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Ledigos → Calzadilla de los Hermanillos 28.0 km (17.4 mi) |
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¡Buenos dias, todos!
A cold albergue makes for a good night’s sleep, and I woke up this morning feeling much better than I did last night! Today, I will pass through Sahagún and have two options thereafter. I can either take the long, desolate, but authentic Calzada Romana, or I can take the road route, which is only a little bit shorter but has more towns. If I’m going to live up the rest of my Camino, I think it would be better to take the more authentic route, don’t you?
The only problem was that the hospitaleros had forgotten to unlock the door this morning, and by 8:00, Andrew and I were running around, trying all the doors. I called the fellow in charge on Andrew’s phone and explained the situation, but he hung up on me! Well, that settled it. It was time to bust out of here! That’s when Andrew found a door with a loose latch. We body-slammed the door and hustled down the road before our commotion drew any more attention!
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First, we passed through Terradillos de los Templarios and headed into Moratinos, sometimes called “Hobbiton” because of its unique bodegas, or wine cellars. These bodegas are built right into the hill with little, round doors, patios, and chimneys, just like hobbit houses! Underground, the temperatures are perfect for storing wine and curing meats and cheeses! Each family in town owns one, so they vary in condition. Some have collapsed, some are linked underground, and some, like my favorite, are well kept and decorated with seashells!
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Andrew kept walking while I photographed the bodegas, so I was back on my own to continue the trek through San Nicolás de Real Camino and into the final province of Castilla y León: León! Oddly enough, the sign at the border didn’t give any welcomes to León, only a notice that I was leaving Palencia! I wondered if León was just modest or if it didn’t like peregrinos for some reason. I suddenly felt lonely. If I don’t catch up to Andrew, will I know anyone at the next albergue? Does anyone else have space in their Camino family for an errant beaver?
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I did finally catch up to Andrew in Sahagún, once home to Alfonso VI’s pet monastery, which was dedicated to Saints Facundo and Primitivo (the name, Sahagún, may come from the abbreviation “San Facun”). Our old friend, Alfonso, really liked the Cluniac order of Benedictines (like some people prefer vino tinto to blanco) and did his best to make Sahagún the Spanish version of Cluny, or the Order HQ! He issued the Fuero de Sahagún, which operated much like the Fuero of Estella, encouraging merchants from all over to come and do business in Sahagún. This made the city a booming center for business and culture and the monastery one of the most powerful in Spain!
Unfortunately, between 1835 and 1837, the government confiscated church-owned property (especially monasteries) in what was called the Desamortización of Mendizabal! This monastery, and the rest of the town with it, fell to decay!
That may sound like an awfully harsh thing to say about such an important town, but it’s a pretty accurate description. The Camino enters Sahagún through a long, dirty industrial area, passing buildings whose windows have been shattered for who knows how long. There is a nice, central street with a bakery, market, and pharmacy, but after that, the town ends with the last remaining ruins of the defunct monastery. As I passed through the archway, a car pulled to the side of the road, and an old man got out, hobbled over to the monastery, and, without a second thought, took a pee all over the ruined wall! If I’d ever considered staying in Sahagún, this was my final motivation to continue on!
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The clouds were building, and I prepared for rain as I tramped down the deep red path through tiny farming villages. A few thin bands of light pierced the quickly moving clouds and drifted along the rows of trees as if a giant hand were playing the harp, a sunshine harp! Not far ahead, I spotted another peregrino, wearing shorts. There weren’t many peregrinos on the Camino wearing shorts at this time of year, and sure enough, it was Andrew, who had continued on while I took pictures of the monastery ruins!
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We swapped travel stories all the way into Calzadilla de los Hermanillos. By now, the sky had really begun to turn black, and the wind was howling. For added suspense, the first albergue was closed for the season! A night in the rain was on neither of our agendas, so we continued on to the next albergue, where Pat and E.T. from Kentucky welcomed us inside with big smiles and soda pop! These two volunteer hospitaleros had just opened this albergue a few days ago, and it sounds like the place was in the same condition as Sahagún when they arrived! So, they cleaned the sheets, scrubbed the floors, and bleached the dishes to the point that this albergue was spotless! This is all part of their own Camino journey to walk a stage, work in an albergue for a week, then move on to the next stop! They had even enlisted the help of two bears, who were my size! After a long walk as the shortest member of each group, it was wonderful to talk to some folks eye to eye! They’re also working their way to Santiago in stages. I wonder when they’ll get there!
Pat and E.T. did an amazing job! As more peregrinos arrived, drenched from what turned into a downpour, these two hospitaleros made sure everyone had access to the dryer, even when it stopped working and locked someone’s clothes inside for an hour! They called the mechanic and had him come remove the ten-centavo coin that had gotten lodged in a duct! Who knew? They also set up salt and vinegar baths for all the peregrinos with blisters! These two have been the most enthusiastic and wonderful hospitaleros so far on the Camino, and the fact that they’re also traveling with animals of my size makes them ultra awesome! The way they looked after us, I completely forgot about my loneliness earlier this morning. I feel recharged and ready for tomorrow, which may be the most challenging day of all: 22K of open fields!
Buen Camino!
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Total Distance Walked: 419.4 km (254.3 mi) |
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