Day 18 - Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza (half way!!)

We had a lovely afternoon in Carrion de los Condes yesterday afternoon and evening.

We spent the time wondering around the town and then spent the an hour or so drinking beer with a couple of Germans.

We then walked for awhile along the Rio Carrion which separates the town of Carrion de los Condes from the Hotel Monasterio de San Zoilo. 

Many families were out playing, swimming and picnicking. 

Dinner at the Monasterio did not start until 9pm and was, again, a typical pilgrims meal. Once again we upgraded our wine to something better. 

Over dinner we chatted with a Dutchman, Marcel, a history teacher, who was riding from the Netherlands to Santiago de Compostela averaging around 100km per day.

Breakfast at the Monasterio was not scheduled to start until 8:30am and since it was Sunday and we only had a short walk of 16km today to Calzadilla de la Cueza, we decided to sleep in and have a late breakfast. The late start was nice.

Like yesterday, the walk to Calzadilla de la Cueza was flat, straight, dry and boring. Nothing but grain fields punctuated by the occasional tree, sunflower field or irrigated corn field. 

The previous afternoon we purchased fruit and at the half-way point, where there was a caravan selling drinks under the shade of some trees, we stopped and had a picnic. This served to break the monotony of the walk.

We walked and chatted for awhile with a young German Uni student who walked at the same pace as us, but he continued when we stopped for our picnic. 

Although we saw many others on the road, they were generally walking at a slower pace which made it difficult to walk with them and chat.

A lot of walkers today also set off earlier as they were continuing on to the next milestone at Terradillos de Templarios, another 10km down the road.

We are staying in a country hotel in Calzadilla de la Cueza, the Hotel Real Camino. 

The hotel is homely but the rooms are small and, unless we have a breeze later, will be a little airless. 


We have not eaten yet but the food in the hotel looks (and smells) appetizing.

The walk to Calzadilla de la Cueza today was only 16.2km and took 3h03m for an average pace including our picnic stop of 5.3km/hr. A good restful Sunday pace.

Importantly today, we are now past the half way point. We have walked 389km in the last 17 days and have 386km left to go in the next 17 days.