Two New Hampshire girls hike the 500-mile Camino de Santiago to raise money for women around the world.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Day Twenty-One: Fromista to Carrion de Los Condes

Distance: 20.5 kilometers with 50 meters of elevation gain (12.7 miles with a bit over 150 feet of elevation gain).

NOTE -- only have one photo of our travels today, my apologies!  Battery issues.

We had an excellent time at the Fromista muni albergue last night. We saw many familiar faces and we enjoyed meeting a few new ones. A Spanish lady pilgrim traveling with three schoolteachers interviewed Alex for a radio show; Alex spoke in both Spanish and English, switching back and forth as she felt comfortable. At a restaurant last evening, she drew pictures for a local six-year-old girl and spoke Spanish with her. Alex is handling herself very well and introducing herself confidentially in Spanish to everyone she meets. It's nice to see and I think the international socialization is excellent for her self-esteem.

Sage is usually on the shy side, but she enjoys meeting people on the Camino (though she sometimes hides behind me when people speak to her) and she is beginning to understand what I say when I speak in Spanish.

Today was a much easier day than yesterday. Though the sky was overcast and gloomy, it never rained and the wind behaved itself. Also, the terrain was practically flat.

Out of Fromista...


...along a bit of the senda, which is a pedestrian path alongside a main road, into and through the small town of Poblacion de Campos, through a bit of woodland, through Revenga de Campos and back onto the senda, through the small villages of Villarmentero de Campos and Villalcazar se Sirga (very nice bar/cafe here 10 meters off the Camino, just before you leave town), back on the senda, and to Carrion de Los Condes.

We found a beautiful, extremely reasonably priced hostel in Carrion de Los Candes -- Hostal Santiago. It's gorgeous, you get your own bathroom and shower, and we even have a TV. So much more than I expected. We highly recommend it. Looks like it will very quiet here tonight as well, which is always a plus.

Carrion de Los Condes is a good-sized town. There are a lot of bars, restaurants, albergues, and hostels to choose from. Hopefully, there's also a Farmacia...we're out of Vaseline.

Misc. comments - Have to admit, I love the whole menu del peregrinos thing. I am getting very used to being served three courses of delicious food and an entire bottle of local wine for only ten Euros total (about thirteen or fourteen dollars). Breakfast of coffee and a croissant is only two Euros, and a gigantic (huge!!) sandwich of ham and cheese is only three Euros...this means one can eat like a queen for fifteen Euros a day - and one can eat even cheaper if one buys one's food at the local supermercado.

Speaking of wine...it flows like water here. I realized yesterday that I am averaging only two glasses of water per day...and three glasses of wine and two cups of coffee. With all the walking we're doing, I should probably lessen the wine and increase the water. I feel okay, though. The girls alternate between water, juice (Bis Fruta, which is something I wish we had in the States because it is delicious!), and leche (unpasteurized milk from the local livestock).

Speaking of food...we're eating a ton. Our bodies seem to need all the calories, though. Breakfast is usually one (or two!) croissants, juice, coffee (for me) and hot chocolate (for the girls). We usually buy a medium package of cracker/cookies, a block of cheese, and a large chocolate bar and share that while we walk. For dinner (around 3pm for us), we have the pilgrim's menu - which is two giant plates of various food and then desert (and wine for me). The food at the restaurants (pilgrim's menu) is almost always very good (we had steak and a huge plate of delicious vegetables tonight). If we're hungry right before bed, then we eat whatever's leftover from our "walking lunch" food. Sometimes we also get bocadillos (large sandwiches).

I am unable to comment each night beyond the basics because I run out of time...if I take too long writing blog posts, then I miss out on what's going on around me in the moment. I am taking copious notes in my handwritten journal each night after everyone else is in bed, though...this way, I'll be able to construct a more complete narrative later, after we return to the States.

We reach our halfway point tomorrow. I will write a bit more regarding our overall Camino experience (thus far) tomorrow evening. Right now, there's a full glass of wine in front of me and the girls are telling me to get off the Internet. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

1 comment:

laurie said...

Almost halfway there! How time flies.

You'll soon be passing through Moratinos, home to Rebekah of the forum. She (an expat from US) and her husband Paddy (an expat Brit) have a lovely home, the Peaceable Kingdom, and they offer hospitality to pilgrims. Unfortunately, I think they may be out of town when you arrive, but there is now an albergue in Moratinos and a nice restaurant. Quite a change, since when I walked through there for the first time in 2000, there was nothing other than a few occupied homes.

If you loved Burgos, you are SURE to adore Leon. Hope you have some time to enjoy it, buen camino! Laurie