Hello friends — short email tonight, and no photos — the Internet in the hotel room in Sahagun is fitful, despite assurances by the owner that last night’s guest had no trouble whatsoever.
We left our hostal in Calzadilla, with its friendly peregrino owner, and set out about 8:00 a.m. before the sun was really up. We treated ourselves nicely, on a hot, long day, by stopping several times for coffee and food before we arrived in Sahagun — big city, about 170,000 people. The sun was bright and shade scarce along the way. We’re still on the meseta, with wheat fields, some corn, a few small villages, and open gravel paths for the pilgrims. It’s more rolling now; closer to southwest Michigan or Iowa than to the flat openness of Illinois. Luckily, most of the bugs stayed back in yesterday’s territory.
It looked as if the day’s walk might be around eleven or twelve miles; it was more like 13 or 14; and we put in another 2 1/2 miles walking around Sahagun. So we’re exhausted from 16 1/2 miles+, and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Regina needs to catch up also, given her 24 hours from Seattle to Madrid, and then a train trip to Sahagun.
Coming into the city about 4:00 p.m., Jim said “Buen Camino” to a guy getting onto a bike. He had panniers, and looked as if he might be a pilgrim . . . but he said, “I am not a pilgrim, I am a worker. Workers are pilgrims every day.” We agreed, and he came along with us, speaking pretty decent English, telling us about his girl friend from Ft. Meyers, Florida, and expounding on Spanish and American politics. He thought that the U.S. was responsible for Spain’s current economic woes.
Regina’s train arrived on time at the small station, and we got her to the hotel (1/2 mile away, on the Camino as it goes through the town) so she could shower and change. Our search for dinner before eight p.m. (we were all too hungry to wait until Spanish dinnertime) took us to a restaurant on the main plaza where dozens of little Spanish kids rode their bikes and ran around and screeched, having a great time. All of the cafes were busy, with most of the outside tables full; the stores stay open until 9:00 to serve the local clientele.
OK, I’m going to try to send this — more tomorrow, with additional photos.
Road Trip Teri 