Carrying my load to Carrión

Breakfast in the hotel room this morning, apple, chocolate milk, mandarin, and curds. I thought I'd bought yoghurt. Ah well. Quarter past eight we were on the road, Kathleen, myself and Sally from Adelaide. Of course we are walking with everyone else, including Rebecca, Lynda and Jo who would've left a little earlier perhaps. The first stop was the Albergue de Poblacion de Campos 3kms away where my excess meds and postcards had been sent to. I showed the lady my Spanish postcard and asked her for change of a €20 bill to put €7 in the Jacotrans envelope to carry my bag to a further destination (I choose Terradillos de los Templarios, 50kms away this time). She immediately gave me the €7 as a donation and offered me breakfast and coffee! I couldn't stay, but geez I was impressed with her kindness. I stopped in the cafe nearby where as soon as I had stopped all the Dutch people came by for a coffee! 

I followed Mevrouw de Groot for a little while, but she was too fast for me, even with her 85 years she was more spiritedly than me. Level walking along a good gravel path the Dutch van came pat and handed her a croissant. What a fun way to do the Camino!

Today was 20kms dotted with villages, so I stopped at the next village for coffee too and caught up with Ron and Sally and two South African sisters I'd met along the road earlier. The path continues along the wheat fields, occasional bit of rain. I don't mind stopping to take gear off or back on. The weather is great really.

The backdrops to the villages is just perfect. Lunch in Villalcázar next to the church (see photo a bit further up), pilchards, bread, chicken wings, garlic potato salad, aqua con gas... The next few miles to Carrion were quick, walking with Sally past the sign advising us that Santiago is a mere 463kms away or so...

A change of shoes is always welcome, sometimes I forget, but when I remember I gladly change into my Vibrams.

The short sunflowers we keep on seeing along the track never seemed to be harvested. Not sure why.

And then here we are, Carrion.

Most of us are staying with the sisters at Albergue Santa Maria del Camino where the nuns sing for us at 430pm, and there is mass and other exciting events on the agenda. Tomorrow 26km+, marginally uphill. I better find some sangria now.