Day 8- Santa Maria de la Nieva to Villeguillo 28kms
I got up and started early, too early probably as it wasn't quite light. I knew which way I wanted to go and started alright but then I couldn't find arrows where I expected them, then I found the odd arrow but in strange places, finally I went to the road and very soon found the right route, coming exactly from where I had expected it to come. In Nava it was fiesta, the streets were full of young people clutching bottles, there seemed to be lots of kiosks selling beer but nowhere for coffee. Then I, inadvertently, stepped off the pavement in front of a police car. They were very nice and told me where I could get a coffee.
I was very glad to leave the chaos of Nava and carry on. Today there is lots of walking through pine forests, the ground is very sandy, sometimes this is easier to walk on than others.
Coca was really pretty, it would have been nice to stay there but the albergue has no kitchen.
From here it was only 7kms, I had left first and seen nobody but somehow Ku, the young Korean, managed to arrive before me. I had managed to acquire 2 potatoes in the bar in Coca so, with my emergency supplies, I had enough food for a meal for us both so we were OK.
Day 9- Villeguillo to Alcazaren 18kms
A short walk today, plenty of time to relax. I had difficulty getting hold of the key to the abergue. My info said to go to the Bar Real, when I found this it was shut, I was a bit surprised as I thought I had just seen someone leave anyway I went further up the road to the shop then returned, the bar was still shut, a little later I was passed by the same lady I had seen earlier, she looked at me but made no attempt to speak to me and it was obvious I was a pilgrim, I then saw her go to the bar and open the door, I was really peeved and cross that she made no attempt to help me so I went to the Town Hall where they pointed me in the direction of another bar where I could get a key, it was better too as he told me just to leave the key in the letter box in the morning, not to walk back with it :) There are no cooking facilities here so it's back to salad but that was fine.
Our numbers have grown to 8!!
Day 10: Alcazaren to Puente Duero 22 kms
Up and out early - 7 a.m. - too early probably as it isn't light till 7.30 but the route was easy. The morning was chilly, so in shorts and t-shirt I was encouraged to move quickly! To Valdesillas was surprisingly quick and easy but the last 6 km to Puente Duero were very much harder than I expected, the path was very stony, in the end I opted to walk on the road.
I went straight to the albergue only to find that it didn't open till 3, it was 12.50! I went to a nearby bar and had a beer whilst I thought about what to do. I decided to continue to Simancas and visit Valladolid in the afternoon. I was just about set to go when Ku appeared with an older man. Ku is turbo charged and arrives everywhere early. When he arrived he phoned the hospitalero who let him in, now they were just returning from the shops. Arturo let us in so, of course, I remained in Puente Duero. Eventually we were 8 again, the albergue is lovely with an extremely extrovert hospitalero. There is a garden with lots of fresh garden produce. We opted to have a communal meal, this one being a BBQ:-)
Day 11: Puente Duero to Cigunuela 12 kms, with bus detour to Valladolid.
Up early today, everyone is up early, Arturo insists! This is a camino so everyone must get up for breakfast and be out by 8a.m. It was a splitting of the ways as well. It was sad to say goodbye to Ku I've been walking in his footsteps for days, he's short of time so is going to skip a few days.
I started early and walked the 6kms to Simancas, though I'm not sure that it was as much as 6! Walking was difficult because of the sand yet I still managed to arrive in 1 hour! I got there to find a group of people at the bus stop so I rushed to join them and got the bus to Valladolid.
I spent a few hours in Valladolid and got the bus back to Simancas. Having done a small food shop as well.
Simancas is a beautiful little town, with some great restaurants. My original plan had been to stay here, it would have been lovely but I think I would have spent too much money. This time I just stopped for a beer and continued on my way to Cigunuela, the walk was quite pleasant, rather a lot of ups! and by now it was 1 p.m. and the sun was horribly hot. Cigunuela has a church tower that shows for miles, at first I thought it was a monument on a hill, then I realised that it was a tower but it was always just around the next hill. Eventually I arrived, the albergue is very good and once again I am alone. I had stocked up on food in Valladolid because I had forgotten to note if there is a shop in Cigunuela, there is but, at the moment it is shut in the afternoon so my foresight in Valladolid was all to the good.
Day 12 - Cigunuela to Medina de Rioseco 38 kms
Up early and off, thinking very hard about where to go today. My plan had been to go to Castromonte (24k) and then have a short day tomorrow, but if I'm to arrive in Sahagun on Sunday then I have to have a long day somewhere and the positioning of the albergues mean that it is either a long day or very short days. In any case I don't want to arrive late in Sahagun so today should be the long one.
Someone locally has invested time into metal pilgrims, occasionally they can be quite a surprise when thy appear!
I got to Wamba at 9 a.m. I would have liked to have visited the church but I reckoned that it was too early to phone the person with the key.
I continued to Penaflor, this was worrying me a bit as I had no stick and there was supposed to be a steep climb up to the town but fortunately it was not too steep.
From Penaflor to Castromonte was easy and I had virtually made up my mind that I would continue, especially as Castromonte is a sleepy little town and it was far too early to stop.
Valverde didn't even inspire me to enter the village but I continued with difficulty, by now it was really hot, the next 5 kms were really hard, especially as I had not planned to do such a long day and I was running out of water. When I got to 2 km from Medina de Rioseco I could actually see the albergue in the distance, this was a great encouragement. I wasn't sure where I would get the key, although it is a convent I had seen it advertised as 'the old convent' so I assumed that it was empty but it is a house on the property of the Poor Clare's and the nuns hold the key. Not long after I was joined by Jesus, the Spaniard I have seen intermittently, and a cyclist turned up.
The sisters provided us with fruit and vegetables and gave the guys soup as Jesus was really tired.
I went into the town to buy a few things and then cooked a meal but I had to force myself to stay awake to eat it.
Day 13 Medina de Rioseco to Villalon de Campos 26 km
I tried to sleep in a bit longer this morning but it didn't work. I had breakfast in the albergue and then stopped for a coffee on the edge of town. Then I walked along the edge of the canal for 8 km, it was a lovely walk.
I had planned to bypass Tamariz but I needed a 'comfort' stop so I went in, I found a bar with the door open, there was no one there so I made myself at home, when the barman arrived I ordered a coffee, then I asked what time he opened, 13.00!! The time then was 11.00 so I had really fallen lucky. I continued the 8 km to Cuenca de Campos, where I intended to stay the night, I was still tired from yesterday so the last few km were hard work. I got there, found the albergue, found the bar and had a beer before phoning for keys. It is a lovely little town and I was looking forward to a peaceful afternoon, only to be told that the albergue was full because of a congress, I had to continue to Villalon, only another 5 km but it seemed a long way, and once again I walked in full sunshine. The albergue in Villalon has hospitaleros and opens at 3, by now it was nearly 3 so I did not have long to wait. The hospitaleros were lovely and even washed my clothes for me.
Eventually we were 4 tonight.
Day 14 - Villalon de Campos to Santervas de Campos +/- 14 km
We were woken at 7.15 for breakfast. I actually managed to stay asleep until then. I started slowly, I was in no rush as I didn't expect Santervas to be very interesting, I only stopped there to break the journey to Sahagun. The walk was fine, the weather is changing, there is a north wind and the temperature has dropped a little. The albergue is an old manor house but has been modernised throughout, very recently judging from the fact that the labels are still on the bathroom furniture. A lot of the doors seem to be original. There is no kitchen, only a microwave, but I only planned soup and pasta so that worked.
I'm on my own again, tomorrow Sahagun, that will be heaving. I've bought my train ticket so tomorrow is the last day.
Day 15 - Santervas de Campo to Sahagun 20 km
My last day walking, it was was an easy walk, the weather is cooler again, still with the north wind. First stop Grajal de Campos. Most of the walk was along a river bank, no chance of getting lost, which was just as well because from the time I entered the province of Leon I never saw an arrow.
Grajal has a a castle and a palace it ought to be a tourist draw, like Simancas, but it is very run down.
I found the bar in Grajal and had a coffee and then continued to Sahagun along the road, this seemed to be the only option.
I met up with a friend in Sahagun and we had lunch together and then looked around. When I did the Frances I walked straight through so it was nice to have time.
