Carrion de Los Condes to Terradillos de Los Templarios

At 5 in the morning I woke up to hear torrential rain outside, the weather forcast on the Internet had said 38 mm and it was probably right! Fortunately by the time we got up at 7:30 the rain had stopped and it remained dry for the rest of the day.

Lesley popped out to a bakery, and we breakfasted in style on choco pan, orange juice and yoghurt before setting out.

Just before 9 we were on our way again, leaving our lovely room in the hostal Albi.

After leaving town we walked for 5 km along a Tarmac road, before walking on a rough track following the route of the old Roman road the "Via Aquitana".

However, Tarmac was the last thing my foot needed, and as we walked we came to the decision that however much we might want to get to Santiago and then on to Finisterre on this trip, we were not going to be able to do it.

As we walked we discussed our options. Some more silly than others. Could we find the local branch of "Rent a Donk" and hire a Donkey to carry me the rest of the way. But there were two or three problems with this plan. Firstly, was there a branch of "Rent a Donk?"; secondly neither of us know much about about donkey driving or looking after donkeys -and you shouldn't have animals you don't know how to look after properly; finally it wouldn't be fair to expect a donkey to carry such a heavy weight as myself. So that plan was high and dry in the water.

Our second plan was to wonder if we could hire a bike, but discounted that idea, as I wouldn't have the correct gear and anyway in about one weeks time there is a very big hill that I wouldn't be able to ride a bike up so would have push it instead, which wouldn't help my foot one little bit.

After more discussion, we came to our final plan. We would walk in easy stages, for the next three days to Leon, and then, if the foot was still bad, stop. Leon would be convenient in terms of location (accessibility) and remaining distance (2 weeks walking) for returning either next year or in 2011.

I found this a hard decision to make: after all walking to Santiago in one go has been my goal, since I first had the dream of making this pilgrimage 20+ years ago. I have to admit, as we walked, battling against a strong head wind, I shed some tears.

At Calzadilla de la Cueza we went into the only bar for a coffee. Lucas was there, and we told him our decision. He clasped me on the back and told me it was a wise decision because we can continue another year, and we don't want to do lasting dammage. He then bought us our coffee.

After coffee we set out on our way again with Lucas. The head wind we had been battling seemed to be getting stronger.

The terrain we were crossing reminded us very much of the Fens in Britain. Endless miles of total flatness. In the far, far distance off to out right we could see the Picos mountains, which are already covered in snow.

By 1:30 we were begining to flag, and spotting a picnic area, decided to stop. We said our temporary goodbyes to Lucas, as he had had his lunch, and stopped for ours.

After a 3/4 hour stop we began again, and every step was very painful. The situation can not continue and so this afternoon we have made the decision that we are going to have to pause our Camino for this year.

At 3:30 we arrived in Terradillos de los Templarios, a village that used to be run by the Knights Templars, where we booked into the Albergue.

Being an emotional sort of person, it was tough for me to say to fellow pilgrims that this was probably our last day on the road. After the usual showers and washing, we spent an hour surfing the Internet to find the best way home.

Tommorow we walk about 12 km to Sahagun where our camino will be temporaly suspended, to be taken up again at another date.

We will then get a train to Leon as the first leg of our journey home.

We have now booked our flights, before having our last pilgrims meal for this trip. We ate in the company of our good friend Lucas and it was a very healing evening.

Our Camino will continue and one day soon we will get to Santiago and receive our compostella, before going on to Finisterre. We have achieved an amazing amount: we have walked over 1200 km in 50 days and it has been a fantastic experience. The distance is 12 times the minimum distance for a compostella but not in the right place!

Just because the physical trip is over, please do keep reading as I plan to post my thoughts and reflections on our journey so far.

If you are following this blog from afar and want to know how the story continues, let me have your E-Mail address and I will E-Mail you when our trip continues.

On the Camino in Spain