my morning coffee though, and I do not pass any towns on my morning walk. About halfway, I am following two other pilgrims and the signs down the river - but I check the map and I am about 2k off route! I panic slightly and curse the road markings before walking at a brisk pace to rejoin. I get to an Iglesia, Santa Maria in a town called villa Diego but of course nothing is yet open. But thankfully salvation does come in the form of cafe con leche and a racion of tortilla. I feel slightly more alive and continue on the way.

The day has gone by very fast today, I arrive at my destination at 10.30. I am searching out an albergue where I heard the nuns sing at 5.30 - I make a mistake and almost stay at the monastery. Before I correct my mistake a very grumpy hospitalero tells me they are full anyway. Quite a few surly hospitaleros on the route lately, is it something I said?

The town looks promising and there are things to do, once I find my albergue for the night I join a queue of bags and wait. And wait. The albergue opens at 12. I’m really glad to be in, showered and resting.

The town itself is very medieval, with cobbled stones and old buildings flanking either side. There are lots of cafes and shops and things to look at, and it makes a welcome change from the last few towns. I visit the churches and there is an exhibition about the Virgin Mary. I find the way her face is depicted through time fascinating, different ideals of beauty through the ages.

I try to work to Spanish time and have a couple hours drinking a coffee and having a snack before things reopen. When they do, it’s time for the singing nuns.

I join the nuns at around 6 - and they have got us all around in a circle. We each give our name and where we are from, and why we are doing the Camino. Someone next to me tells me they are walking the Camino because they have cancer and they want to come to terms with the end. I feel very emotional about this, and when the nuns sing I really do feel like crying. The lead nurse comes around with a small gift of a paper star that they paint every day, and blesses us on the forehead. I am taken aback by their kindness and their sense of peace - I wish I could find that within my own self!

Dinner tonight is with the lovely Jim, who reminds me a lot of Dad. 68 and a retired police officer, we share stories about our lives and chat over some typical Spanish tapas. Jim isn’t reserving any nights ahead - he is just going with the flow. I want to be more like Jim. He tells me that he loves the flanders poppies that you can see everywhere, and that he will plant some when he gets home. He pays for the whole meal, which was a kindness I was not expecting (In fact I was going to sneak away and do that myself!) We part ways and I feel overcome with emotion, perhaps a long day or perhaps the kindness or perhaps the homesickness.

Tomorrow another stretch through the fields awaits.

Goodnight xxLæs mere