May 2 - Day 19

Day 19 - Frómista to Carrión de Los Contes - 19 km

We had a bit shorter day today. But instead of being a beautiful trail in nature, it was a gravel path beside the paved road.

This is the Meseta, one of the largest areas of Spain. Essentially it is like walking across Saskatchewan, with an occasional Cafe Ruby, and if you’re lucky maybe a Corner Gas convenience store.

So if you like endless fields and small towns, the Meseta might be your style. At least it is more flat than we have seen. And being spring and everything green, it is quite nice.

So we did our 19 km trek along the highway and as we were walking, we could see what looked like a teepee. This being Spain I didn’t really think it was, but as we approached we found that yes, it was a teepee. At a small albergue and bar there it was, along with an assortment of other odds and ends - a duck pond, ping pong table, etc. An albergue with character. Our favourite kind. We just had our cafe there. In my guide book it says you can stay in a dorm bed for 6€, a double cabin for 18€, the teepee for 6€, or a hammock for 3€.

And on we went into Carrión de Los Condes. We arrived before noon, we are getting faster. We had heard about the Albergue Santa Maria, where the nuns sing in the evening. So we went there. As we arrived they served hot, sweet tea. Nice. Our bunks were in a large room with at least 20 bunks. That’s a lot of potential snoring. And it’s my turn on the top bunk. I don’t mind being up there so much, just the getting up and down. And these ones don’t have rails. Safety standards don’t exist in albergues. The nuns did say they would pray for us though.

After checking in we went to eat, then spent the afternoon setting up our next few days accommodations, etc. We feel a bit better knowing we will have somewhere to sleep. We’ve heard that this year more people are booking ahead, so it seems more common to see full places. So we are now booking ahead also.

For the evening we went to Vespers with the nuns, then they had the singing. As they said, it wasn’t a performance, but a moment to enjoy each other. Some singing, music, introductions.

A later dinner tonight, then back to our beds. Cold still, better under the covers.

Today’s lesson: even though the Camino might be about letting go of control, sometimes the peace of mind that comes with pre-booking is worth it.