Time Arrived: 11.45am
Distance: 14 kms
Cumulative Distance: 416 kms
Percentage Complete: 51%
Weather: Very cool, sunny then warm.
Accommodation: Hotel Domus Viatoris
Feelings: Henk - Happy, Neil - Relieved, Di - Content
We met at the albergue's cafe at seven o'clock for breakfast and we were served fresh orange juice, coffees and pastries. After yesterday's long walk it was an easier day. We felt that we didn't need to get out of second gear as we strolled along the path. We were in no hurry as the 14 kms seemed so short.
When we left it was refreshingly cool and the sun wasn't quite up. We were only minutes away from Terradillos de Los Templarios and we saw two dogs and heard a rooster in the distance. At that hour of the morning nothing suggested that it was previously the stronghold of the Knights Templar. It is the halfway point between St Jean Pied de Port and Santiago de Compostela. Many of the houses are made of mud and hay.
We took the alternate route as it took us through two small villages and away from a monotonous path alongside a noisy road. The Dutch Four caught up with us just before Moratinas which was only 45 minutes after we left the albergue. As we were walking into Moratinas we noticed small houses built into the hillside with television aerials on their roofs so we assumed people were living in them.
Jean-Louis, "Henk's brother" took a "Dutch Selfie" of the seven of us with a camera attached to the end of his walking stick. He emailed this to us as a momento.
Just before we strolled into San Nicolas del Real Camino we noticed more houses built into the earth. It was difficult to see them at first as only their chimneys were obvious. We had to look back from the path to view them.
A sign on the roof of one of the houses said it all! Obviously, some walkers thought they were using a discrete part of the path but were using the roof of one of the obscured houses.
We had a longer morning tea at San Nicolas del Real Camino in the cool morning air. Aussie Claire was already there and so were the Dutch Four as they had walked ahead of us. We again chose the alternate path after we left San Nicolas and this took us up a littler higher and it gave us good views over the countryside. We could see the other peregrinos walking alongside the road in the distance.
Along The Way we hear stories about the various walkers and one was of a French woman with a dog that had its own backpack. Today we finally came across her and her dog. We weren't sure what was in the dog's backpack but it was a thirsty dog and she was giving it water.
The path lead us over a stone bridge to the church, Virgen del Puenta (Our Lady of the Bridge) which had obviously been restored as it was in good condition.
It was not open and we continued for another couple of kilometres and arrived at the larger centre of Sahagun which has a population of about 1 700 people.
Our accommodation was on the edge of the town. As our bags were yet to arrive and we were hungry we walked a kilometre to the Plaza Mayor to have lunch. Claire and the Dutch Four were having a break before setting off for another 13 kms to their accommodation. We had very tasty tapas for lunch and were pleased to be having a shorter day.
The main plaza of Sahagun has very old trees which have been grafted together. They must provide lovely shade in summer but have now been heavily pruned for winter.
At five thirty we headed back into town for a pre-dinner drink and then find a place for dinner. As we entered the plaza we found the Aussies, Lyn and Alan and spent a great night with them.
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