Carrion to El Burgo Ranero

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled. Robert Frost

Day 19 – Carrion to Lidegos – 14.8 Miles

June 5

E: Thank you to all who comment on our blog. We are reading them each day. Your encouraging words are appreciated. Feel free to comment and make suggestions on topics you would like to hear more about.

Interestingly enough our phones are connecting to wifi at many places, i.e. hotels and restaurants, automatically. We had signed-on to these businesses 4 years ago, on our last Camino, and Big Brother remembers us! Kinda spooky as we both have new phones too.

The below list contains differences in Spain, where we are, and what we are used to in Phoenix:

1. We don’t have bidets in our bathrooms at home
2. They serve white asparagus here, we’ve never seen green asparagus (or broccoli).
3. Peanut butter is not common but showing up more often than 4 years ago
4. USA = Ketchup, in Australia it’s tomato sauce, in Spain = salsa de tomate
5. White bread is king here. We have not seen multi grain or whole wheat any time, so far, on any of our Caminos, even in a bakery (Panadaria)
6. No one serves “coffee to go” unless you ask and it’s frowned upon. Their philosophy is that if you can not sit long enough to enjoy a relaxing espresso, you’re too busy/rushed, in life.
7. Salad dressing: only option on green salads (ensalada mixta) is oil and white or wine vinegar, no balsamic that we have experienced. Potato salad has Russian dressing.
8. Almost all pillows here are the long, king size and have sleeves for cases…not sewn on either end. Very rare to see throw/decorative pillows on beds. 
9. We are thinking the following changes are due to post COVID…
* Mattresses are now completely covered in waterproof material as well as pillows, in most places.
* Some of the bunk rooms with multiple beds now have curtains across for privacy and assuming for less contact with others at night.
* There is anti bacterial soap, antibacterial pumps and paper towels in most public places which did not exist years ago. 
10. On the Camino you can walk to a cafe and it is almost expected that you will join someone else at a table. A lot of communal dinners and breakfasts. Even in the late afternoon or evening if you walk into a restaurant sometimes people will say: “Come join us”. 
11. Many International people keep the snow baskets and rubber tips on their hiking poles. Rather than removing the rubber tips when it is soft ground to catch  balance better.

More later, I am sure. 

Day 20 – Ledigos to Sahagun – 10.0 miles

June 6, 2023

We checked into the Hospederia (hostel) Monastica (monastery) de Santa Cruz. We have stayed in the same place each time we have done the Camino. This being our fourth time. Each time there is a different host or hospitalara or hospitalaro. It is run a bit differently this year. We still got two beds with a bathroom. The room is where the nuns used to live, small and simple. They now have a coffee hour to socialize with other pilgrims in the early evening and encourage the pilgrim mass at 6:30. They offered a combination pilgrim’s meal and potluck but it did not start till 8 PM. We chose to go to the plaza, close by, to sit at a restaurant at about 3 pm. There was a washing machine so we took advantage of that and then hung our clothes up before we went for food. 

Temps are low 50s to low 70s. It’s sunny and warm but clouds cool things down. It’s been low humidity so no sweat.

Day 21 – Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero – 10.7 miles

June 7, 2023

Our walk was pretty uneventful scenery wise. We are still on The Maseta, basically flat. Crops and low bushes. For the first time since we began our Camino. we were walking in the sprinkling rain today. We arrived at our stop for the night in El Burgo Ranero and are again repeating our lodging at La Laguna Alburgue. They have a few private rooms with bathrooms, Of which we were able to snag. 

The sprinkling has stopped but predictions are for rain through the night. Our hand washing is hanging inside and we are heading for a lovely dinner at a familiar restaurant from 2019, The Adobe.

We do not have wifi at our lodging so we will post while we are enjoying a mid afternoon meal for the day.

We are seeing many of the same people each day or every several days. Our new friends from Australia, Ireland, Spain, Mexico, Germany, Lithuania, and some from France to name a few. Our Aussie cops have moved forward ahead of us but we may see them later on. We have not seen many other Americans in the last couple of days but again the Camino surprises you and you can run into someone when you least expect it.

I hope you’re enjoying the various pictures that we take and I am trying to include a multitude of categories such as scenery, meals, people, nature, cathedrals, art, etc.

May you all be well and smilin’

At lunch today Elizabeth’s vegetable platter included green asparagus and our salad had balsamic vinegar on it. Go figure.

Our saying for the day…

On the AT they say No Pain, No Rain, No Maine!
On the Camino: No Pain, No Rain, No Reaching the Western Coast of Spain!