Another early rise and we’re on the road at 7:00 after a quick bakery stop for our favorite chocolate croissants. Our walk should be easy today, only 13 miles. We’re following an optional route today. It’s a little longer, but it follows the river and provides a good deal of tree shade, while the main route walks pilgrims along an open roadway.
We run into Natasja almost every day, but we’ve never walked with her before. Today we shared the walk with her for an hour, talking also with Carla, a young doctor from Germany. Sara loved talking to Natasja about her travels around the world. She travels a lot, most often alone, and her favorite places are in Asia. She’s an interesting young woman, and we really enjoy her.
The detour was great. As we enjoyed the shade along the riverside, we could look off to our left and see other pilgrims roasting in the sun along a highway. It seems that we chose the better path today.
Visited another interesting Templar church, the Iglesia de Santa Maria la Virgen Blanca, XIIIth century.
Arrived at Carrion de los Condes around 1:00. But we had to walk through the town and over the bridge to find our lodging – we’re staying at the monastery of San Zoilo. This was beautiful, a large monastery housing a museum within its grounds and a luxury hotel and restaurant.
After checking in, we walked 1 km back into the center of town to buy gloves and have lunch. We shared a pitcher of sangria, and we each had paella. And we ran into a few of our Camino friends – Kevin and Jean from Australia, and Joe and Dolly from Mexico/Idaho .
Tonight we’re staying at San Zoilo, taking some time to work on this blog while we have some reliable WIFI, and just enjoying this beautiful place.
