May 3 - Day 20

Day 20 - Carrión de Los Condes to Ledigos - 23 km

One of the worst sleeps so far. It was my turn on the top bunk, these were tall units with no rails, and the whole thing shook when you went up and down the ladder. And during the night my extra blanket slid right off the bed. Since the room was just above the freezing point I decided it was worth the trip down the ladder. I was able to tuck on the blanket to prevent further loss, and slept better the rest of the night.

We ate a small breakfast (which we had purchased yesterday), then set out for the day. Another long stretch across Saskatchewan, oh I mean the Meseta. This included a stretch of 17 km with NO towns. Or services. There were 2 picnic areas and a seasonal food stand, but no bathrooms!

We had packed a lunch, so food was covered, but by the time we reached the first town I was quite ready to use the toilet. And have a coffee.

After taking care of the necessities, back on the road. The rest of the way today had a few hilly bits, then down into the tiny town of Ledigos. Both Rachel and I had sore feet today. Felt really good to get the boots off.

We were the first to check in, I guess we walk fast enough. So we got to choose beds, have a shower and get laundry in the washing machine first today. We don’t use a washing machine every day but it is nice once in a while. And the dryer actually dried all our clothes, so it’s a good day. This is perhaps the nicest albergue so far - La Morena!

This portrait hangs in Albergue La Morena - I bet there is a story about this beautiful lady

We spent some more time on our plan today and decided to book our nights in Santiago and Finisterre. So we have an end date for sure. There is a lot of talk right about albergues getting booked up so more people are booking. It’s hard to say how things will go, but more people start the pilgrimage closer to Santiago, especially the last 100 km (the amount of walking required to earn the Compostella certificate). We have gone about half way already (390 + km)! Hard to believe. And lots of walking left.

We celebrated our half way point with a little nap. And a beer.

After a rest we walked around town, about 2 minutes worth, then had supper at our albergue. Very enjoyable meal with two other pilgrims.