Day 17, Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla


The Meseta is a giant grass-covered plain as far as the eye can see

June 20
Today was one of the shortest (17km), but one of the most arduous, so far.

The Meseta was fairly relentless and we didn't pass through a single village the whole way.

Breakfast at the four-star Monasteria was at the dignified hour of 8am, not at all suitable for earnest pilgrims wanting to get on their way. It didn't matter to me with such a short day ahead, but my friends Frank and Karen had a 27km day and were anxious to be gone, especially with a 40 percent chance of a thunder storm predicted.

I'm not sure when I'll meet them again, as they're cutting out the trip to Leon in four days, while I'm taking five. They have a rest day there, so I may see them when they arrive.

 I loitered awhile looking at the historic monastery.the church and an art exhibition they had on the go, meeting up with Josie, who was also collecting up some photos.


  We eventually set off together, which may not have been a good idea. Josie is a fierce walker and we were cranking out the kilometres at just over 11 minutes.

I wasn't very comfortable. The blister below my right ankle had decided to become active again and the arthritis in the joint of my big toe was playing up too.

  At about 10km, we stopped at a temporary roadside bar/cafe, where they were barbecuing some lovely looking sausages. We got some awful coffee in wobbly plastic cups and watched the passing parade for a few minutes. It was a bit early for sausages.








The lack of toilets on this entire stretch was slightly problematic for some, but the owner had taken care to display signs discouraging you from peeing in his picnic area. He also got a bit grumpy when a young pilgrim came in begging for a cigarette. He eventually scored one, but just as he was about to light it the owner chased him off. Whether it was for begging, whether he didn't like cigarettes, or whether it was because the young man didn't buy anything from the bar, I'm not sure.

 Just as it seemed we were never going to reach our destination, the road suddenly dipped, and there we were - a little village hidden in the folds of the plain. It had been a fast, but painful walk of just over three hours.

After a quick snack and a shower, I had a poke at my blister, but the skin is thick and it didn't seem to help.




 After a snooze, I had another go, threading lengths of cotton through the blister to aid drainage and finally had some luck, easing the pressure straight away.







While I was standing at the window to get the best light, I looked out to see a strange mixture of old and new - a donkey and the biggest tractor in the world sharing space on the road.

This is a nice little rural hotel - just a single star, but no pretensions. There's only one other alburgue in this village and nothing else to see, so will read awhile and then visit the bar. Meal times are more oriented to the peasants, with dinner from 6.30pm and breakfast from 6.30am, so I should make a quick getaway tomorrow..

Here's today's photo album (the monastery photos from the morning seem to have got themselves out of order).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wLm58Wqc7btHk41z7

Here's the data from my watch:
https://app.suunto.com/move/petergibbs/5d0b96d40f3e49e741497c1d



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